Brand Extension

After much deliberation and research, I decided to make a brand extension that is for pre-teens.  I feel like this market has a lot of potential, but no one has yet to make a successful beauty line for young girls.  The company already has an organic line, several lines just for women, a mens line, several fragrance lines, prescription products, pet products, etc... The only hole I could find is for young girls.  Working at Clinique, each day I have young girls come in with their moms who want to start wearing makeup, but there really is nothing for them.  The make-up will be designed especially for them so they can maintain their youth, and the skincare products will be basic as well.  Girls can never too young to start taking care of their skin.  I think that this extension could easily become part of the Clinique brand.  With a name like Clinique behind it, it is destined to do well.

My four products will consist of both make-up and skincare products.

A lipgloss in sheer colors with fruity scents.

A sheer pressed powder in a full range of colors.  Made for sensitive skin and easy to remove with soap and water.

A face wash that has a fresh scent and is non-irriating.

A light moisturizer that is oil-free and will keep their skin hydrated.

The pictures are just ideas of how I think the products should be represented.  The packaging will be simple and youthful, not tacky.  It is all about making the girls feel good.

These four products would be a great start because they are the most basic items that should be in any young girls beauty regimen.  Girls are starting to wear makeup younger and younger these days, so there should be a brand that is made just for them and is good for them.

My Online Advertisement

I had to take a different approach for my advertisement because of two reasons.  The first reason is because my company encompasses so many brands and the other reason being that cosmetic lines do not put out product information this far in advance.  I wanted to make a general advertisement that could be used for the Spring 2012 season to make everyone aware of how great the company is.  Most of the time cosmetic company's existing products are where they make the most profit.  My online advertisement is similar to a lot of the Clinique advertisements that are used in magazines and online.  They have one big catch phrase, and then there is a witty, matter-of-fact paragraph at the bottom explaining everything.  I chose to do an advertisement that incorporated all of the brands under the umbrella because I don't think that people realize how many brands are owned by Estee Lauder.  How I see it is that as long as someone is using an Estee Lauder brand, it is benefiting the company no matter which brand it is.  I wanted it to be simple.  It seems like it has a lot of words, but I think that the words are powerful enough to hold their own, without a lot of pictures.

Why choose 1 when you can have all 27?

The Estee Lauder Corporation encompasses around 27 brands.  Ever heard of Clinique? MAC? Origins? These are all part of the Estee Lauder Corporation.  Using these brands means that you are using some of the most advanced products in the world.  We look forward to bringing you some amazing new products in spring 2012.

Spring 2012 Forecasting

Not much information is present for the Spring 2012 color trend collections.  What I did find was actually really great, though.  Tom Pecheux, the creative director for Estee Lauder, is known for creating make-up looks for such runway shows as YSL and Derek Lam.   I found some information on the Spring 2012 Derek Lam show where he came up with the make-up looks.  I think that these make-up looks will coincide with the future trends for Estee Lauder as a brand.







The specific products/colors used on the two models are as follows:

Face• Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex
• Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator
• DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant Creme SPF 15
• New foundation tested backstage (launching March 2012)
• Double Wear Concealer Stay-in-Place Flawless Wear Concealer SPF 10
• Lucidity Translucent Loose Powder
• Pure Color Blush tested backstage (launching February 2012)

Eyes• Pure Color EyeShadow Palette in Yellow shade (#5) used (launching January 2012)
• Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow in Cyber Copper (launching November 2011)
• Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow in Cyber Green (launching November 2011)
• Pure Color Intense Kajal EyeLiner in Blackened Olive (launching November 2011)
• Sumptuous Extreme Mascara in Extreme Copper

Lips• Pure Color Gloss in Citron Kiss (launching January 2012)

Nails• Pure Color Nail Lacquer in Nude Attitude (available in select International markets)

Color/Product information is from a blog by Phyllis on makeupforlife.net

http://makeupforlife.net/2011/09/runway-beauty-derek-lam-spring-2012-makeup.html

As you can see, Spring 2011 and Spring 2012 are very different.  This is common in the beauty industry, brands always like to come out with something new and different each season.  2012 is going to be much more natural, but still using hints of bright colors like yellows and greens. 

Fal 2011 Trends

Like before, I will discuss two different brands under the Estee Lauder umbrella and I will share their Fall 2011 color trend information.

Clinique Fall 2011 trend consists of a whole collection revolving around one of Clinique's most beloved favorites, black honey.  Black honey is an "almost lipstick" that looks very dark in the package but goes on much more sheer.  It is beautiful because it looks different on every woman that wears it, but brings out an attractive color on everyone.  The collection of course has the original black honey lipstick in it, but also some limited edition items.  There was a dual-ended lipgloss/lipstick in the black honey color as well as a limited edition eye shadow quad.  There was also a cream eyliner in black honey and a gradient powder blusher in the same hues as the lipstick.




