Estee Lauder Argumentative Essay Example

the Advanced Night Repair were the most popular items advertised. The lipstick was featured in three different magazine ads and the repair product was featured on the fourth cover page of magazines and in promotional company emails.

Situational Analysis

The Double Wear line offers options for liquid or powder makeup, the ability to achieve desired coverage, and a wide range of shades for all skin types. The line's advantages include its staying power of twelve to fifteen hours, comfortable wear, and silky smooth texture. Additionally, the products provide SPF-10 protection and eliminate the need for touchups. The Advanced Night Repair prevents future aging damage and reduces existing damage to the skin.

The Advanced Night Repair is a unique product that incorporates Estee Lauder's exclusive Chronolux Technology, holding over 20 worldwide patents. Developed after over twenty-five years of extensive research, it offers several advantages including the remarkable ability to significantly reduce visible signs of aging on the face.

In addition to this product, Estee Lauder provides a wide range of beauty care options such as makeup for the face, eyes, and lips, along with various tools like makeup brushes, makeup remover, and nail polish. They also offer numerous skincare products catering to different needs such as firming treatments, age-prevention solutions, anti-wrinkle remedies, moisturizers, and even products designed to promote an even skin tone.

Estee Lauder's Re-Nutriv line offers opulent makeup and skincare products enhanced with genuine gemstones. Additionally, they provide an assortment of fragrances for both genders. Moreover, discounted gift sets are available that include skincare, perfume, and makeup. Estee Lauder primarily caters to the needs of women.

Estee Lauder targets mainly females, specifically those interested in anti-aging products to

maintain their youth. The target market is mature women in their thirties or above, with different income levels ranging from average to high. Estee Lauder offers products priced between $20 and $1000. Within the VALS II consumer categories, the Estee Lauder target market falls under Achievers and Actualizers.

Achievers seek premium products, a category which Estee Lauder specializes in. They enjoy experimenting with different items and although they may try other brands, Estee Lauder understands that they will eventually return due to the exceptional quality of their offerings. As Actualizers are the highest earners, Estee Lauder targets them as potential customers for their luxurious line, ReNutriv. This particular line can be quite expensive, reaching up to $1000 for an 8.4 ounce jar of creme. The Actualizers also exhibit an interest in technology, so the company appeals to them by highlighting the scientific aspects of their new formulas, such as the utilization of Chronolux Technology in their popular Advanced Night Repair product.

Estee Lauder's target market can be divided into two retail target markets: Classic and Update. To cater to the Classic Market, Estee Lauder provides exceptional service at their sales counters in specialty stores. The salespeople are highly knowledgeable and eager to assist customers in finding the perfect makeup match or skincare solution. Unlike the Update Market, the Classic Market does not prioritize sales or discounts, enabling Estee Lauder to maintain higher prices for their products. On the other hand, the Update Market is a more fashion-forward group that seeks to stay up-to-date with trends.

Estee Lauder targets the women's fashion magazine market through advertisements, aiming to attract their attention. To tap into the shopping preferences of this

market, Estee Lauder strategically places their sales counters in department stores like Macys, Lord and Taylor, as well as upscale establishments like Bergdorf Goodman and Nordstrom. A direct competitor of Estee Lauder is Lancome, which falls under the L'Oreal brand umbrella. Lancome offers comparable products and services at competitive prices. In fact, Lancome has its own version of Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair called Genifique.

Both Lancome and Estee Lauder target the same market through advertising in the same magazines. Additionally, Lancome's sales counters are often located near Estee Lauder's counters in department stores. Both brands offer similar discounted gift sets and have promotions for a "free gift with purchase." When it comes to creative strategy, Estee Lauder's magazine ads are typically two pages or placed on the second and fourth cover pages. In American magazines, these advertisements have a dark background, often navy blue or black. Examples include the ads for Double Wear Lipstick, Sensuous by Estee Lauder, and Double Wear Makeup SPF 10, all featuring a black background.

All of the Advanced Night Repair ads feature a navy blue background with a DNA ladder image behind the product photo. However, in the November 2009 issue of UK Cosmo, the company advertised their Bold Volume Lifting Mascara with a golden yellow background. This mascara was exclusively advertised in the UK issue.

