Lights, Camera…Beauty

Packaging plays a different role when products are sold through
home shopping channels.

By Leah Genuario, Contributing Editor

Picture a 40-year-old female executive. After fighting rush-hour traffic through the streets of Manhattan, she walks into her condo, slides off her pumps and plops in front of the television…to shop. Forget preconceived notions of insomniacs or the bored and gullible. Today’s television customers are trendy, upscale and female.

The Home Shopping Network’s demographic, for example, is 75% female, ranging in age from 25-54 years old, with an average income of $61,000. ShopNBC describes its customer base as “affluent, sophisticated and loyal,” broadcasting its shows into 60 million homes.

“QVC has a huge, affluent audience from urban areas. A lot in Manhattan, a lot in Beverly Hills. For beauty at least, they’ve done such a good job with cultivating their business. The people tuning in are ‘in the know’—they are beauty junkies who know what they want and shop on their own terms,” explains Alexis Mezzina DiResta, vice president of tarte, Inc., New York, NY.
    
Selling through television presents its own rewards and challenges. It shifts final selling responsibility from the packaging, point-of-purchase displays and sampling, to the persuasiveness of the on-air presentation. Done right, it can result in high volume, immediate sales and a loyal customer base.
    
Home shopping channels are big business. QVC, for example, promotes itself as a $7 billion company reaching 160 million homes. HSN posted 2005 sales of $3.05 billion and realizes 66 million calls a year worldwide.  
    
Following is a look at three companies that have presented and sold beauty products through the television distribution channel.

The Prai Beauty Group

Don’t look at Macy’s or Nordstrom for this beauty line. The Prai Beauty Group sells its products almost exclusively through television. The company presents on ShopNBC in the U.S., and has also partnered with home shopping channels in Australia, Canada and the UK.
    

Within one hour of its television launch, Prai sold 4,000 jars of CREME de LUXE.

Selling on television may seem like a foreign concept for many beauty brands, however Prai Beauty Group chief executive officer Cathy Kangas insists it’s not completely different, drawing parallels from the traditional retail world.
    
“Air time is like counter space—you have prime locations and sub-prime locations,” she says. She also explains that home shopping channels act like an “electronic Bloomingdale’s,” similarly purchasing the goods first and managing the fulfillment. When Kangas appears on a segment, she is selling
the network’s inventory (much like a beauty brand’s point-of-purchase display or packaging sells a traditional retailer’s stock).
    
While some aspects of television retailing mimic traditional retailers, packaging is not one of them. “Packaging—it’s very different from department stores,” says Kangas.
    
Prai teams with Brad-Pak for its packaging needs. As an upscale beauty brand, the company maintains a high-end image—even in its packaging.
    
“We sell expensive product in expensive packaging,” she states. “Most television brands would tell you don’t bother. We have gone against that. We have gone for expensive packaging and outer cartons, which most people don’t use on television. But we’re finding it has built us a very loyal following.”
    
The chosen retail channel has also required other packaging accommodations. A larger font size is one of them. “We find that if we hold up various jars on television, if they can’t see the name they get confused. We try to use large print for the product name and the directions,” says Kangas.
    
Because consumers only get quick looks at the packaging, Prai also chose a bold logo and concentrates on using descriptive names for its products to create a lasting impression. Products are thoroughly explained on-air so the company does not believe that a long product description printed on the packaging is necessary.
    
Despite the care it takes with packaging, Kangas concedes that in television, the packaging sell “isn’t quite as strong.” While the packaging is shown from time to time on-air, a typical one-hour slot is likely to include other marketing techniques to pique interest, including before-and-after shots and testimonials.
    
The six-year-old company currently offers 55 SKUs, primarily skin care and other personal care items. Kangas credits television as a “great medium to get through to people. It gets your story out and you are talking directly to the consumer.”
    
The potential for a high volume, immediate response is also unique to the distribution channel. At $150, CREME de LUXE is the company’s latest luxury product. In the first hour of its television launch, 4,000 had been purchased.
    
“The interesting thing about television is that it’s so immediate. If you are launching a product, you get the audience’s reaction immediately,” Kangas says.

Lindi Skin

Many individuals fight and beat cancer. Along the way to achieving this victory, however, there may be disheartening side effects that discourage even the bravest patients. Lindi Skin is a line of skin care products created for cancer patients dealing with the side effects of treatment, including nausea from scents, skin sensitivity and skin conditions caused by medication. The company launched its product line at an Oncology Nurse Society meeting several years ago. In 2006, Lindi Skin debuted on the QVC channel.
    

