The Marketing of the Beauty Industry
by Alina Kazmi
By Chris Johnson (@cj580) via Unsplash.com
The marketing secrecy fuelled by social media, psychological tactics and influencer endorsements subtly entices consumerism. These strategies help to build and preserve brands in the long run, but for us, these methods negatively affect our society. Beneath all the pretty packaging and strategic marketing is an industry which has abolished any boundaries between what we need and what the industry wants to push onto us. Further meddling with the beauty standards narrative, the strategic marketing of the beauty industry promotes this idea of perfection as indicated by brands such as Bobbi Brown's "Perfect skin, not makeup" line and Dior's "DreamSkin" skincare line.
Left Bobbi Brown's "Perfect skin, not makeup" line and Right Dior's "DreamSkin" campaign.
The role of marketing within the beauty industry is to provide a link between consumers and the products. Marketing also helps brands reach new audiences through campaigns or trends, which ultimately helps their products sell. Professor Julie Tinson, a marketing professor at the University of Stirling with 30 years of marketing research experience, explains:
"The beauty industry is growing expeditiously, and I don't think it's just for women either. I think increasingly, you know, there's men, and you know, people generally are very interested in what the beauty industry can do for them."
In an industry as crowded as the beauty industry, competition is evident, with brands releasing new products weekly or similar products to other brands. Marketing allows beauty brands to differentiate their products from others and further product development.
Marketing lures consumers to purchase beauty products through tactics such as subliminal messaging, colour psychology and the phrasing of products. The strategy of subliminal messaging entices us to think or even feel a certain way about a product. A popular example of subliminal messaging would be a beauty campaign's use of flawless skin with no signs of any wrinkles or blemishes, which are normal for humans to possess. This further entices us to associate these products with the ideal standards of beauty and their attributes, such as attaining airbrushed skin. Subliminal messaging contributes to this unattainable standard of beauty all while helping to promote the sales of a product as we begin to associate the attributes with the product. Colour psychology tends to work in a similar fashion by compelling us to feel a certain way about a product. This tactic tricks our minds into associating a colour with a certain ambiance. With luxury brands such as Chanel and Tom Ford utilising the colour scheme of black and gold to further induce this luxurious effect, tricking the mind into believing that the product is fault-proof because of the high-class impression it evokes.
A survey conducted revealed that 78.6% of individuals purchased a beauty product due to the packaging, highlighting how important the packaging of beauty products are in enticing a consumer to purchase.
Chart via Metachart.com
Professor Tinson said: "Products themselves aren't that visually appealing, so yes, the packaging is absolutely key or essential to how people feel about that product."
The phrasing of beauty products also further entices us toward a product. Key phrases such as "visible results" and "backed by dermatologists" further trick our minds with the use of positive wording into believing in a product's capabilities, while most of the time these claims made by brands are false and misleading. The use of persuasive phrases helps to spark a desire to attain a product, test the claims and achieve these benefits in a short duration. Prominent phrases such as "anti-ageing" and "age-defying" further promote this impossible standard of beauty, where wrinkles or signs of ageing are seen as a flaw, while also trying to sell the product.
Left No7's use of claims like "4 weeks to visibly healthier skin" and Right is Eucerin's use of "anti-ageing" phrasing to further promote respective products.
The marketing of the beauty industry has gradually become more digitalised, focusing on utilising social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram and also influencers. Social media sites, with their curated short-form content, have become a perfect tool to help beauty brands reach an audience.
Professor Tinson explains : "I think particularly for younger members of society, although increasingly older members as well, that the helping course of the introduction of social media and influencers this has been the most obvious way to attract particular types of target audiences."
Social media permits brands to create trends and capitalise on viral hashtags and challenges, which helps to promote their own products. Hashtags such as #BeautyTok and #viralmakeup on TikTok have the power to turn beauty products into cult classics while reaching new consumers and helping to build a community. Using social media also allows beauty brands to connect with consumers they may have never reached, further establishing a global brand presence. Social media also enables beauty brands to use targeted marketing to reach a specific audience in a personalised and efficient way with the help of analytics from the sites.
Left TikTok’s #viralmakeup displaying over 360,000 post and Right TikTok’s #BeautyTok displaying 6.4 million posts within the hashtag.
Influencers are key in the marketing of beauty products, especially in this social media age. Often attaining a substantial following, they are paid by brands to produce content featuring the products provided. Using influencers as a means of marketing a beauty product allows brands to reach a new audience and increase the recognition and sales of a product through the recommendation of someone with a large following.
Screenshots of sponsored beauty advertisement posts from TikTok via @ameliaOlivia, @leilanikeaa, @christinanadinx
Professor Tinson said: "Brands can give influencers quite a lot of leverage if you like to convey the brand message in a way that they think will be best received by their followers."
A survey conducted revealed that 92.3% of consumers purchased a beauty product due to a recommendation from an influencer, further showing the effectiveness of influencer marketing on consumer behaviour. Influencer marketing builds trust and introduces products to a new audience in a relatable fashion.
It is evident that the many means of marketing used by the beauty industry are clearly efficient. They not only serve the purpose of increasing brand sales but ultimately allow beauty brands to create a presence in a crowded market, all while upholding this standard of beauty to further sell products. Undoubtedly, the marketing of the beauty industry has increased its demand for products and consumer engagement to persuade us to purchase products we may not need, which is what the industry simply does best.