No other American magazine featured advertisements for the product. All makeup magazine ads had white text, while the headline "Estee Lauder" appeared in all capital letters at the top or bottom of the ad. The Double Wear Makeup ads consistently placed the "Estee Lauder" headline on the bottom left page, beneath the model's picture. The

perfume ad for Sensuous stood out with purple text, likely due to the model's white shirt. Moreover, the headline of this ad was positioned in the middle of the page, which was highly uncommon for other ads during this period.

All of the advertisements feature a consistent model who is depicted as beautiful, skinny, pale-skinned, and brunette with bright blue eyes and long, lightly wavy hair. It is worth noting that the Advanced Night Repair ad does not include this model. Interestingly, the model always appears on the left page of the ads. Even if she also appears on the right page, there is always a picture of her on the left page as well. This can be seen in the Double Wear Lipstick ad where her head dominates the left page and extends to a profile shot on the right page. Additionally, this same model is showcased in email advertisements and can be accessed through Estee Lauder website's Virtual Makeup Tool.

Regardless of when or where the product was promoted, the visuals remained constant. The Advanced Night Repair advertisement prominently displays a large image of the serum on the page. In the Double Wear Lipstick advertisement, five lipsticks in different shades can be found in the lower right corner. In the Sensuous advertisement, the focus initially falls on the model, who occupies the entire page. The perfume bottle is situated inconspicuously in the lower right corner. Lastly, the Bold Volume Lifting Mascara advertisement features four mascara tubes and a brush also located in the bottom right corner.

The ad for Double Wear Makeup SPF-10 features images of a compact filled with pressed powder, as well as two

liquid foundations placed in the bottom right corner. The Double Wear Lipstick line had three distinct ads during this period, with the only difference being the sub-headlines and amplifications. The September and October ads both had the sub-headline "12-Hour Staying Power."

The December advertisement introduced the "New Double Wear Lipstick" with the sub-headline stating "Double the Wear, Double the Color". The only difference between this advertisement and the ones in September and October was the amplification.

This difference was that only in October was the price of the lipstick shown. The amplification for it read, “$22.00 suggested retail price”. The December ad’s amplification was completely different from the prior two, but still mentioned the same features, advantages, and benefits.

All of the ads had a common action, which was to "shop now at esteelauder.com". There is minimal white space in these ads, with the most noticeable instance being on the back page of the Sensuous ad.

The ad features a large font headline at the top, "Estee Lauder". In the middle is the sub-headline, "Wrap her in warmth and luxury. Seductive Destination 82." At the bottom, there is a picture of the Sensuous gift box, which covers forty percent of the page.

The text "50, Worth over 120. 00” is centrally positioned and surrounded by ample white space, enhancing its visibility. The aim of the advertising campaigns was to inform and persuade. As the Advanced Night Repair and Double Wear Lipstick were new products, Estee Lauder sought to raise awareness about them. These two products received the highest promotional focus during this period.

Both products' ads contained more text compared to previous products in order to provide a clear

explanation of their features. The advertisement for Advanced Night Repair primarily focused on several paragraphs that detailed how the serum effectively addresses damage resulting from environmental factors and genetics. By employing an informative approach, Estee Lauder successfully educated consumers about their new products, ultimately influencing them to make a purchase. The advertisements emphasized that their new technology was exclusive to their brand, backed by scientific evidence, and endorsed by scientists. The ads utilized various execution styles such as slice of life, lifestyle, and scientific evidence.

Slice of life is utilized in the ads for Advanced Night Repair and Double Wear Makeup SPF- 10. The phrase "For every woman, every night" is directly inserted into the Advanced Night Repair ad, indicating that this product is designed for everyday use to reduce signs of aging. Similarly, the Double Wear Makeup SPF- 10 ad states "whether it’s a workday, a workout, or a weekend there’s a Double Wear formula to keep up with your active day," emphasizing that this makeup is suitable for daily wear, regardless of the customer's activities. Lifestyle is also emphasized in all of these advertisements.

Sensuous addresses men and advises them to "Wrap her in warmth and luxury". Estee Lauder aims to demonstrate that the perfume is designed to make women feel opulent and extraordinary when they use it, and that it will uplift their mood. The Double Wear Lipstick enriches a woman's life by simplifying things for her, as she no longer needs to be concerned about her makeup's longevity. They state "apply it once and forget about it", which reassures women that touchups are unnecessary with this lipstick.