I think that this was a great collection for fall because the black honey color represents fall so well.  The collection sold well, and like most Clinique trends, sold out in a short amount of time.  Clinique seems to always hit right on with the trends each season because they always gain alot of hype and sell incredibly quickly.

The Estee Lauder Fall 2011 trend is titles "Modern Mercury".  The model is Constance, who is their French model and is seen wearing a sultry makeup look including a red lip.

This is the limited edition "powder-gelee" which is a blush/highlighter that can be worn light or heavy.  It is a new product that Estee Lauder is launching in this trend, so they will see how well it does and it might turn into a permanent item on their line-up.

This collection contains all of your color basics including lipstick, shadow, liners, blush and nail polish.  It is a very sultry collection, which can be seen by the advertisment.  It is advertising a done up eye look matched with a bright lip which embodies an old-hollywood make-up style.  I think that this collection will do well for Estee Lauder because it uses elements of modernity that will mix well with their younger clientele, but also the classic elements, like the red lipstick, which will sit well with the older clientele.

Overall, both collections have similar trends and colors.  They both have a darker lip look matched with a more dramatic eye look.  Fall is always a great season to play with color, so these collections give the customer a chance to purchase some really great items to do just that.

Spring 2011 Collections

I am going to focus in on just 2 of the Estee Lauder brands so I can thoroughly discuss their Spring 2011 collections.  Similar to clothing brands, cosmetic brands introduce new color trend collections most every season.  They are not normally as extensive as what some of the most well-known designers runway collections might be.  They normally contain anywhere from 5 to 20 new colors, products, formulas, etc...
The first collection I am going to show you is the Spring 2011 Estee Lauder color collection.











The trend includes a gorgeous picture of Liu Wen who is one of the new faces of the Estee Lauder brand.  The first photo is of the advertisment that is on the counter displays.  She is seen wearing many of the colors that are represented.  Also, the Spring 2011 collection contained a new fragrance called Aromatics Elxir which is a fresh, floral scent that goes great with all of the other items in the collection.  The collection includes single shadows in several colors, a five-pan shadow compact in one color option, lipticks, lipglosses,  an eye line, a mascara and a nail polish, most of which are limited edition.  The main color theme was obviously viloets which have a reputation of looking beautiful on every woman.

They next collection I am going to share with you is Clinique's Spring 2011 trend.










Like I told you guys before, I currently work for Clinique.  My first season at the counter was when this collection came out.  I was so excited because I have always been a fan of Milly, and I thought it was great that we were going to collaborate with the Milly brand. Milly has a sense of preppiness mixed with a beachy flair. This collection consisted of a compact that had 4 limited edition eye shadow colors in pinks, browns and golds, and it also included a bright peachy-pink blush.  The compact had a flower pattern on the case and it also came with a special Milly bag that can be seen in the second to last picture.  There was also a lipgloss that was names "Milly Pink" that was limited edition as well.  This collection was incredibly successful and sold out almost immediatly.  The last picture shows what the actual collection looked like set up on the counter.

All of the sources I used...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/business/27lauder.html?pagewanted=all

http://www.gcimagazine.com/business/management/sustainability/128835468.html?page=1

http://www.aveda.com/discover/acting_responsibly.tmpl

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/10/109458/EsteeLauder2011AR.lr150dpi.pdf

http://www.elcompanies.com/the_company/fabrizio_freda.php

http://www.quitpalestine.org/esteeslaughter/estee.html

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/lauder_estee_companies/index.html

http://www.elcompanies.com/Pages/Homepage.aspx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64SnLJ8qPM4

What's in the future?

The future for the Estee Lauder brands is to continually understand and research the ways that customers like to shop.  They understand that the days of pushy salespeople are over, and they are finding ways to service the customers in a stress free environment.  Fabrizio Freda, the CEO of Estee Lauder, is implementing "Express Counters" into some of his stores.  These are request only lines for customers that are in a hurry.  Freda understands that our world moves faster than ever, so to keep up he must find ways for customers to get served as quickly as possible.  Also, the brands are becoming more technically savvy.  Some brands now have skin typing machines at the counter in the form of an iPad.  Here the customer can quickly type in their personal information and the machine will print out the results immediately.

The company will also continue to expand globally.  As of 2010 they existed in 150 countries and they have found great success from their global stores.  They do understand that they do not want to over-saturate the market, so they will not over expand.  They are becoming more globally diverse by "new models — from China, Puerto Rico and France — a logical move for a company that is trying to expand its audience both at home and abroad".


