M.A.C Cosmetics and Estee Lauder - Marketing Mix

        M.A.C Cosmetics and Estee Lauder - Marketing Mix


This post examines how M.A.C Cosmetics and Estee Lauder; well established cosmetic companies, utilise the Marketing Mix.


"People do not buy good and services. They buy relations, stories and magic" Seth Godin


Dibb et al (2016, p. 1) define marketing as "a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers; for managing customer relationships; and for providing direction to an organisation based on market insights."

The Marketing Mix is defined as "The tactical 'toolkit' of the marketing programme." Dibb et al (2016, p.28)

iStoreFront - The New Retail Interactive Platform 2014

M.A.C

M.A.C was officially launched in 1984 in Toronto, this was due to two men - Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo, a make up artist and a photographer.(M.AC)  "M.A.C stands for - Makeup Art Cosmetics" (Prezi 2015) and its slogan is; "All ages, all races, all sexes" (M.A.C) The company say they grew as "With every colour, and every magazine credit, word-of-mouth popularity grew."

http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/our-story

Product

 M.A.C was launched due to the "lack of colours that would shoot well with photography" the pair saw fit that they not only introduced more, but in order to stand out, they added to M.A.C's image, "a touch of outrageousness" (M.A.C)

macsstuff.net

 Not only do M.A.C provide products, they provide a service - walk in demos. This is simply asking one of the makeup artists for advice on how to use a particular product, this benefits the company as then the customer is more likely to buy the product after feeling comfortable and confident in using it therefore, as M.A.C recognise this benefit they provide this service free of charge. (Prezi 2015) The other service however, is of charge, and this is a private appointment for one of the makeup artists to do the customers makeup for them. This is of charge as it is time consuming, however, of course still hugely valuable to M.A.C as the customer leaves satisfied and hopefully, will buy the products used on them. (Prezi 2015) Over the years, M.A.C has extended its product line, starting with simple products such as eye shadow, lipstick etc. The company now provide in addition to services, "skincare, brushes/tools and fragrance." (Prezi 2015) M.A.C is well known for its classic and unique packaging, as both variables are sometimes difficult to achieve together. One of M.A.C's most popular products is a matte lipstick. In particular, the colour red. This could probably be because many of M.A.C's advertisements are colourful and 'whacky'. Madonna was one of the first ever celebrities to wear this bring red matte lipstick in the early years of M.A.C, this could possibly have been the best advertising that has ever happened to the company at this time. Later after the star was also seen wearing a M.A.C t shirt, showing fans she was a loyal customer to the cosmetic business  cosmetic business. When M.A.C was being established, it aimed to focus on elite member of the community and present and market itself as a premium brand. For example. when starting up, M.A.C hoped to sell their products to celebrities, models, and known makeup artists. The company would achieve this by selling its products at a high cost, therefore customers would be receiving, or so they think, high quality. However, M.A.C decided to expand especially when joining Estee Lauder. During this time, the company lowered its prices, although not dramatically, and sold to any person who wished to have a product. 

The packaging is simple - black with white writing. Also, the materials used are recyclable making the company eco friendly and environmentally conscious. As new collections are released, the packaging will change, in order to draw attention to the theme. For example, Rihanna launched a collection, and these lipsticks, instead of traditional silver and black, these are red, making them stand out forever. In addition to this, where the lipstick is red Rihanna's signature is written, this adds to the 'look', uniqueness and sophistication.

                                                                thefashionelveswordpress.com

                                   Price                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The price of M.A.C products vary. As previously discussed, collection make up can be more expensive, due to the additional packaging etc in order to make it stand out. Also, if the collection make up is more expensive, this can encourage the customer to buy it, as they think its more 'premium'. 