Advanced Night Repair claims to decrease

signs of aging caused by past environmental damage and prevent future damage. The ad presents scientific evidence by stating that scientists believe DNA damage accelerates skin aging and the product incorporates 25 years of groundbreaking DNA research and the newly patented Chronolux Technology to combat aging effects. The ad emphasizes that Advanced Night Repair is ahead of its time, implying it is more advanced than other serums on the market today.

The Bold Volume Lifting Mascara advertisement showcases scientific evidence by emphasizing their innovative "BrushComber" that combines the thickening abilities of a brush with the accuracy of a comb. These advertisements effectively inform and persuade consumers by utilizing one or more of these execution styles.

The scientific evidence presented by Estee Lauder informs potential buyers about their distinctive technology, while the execution styles of lifestyle and slice of life aim to persuade customers to make a purchase by highlighting the positive influence on everyday lives. Estee Lauder's advertising campaign primarily appeared in magazines including Elle, Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan U.K., Self, Vogue, Instyle, People, and Glamour. Additionally, their ads were featured on department store websites such as Macys.com and Nordstrom.com.

Estee Lauder regularly sends promotional company emails to their mailing list. They recently ran an ad in Elle Magazine, which reaches 1,105,456 customers. The ad consisted of two full-page, colored bleed ads for their Double Wear Lipstick. The asking price for a colored, one-page bleed ad in December is $138,175. Since they used two pages, the total cost of the ad amounted to $276,350. The CPM (cost per thousand impressions) for this ad was $249.

Elle Magazine has a monthly publication schedule, which means that advertisements are only displayed for one

month. To advertise in Elle, Estee Lauder had to reserve space at least two months ahead of time, allowing for a significant lead time. Moreover, Elle features a large number of ads, resulting in high clutter and making it more challenging for Estee Lauder to effectively reach their target audience. Conversely, Cosmopolitan magazine boasts a customer base of 2,907,436 individuals. As a result, Estee Lauder decided to run their advertisements for Sensuous by Estee Lauder and Double Wear Lipstick in Cosmopolitan.

The price for a one page color ad is $215,900. Estee Lauder's ads were both bleed ads, meaning they cost 15% more, bringing the total price to $248,285. In addition to using two pages for their ads, Estee Lauder included a scent sample (additional insert prices not listed), resulting in a total price of $496,570 per ad. The CPM for each of these ads was $170.

Estee Lauder had to pay for their advertisements at least a month in advance, which means there was a lead time of one month or more for their ads. Since Cosmopolitan is a monthly magazine, it also has a shelf-life of one month. Additionally, Cosmopolitan is mainly made up of advertisements, resulting in high clutter and low frequency. Self magazine reaches 1,516,075 customers. Estee Lauder promoted their Double Wear Makeup SPF-10 on the second cover page and the third page of the magazine.

The second cover page is priced at $200,123. Additionally, the cost for the full color bleed ad on the third page amounts to $97,100. In total, this advertisement sums up to $297,223. The CPM of this ad equals $196.05. Self magazine is published monthly, ensuring that the ad

remains visible for one month.

The magazine is cluttered with a high number of ads, affecting its overall appearance. Vogue has a reach of 1,298,480 customers. In October 2009, Estee Lauder utilized the fourth cover page of this magazine to promote their Advanced Night Repair product through multiple advertisements.

The fourth cover page was priced at $188,922, with a CPM of $145.49. Estee Lauder also ran their Double Wear Lipstick ad and their Advanced Night Repair ad, both two-page color bleed ads, costing $302,266.

The cost per thousand impressions (CPM) for these advertisements was $232.8. Additionally, Vogue is published on a monthly basis, meaning the ad remains visible for one month. Similar to Cosmopolitan, Vogue primarily consists of advertisements, resulting in a high level of competition.

Instyle magazine has a customer reach of 1,738,787. Estee Lauder placed their Advanced Night Repair ad on the magazine's fourth cover page. The cost of this ad placement was $201,800, resulting in a CPM of $116.06.

Instyle magazine is a monthly publication with a one month shelf-life and high advertising clutter. People Magazine has a reach of 3,615,858 customers. In the September 28 issue, Estee Lauder placed a one page color bleed ad at a cost of $266,780, with a CPM of $73.

78. People magazine is published weekly, giving advertisements a shelf-life of one week. Estee Lauder had to send their printing materials about 26 days before the publish date, resulting in a lead time of approximately 26 days. Glamour magazine reaches a customer base of 2,389,915. Estee Lauder placed a two-page colored bleed ad for their Advanced Night Repair product. The cost of a full-page color bleed ad was $200,491.

