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?

Building Buzz, Building Loyalty: Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com has one foot in the past (the deep past--generation upon generation of genealogical data) and one foot firmly in today, via its savvy marketing. The site operates on a subscription model, selling access by the month, or for 6 or 12 months at a time.

I'm one of Ancestry's 2 million worldwide subscribers. (Above, my grandpa, as a young man, in his grocery store.) The company reported revenues of $166 million in 2007 and by 2011, revenues had grown to $400 million--strong growth regardless of the challenging economic situation. Estimated revenues this year will be $480 million. Some reports point to Ancestry's profitability and refer to a possible buyout.

This week's Businessweek analyzes Ancestry's smart marketing moves. Every few months, Ancestry announces some startling discovery about the family history of a well-known politician or celebrity. That gets people buzzing about genealogy in general and Ancestry in particular, leading some to visit the Web site and register for the company's 14-day free trial. After two weeks, many people find Ancestry so convenient and user-friendly that they become subscribers.

The site also sends subscribers e-mails about "hints"--new documents or research connections that pertain to specific people on their family trees. Hints keep subscribers coming back to the site over and over in search of the latest documents that have been digitized or for connections to distant relatives who are researching the same ancestors.

For holidays such as Memorial Day and July 4th, Ancestry opens certain databases to the public for free searches. This is a different version of the tried-and-true "free trial" promotion that has helped Ancestry attract and maintain a strong and loyal subscriber base.

PS: This is my 701st marketing post! Many more to come in the months and years ahead.