Specialty skin care company Lindi Skin debuted on QVC in October with an eight-minute slot.

Lindi Skin products are sold through hospital shops, doctor’s offices, specialty stores and pharmacies. Samples are distributed by pharmaceutical companies and the products can also be purchased online.
    
“Nurses have become our biggest advocates,” says Jim Kristoff, executive vice president, Lindi Skin. “A lot of times, patients are more willing to talk to them. Sometimes the side effects can be so devastating that patients want to stop the drug program, or cut back on the drug program.”
    
It was Lindi Skin who approached QVC about the possibility of becoming a vendor. A few months after its first meeting with the network, the company was on the air. Its eight-minute time-slot occurred during a one-hour special titled Pink Ribbon Beauty, which aired in October at 4 p.m. The event focused on raising money and awareness for women’s cancers.
    
“The time we first met to the time we went on the air was only about 3-4 months,” says Kristoff. “They are always looking for new products and they have a department that hears submissions. If they have a special event coming up they can fast-track you.”
    
Prior to filming, Lindi Skin executives attended QVC’s Vendor 101 class. The class discussed various logistical issues, including packaging and shipping requirements. Founder Lindy Snider, who was the on-air talent for the event, also attended a one-day training session.
    
The eight-minute slot enabled Snider to present the company’s best-selling Lindi Skin Face Serums. Also during the time period, the company mission and history were discussed, the product benefits were touted and an explanation of Lindi Skin’s chosen charity was given. Lindi Skin donated a portion of the event’s profits to the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association’s Look Good, Feel Better program.
    
According to Kristoff, QVC controlled the camera work, cutting between shots of the packaged product and shots of Snider and the host. The product’s packaging, supplied by Card Pak, was not modified for its television appearance.

QVC’s Pink Ribbon Beauty special featured products from many well-known brands, including tarte and philosophy. The other brands have traditionally appealed to a broad female audience, whereas Lindi Skin products were created with a specific target in mind.

Given the broad scope of QVC’s audience, however, Lindi Skin needed to demonstrate its relevance to women in general. Snider explained the company history, but made an appeal to all women with sensitive, dry skin. “It was directed for a general audience,” says Kristoff. “It was explained that the products were great for anybody.”
    
Lindi Skin has not appeared on QVC since its debut last October. Given the chance, however, they would like to be on again. “We have had people purchase product online that have said they heard about us from QVC,” says Kristoff. “In general, I’d say it was a successful endeavor.”

tarte, Inc.

Tarte, Inc. is a trendy New York-based beauty   company with clever packaging. The company’s portable and functional products appeal to the on-the-go woman who wants to have fun with her makeup.
    

Approximately 20% of tarte, Inc.’s sales come from television purchases.

The cosmetics are mainly sold through traditional retail channels, such as Sephora and Bergdorf Goodman. In February 2005, however, the company partnered with QVC for an eight-minute television segment. After a series of successful appearances, tarte now attributes about 20 percent of its sales to television promotions on QVC.
    
The company has landed on a successful selling format. In an eight-minute segment, founder Maureen Kelly will present one product. The segment generally includes an introduction on the company, a testimonial from a caller, and two models who do before-and-after demonstrations. An hour-long segment has a similar format but includes more products and more models.
    
Eye-catching packaging has always been important to the company, and television promotions no exception.
    
“We always showcase the product in its packaging. That’s a major selling point on the show. You want to show off what the product is in,” says Mezzina Di Resta.
    
The company also uses the television platform to share anecdotes about particular packaging designs. For example, during an eight-minute segment that ran in November, Kelly discussed the packaging for tarte’s new gilt trip gloss collection. The pale gold case was inspired by her grandmother’s antique pin box.
    
Selling through television affords companies the opportunity to make a strong emotional connection with the brand.
    
“The benefits [of selling through television] are you get to hear the philosophy of the brand, how to use the products, why things are created. It makes you feel special and in on something that other people are not in on. That’s just invaluable,” comments Mezzina Di Resta.
    
Tarte sometimes launches new products on television. In addition to the ability to connect with the viewer through stories and demonstrations, “you hit so many people at once. If you launch something in February on television that you intend to launch in retail stores in April, you build a lot of buzz,” says Mezzina Di Resta.
    
In 2005, tarte total sales had reportedly reached $15 million.