Place

M.A.C uses intense distribution.(Prezi 2015) This is "A marketing strategy under which a company sells through as many outlets as possible, so that the consumers encounter the product virtually everywhere they go" (Business Dictionary) As well as M.A.C having shops, it has online websites, allowing customers to purchase goods online, however, of course, services cannot be provided through this. Despite this, M.A.C have tried to rectify this issue by uploading online tutorials of their makeup artists. This helps customers understand their products. "The channel of distribution for M.A.C Cosmetics is Direct Distribution. The manufacturer will make the product and it will go straight to the M.A.C store, here customers can buy the good." (Prezi 2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhCI_iqDu8E

Promotion

In order for M.A.C to continue to grow, the company uses many different forms of advertising. It is essential for M.A.C to use modern forms of advertising, as many of its customers are young, for example, online and through social media for example, M.A.C has an official Twitter account with over 1.3 million followers. This account advertises and also asks the public questions used for market research. 

https://twitter.com/MACcosmetics?lang=en

M.A.C's largest campaign to date is the Viva Glam campaign and it has raised over 400 million dollars for HIV and AIDS. Viva Glam is a collection of M.A.C products, when bought money from this is donated to the fund. M.A.C has used a number of celebrities to promote this campaign including Ariana Grande. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kCa9etSIvg

Premium, samples, point of sale and co-promotions are the four types of promotion that M.A.C uses (M.A.C). Firstly, through using premium promotion, the company give the customer one free lipstick after finishing six M.A.C products (Prezi 2015) encouraging loyal customers. When buying a product in M.AC for example foundation, a makeup artist may give the customer a free mini sample of a primer for example, as before using foundation a primer should be used, the encourages the customer to again be loyal and for them to try gain the 'whole mac look' and use as many products as the professional would. Just like many more companies while queuing in M.A.C, there are additional products for example makeup remover, in order to entice the customer to send more money. An example of M.A.C using co-promotions is the Cinderella collection. Cinderella fans were crazy about these products and they were sold out almost immediately.

People

 "M.A.C celebrates diversity and individuality" (M.A.C) Through M.A.C's unusual product line, the company attempts to encourage people to look different, and use makeup as a way of presenting themselves ans standing out from the crowd. M.A.C "was the first brand in cosmetic history to invest in the training and education of its staff as well as the customer’s point-of-sale experience." (M.A.C) This shows to the rest of the world and market that M.A.C care about their employees as well as their customers and that the company is not only there for profit. "M.A.C do not have a specific target market" (Prezi 2015) This is because the company brands itself as being inclusive. However, typically, M.A.C's customers are "16-30 year old females and males." (Prezi 2015)

Process 

The process M.A.C use is difficult to understand on gain information on. However, when ordering M.A.C products, they generally take 3-5 business days to be delivered (M.A.C). The company provide six different delivery options varying in price. In addition to this, M.A.C only deliver to UK addresses.

Physical Evidence 

A company which started off in Canada, is now recognisable worldwide. The M.A.C website states "Today, M.A.C means so many things to its millions of fans in every corner of the planet." In addition to this, M.A.C has over 20,000 make up artists around the world (Estee Lauder). "M.A.C is sold today in over 105 countries around the world" (M.A.C).

Estee Lauder 

https://www.elcompanies.com/who-we-are

"We are the global leader in prestige beauty — delighting consumers with trans-formative products and experiences, inspiring them to express their individual beauty." (Estee Lauder) 

M.A.C has been "part of the Estee Lauder Companies since 1994" (M.A.C). Similar to M.A.C Estee Lauder place great importance on culture and values. Both companies view their employees as a community, Estee Lauder even say "The company operates like a family". This could be the reason why both companies are so large and well established with good reputations, as they value their employees and motivate them, therefore employees feel happier. 

Estee Lauder states - "M.A.C is the world's leading professional makeup authority because of our unrivalled expertise in makeup artistry." 

M.A.C and Estee Lauder are both well established cosmetic companies, with a good reputation and are both viewed are being, although somewhat costly, worth it. To this day, both brands are used generally by people that know a bit about make up, if not a lot, and enjoy applying it. Both brands can be worn by any person in the world who wishes to wear them and they are easily accessible. If there is not a shop in a high street/city, the customer can go online.