The total

cost for this ad was $400,982, resulting in a CPM of $167.78. Glamour is published monthly, giving the advertisement a shelf-life of one month. Estee Lauder had to send their ads in at least a month and a half before the publishing date, giving the advertisement a lead time of a month and a half or longer.

During this time period, Estee Lauder frequently distributed promotional emails exclusively to individuals who subscribed to the company's mailing list on their website. These emails, being directly from the company and focused solely on their products, were free of any unnecessary information. They were sent out at regular intervals, resulting in a shorter lifespan compared to magazine ads. Estee Lauder actively utilized sales promotions as a means of product sales.

They frequently provided complimentary items with purchases exceeding a specific amount. To illustrate, in September, Macy's presented a costless gift sack packed with cosmetics for any Estee Lauder purchase of $29.50 or higher. Estee Lauder promoted this gift in the September 28 edition of People Magazine. The gift sack contained a deluxe sample of Advanced Night Repair and two Double Wear Lipsticks, which were prominent products advertised by the company at that time. Additionally, Nordstrom provided complimentary gifts for any transactions totaling $39 or more.

In October, customers who made a $50 Estee Lauder purchase were given the option to choose between four different gift bags. Each bag contained various products that either lifted, reduced, toned, or prevented aging. These gift bags had a total value of $125. Estee Lauder also promoted free shipping for orders over $50 on their website through their promotional emails. Additionally, they provided customers with the

opportunity to choose three free samples with any purchase.
During the month of November, Estee Lauder offered a free gift bag with any purchase totaling $39.

50 that was also valued at $125. Customers were also given the opportunity to select their preferred skincare and makeup shades for their gift. Following the conclusion of this promotion, Estee Lauder introduced their Color Spectacular Promotion. By purchasing any Estee Lauder fragrance, customers could purchase the Estee Lauder Color Spectacular Cosmetic Traveler for just $55. This Cosmetic Traveler contains a total of twenty-five eye shadows and blushes, as well as mascaras, eyeliners, lipsticks, brushes, a travel mirror, and two cases. The total value of this Cosmetic Traveler is over $340. This promotion became available on Estee Lauder's website starting November 16th.

The promotion at Macy's began on November 20th and is ongoing. From 2006 to 2008, Estee Lauder's total sales increased by over one billion dollars, rising from $6,463,800,000 to $7,910,800,000. Their net income also experienced a substantial increase, reaching $244,200,000 three years ago.

Last year, Estee Lauder's net income increased to $473,800,000. Research findings do not provide any evidence of pre-testing or post-testing. Estee Lauder has been focusing on market penetration and production development. Their older skincare and makeup products have been highly successful in the last three years, with sales consistently growing. Additionally, they have launched new skin care products as part of their product development strategy, which is expected to significantly contribute to their sales.

Estee Lauder has been focusing on increasing their market shares in the Asia-Pacific region to compensate for the downturn in the US economy. Despite being the number one country in terms of

sales, the United States and the Americas have experienced economic decline over the past two years. Estee Lauder is hopeful that the Asia-Pacific region will emerge as their top buyer in the future.

References

1. Colbert, C. (2009). The estee lauder companies inc. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from Hoover’s.
2. Cosmopolitan. (2009). Consumer media advertising source. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from SRDS Media Solutions.
3. Datamonitor. (2009, March 13). The estee lauder companies inc.

Retrieved November 28, 2009 from Business Source Complete.

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Gale.

(2009). Estee Lauder Companies Inc. Notable Corporate Chronologies. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from Business and Company Resource Center.

Glamour. (2009).

The Consumer Media Advertising Source was retrieved from SRDS Media Solutions on November 28, 2009.

The following information was retrieved from different sources:
- On November 28, 2009, information about Estee Lauder Companies Inc. was obtained from Nelson's Public Company Profiles, which can be found on LexisNexus.
- Information about people was also obtained.

(2009). Consumer Media Advertising Source. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from SRDS Media Solutions. Self. (2009).

Consumer Media Advertising Source retrieved November 28, 2009 from SRDS Media Solutions.

St. James Press (2008) published "The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. International Directory of Company Histories, Vol."

93. Retrieved November 20, 2009 from Business and Company Resource Center. Vogue. (2009). Consumer Media Advertising Source. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from SRDS Media Solutions.