Points of Persuasion Syndicate

(P-O-P-S) It is Internet Week in Manhattan, and so I attended a packed house presentation by four Beauty startup gurus and the webmaster behind RealBeauty.com, a Hearst publications award winning blog.  Mostly, the talk was about the consumer and being able to respond to her personal needs more nimbly as a result of conversations directly with her on the web. This group was entirely savvy about their consumer and how their small startups could use the web to overtake the old line giants in the cosmetic industry who were slow to adapt to the “conversation” that the web offers brands with their customer. While they understood that having larger budgets to market their products might be beneficial, one of the techniques they embraced that they could afford were contests.

A well-designed contest deftly announced via syndicated articles publicity and enhanced with social media techniques is an excellent way to get brand notice, get your customer to your website and promote trial of new products. And further, your reach is not just national; it is international. Having successfully created a PR contest for Dove years back that took the lead in their advertising campaign, I was struck by how easy it has become to implement a contest of the same magnitude for much less money via the Internet. In fact, properly managed an Internet begun contest will get noticed editorially in the traditional media as well, and for free.

Americans are game players and risk takers and interested in the big win. The Kentucky Derby proves that.  For 135 years Americans have dressed up to watch this event and throw big bucks away in the hopes that their horse will bring it home for them, even in a recessionary economy like we are just emerging from.   Contests appeal to us.  Hitch it to a cause that your consumer considers worthy, and you are not only enhancing your consumer’s emotional attachment to your brand, but helping to improve the world around you simultaneously with developing your business. Cause marketing was developed long ago in the cosmetics industry when Anita Roddick founded The Body Shop and called attention to saving the environment with natural products.   But attaching cause marketing to a contest that makes sense for your customers is more than just a marketing tool. Doing well by doing good --It is a movement in this generation. 

While the beauty industry has been slow to adapt to the Internet because they have believed in point of purchase trial, the benefits of the Internet in both its reach and ability to create visibility can no longer be overlooked. Add to that that the Internet can certainly help the entrepreneur who is dedicated to pleasing a certain market segment target them and reach them through social media and that entrepreneur increases the likelihood that she will succeed. 

For an explanation and support in helping to strategize to achieve success, call on Points of Persuasion Syndicate, headed up by Myrna Greenhut who has handled contest strategy for some of the largest mass consumer brands in the world. Using syndicated articles publicity, we will give you all the benefits of the marketing expertise of an agency and the writing and creative pull of a professional for a price you can muster without breaking your piggy bank. Supporting your confidence as risk taker entrepreneurs willing to bet the ranch on your ideas is our pleasure and forte.