Marketing Makeup for Men

Makeup for men is gaining increased marketing attention worldwide. "Makup for men is a thing now" read the headline on MarketWatch last August, and it's even more of a thing in 2018.

For instance, David Beckham has a new men's grooming brand, House 99, marketed by L'Oreal. Just launched--and already its Facebook page has more than 11k followers.

MMUK Man opened the first retail store specifically for men's skin-care products only a few months ago. The five-year-old brand is growing rapidly and showing bigger brands that this is a niche worth watching.

Another startup, Ava-J, is also leveraging men's interest in skin care by marketing grooming products and looking for boutique distribution, not supermarket distribution.

Cosmetics for men are a major trend in China these days, where global brands like L'Oreal, Nivea, and Clinique are especially prized.

Watch for more major brands to launch product lines targeting men and create distribution deals to ensure that men know where they can find these new products in retail channels.

Brands Pin, Pin, Pin on Pinterest

A growing number of brands are doing more on Pinterest to promote new products, cast a wider net, strengthen relationships with brand fans, and reinforce brand associations.

Pinterest, and its Promoted Pins, have attracted interest from L'Oreal, Burberry, La Mer, and other established brands.

• L'Oreal studied one of its Pinterest campaigns and find gains in new product awareness, message associations, and purchase intention. 
• Burberry is partnering with Pinterest for a personalized campaign starring its new Cat Lashes mascara.
• La Mer is seeking to stimulate Pinterest word-of-mouth for its skincare products.

Oh, and that old "Buy It" button? Goodbye--now Pinterest users can simply click to "add to bag" and shop their way across boards and platforms.

L'Oreal's Makeup App Offers Virtual Product Trial

There's no end to the number of apps out there and yet L'Oreal recently released Makeup Genius, a free app that helps women try on new beauty looks in private and without paying. 

This solves a big problem for buyers: How to know what makeup will look like without actually buying and trying. This is akin to the sales promotion technique of sampling, except no actual L'Oreal products change hands. 

The app is iPad and iPhone ready, downloadable from the iTunes store, starts with a selfie that you can then use as your base when you apply your choice of L'Oreal makeup products virtually. Another option is to have the app show what you would look like in a preset beauty style (such as "smoky eyes"). 

It has been described as a little like looking into the mirror of your smartphone and seeing yourself with different beauty looks--in effect, a mobile-based "virtual fitting room" for cosmetics. If you like what you see, you can buy through the app or go to a local retailer to pick out products in person. 

The concept is clever and appealing to tech-savvy mobile users. Will L'Oreal's slick app give it a marketing edge in the competitive beauty industry?