Of course with all makeup lines, new and updated products that create excitement are the most obvious way to keep a brand updated.  With Estee Lauder becoming more modernized, this is bringing new customers into the store on a regular basis.  I have included some pictures of new products that have come out recently or will be coming out soon for these brands.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/business/27lauder.html?pagewanted=all

Sustainability Efforts

Straight from the Estee Lauder annual report- "We achieved $1.75 million in savings from energy conservation efforts, increased the recycling of our manufacturing waste by an additional 50 percent and initiated a new company-wide “Green Chemistry Initiative” to measure our progress in reducing our overall environmental impact over the course of our products’ life cycles, from sourcing to recycling. We truly believe that what is good for the world is good for our business and we will strive to contribute in positive ways for years to come."

This one statement that was made by William Lauder himself proves that EL cares about the environment.  I think it is amazing that they increased recycling by 50 percent!  Its great to know that they are able to benefit their own company and the world at the same time by conserving energy.  They saved $1.74 million by doing this. They are finding more efficient ways to package products, and decreasing the amount of packaging materials when these items are shipped to stores.  They believe it is not just what is in the product, but how it is manufactured that makes it sustainable.

One way that EL has really increased their sustainability efforts is through one of their brands, Aveda.  This brand is centered around the fact that it is eco-friendly, being that it was the first beauty company to be totally run by wind and turbine power.  They used 100% recycled packaging, and their efforts could go on and on for days.  I included a picture of their website that shows all of the ways they are "going green".

Its quite obvious that EL takes their sustainability efforts seriously because it was one of the first pages of their annual report.  The company as a whole is making an effort, but some of their specific brands are taking it a step further.  I think it is amazing that they take part in so many sustainability efforts because not only does it benefit the company and the consumer, but it benefits the environment.

http://www.gcimagazine.com/business/management/sustainability/128835468.html?page=1

http://www.aveda.com/discover/acting_responsibly.tmpl

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/10/109458/EsteeLauder2011AR.lr150dpi.pdf

Lauder Financial Information

I found the Estee Lauder Companies annual financial report on their company website.  A lot of the things that I read, I found to be very interesting.  The first thing that caught my eye was the amount of money they donated to breast cancer.  According to the report, in 2011, the company donated 6.5 million dollars to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.   Also, they had many milestones in year 2011.  They hit a record net sales of $8.8 billion with a 13% increase from last year.  It had been a huge year for EL, they have introduced many amazing new market altering products in an attempt to modernize the brand. They have updated counter displays and packaging, but only with much research that would guarantee increased profits.  I think that this company is one of the most influential companies in the world because they are always finding ways to better themselves whether it is through profits, donations, products, or their image.

Recent Social Issues

One of the most recent controversies involved M.A.C.  One of their spokeswomen, Sandra Bernhard, was the lead in an online advertisement for M.A.C and said somethings that were very offensive to a lot of the brands customers.  The brand agreed that a lot of the statements were a bad representation of the Estee Lauder brand as a whole and redid the video to exclude the political statements.  I have posted a link to the original video so you can watch it for yourself.  The Estee Lauder corporation eventually removed the video (although it is still on youtube) and publicly apologized.

Another controversy surrounding the company involves Ronald Lauder.  He is partly Jewish and supports Israel activities.  Pro-palestinian activists started to boycott the brand because of its support to Israel.  They then formed the "Estee Slaughter" campaign which came up with products like bloody hand cream and kill me lip bomb.  They gave out free samples of these products while boycotting a Macy's store.  I have attached the full article.

Estee Lauder did not make any comments that I could find about this issue.  They should have done more to understand other's concerns.

http://www.quitpalestine.org/esteeslaughter/estee.html

These are just some of the more recent issues that have been in the media with Estee Lauder, but over the years there have been many other little controversies surrounding the company.  When there is a company with such power as Estee Lauder, issues with the public are inevitable.

Introduction to the Estee Lauder Mega-Brand

Lets begin by clearing up any confusion…

Estee Lauder is the parent company to many other brands, but Estee Lauder is also an entity on its own.

The Estee Lauder umbrella consists of about 27 brands (this can change due to discontinued cosmetic lines or fragrances).  It is a publicly traded company.

Some of the most well known brands include Estee Lauder, Clinique, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, Aveda and Origins.  Others that might not be so well known include Ojon, Bumble and Bumble, DKNY fragrance, Smashbox, Stila and Tom Ford beauty.

The companies headquarters is in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.  This seems like a very smart decision for them since a lot of what is new in fashion and beauty begins in New York City.

The company was begun by Estee Lauder herself.  She begun with a fragrance called Youth Dew.  She built her brand on her amazing selling skills and with her great imagination.  Estee Lauder finally convinced Saks Fifth Avenue to allow her to sell her perfume in their store, in which they gave her the worst spot on the sales floor.  Rumor has it that she “accidentally” spilled a bottle of Youth Dew on the floor, which then attracted customers to purchase her perfume and it became and instant success.  She passed away in 2004, and her company was passed on to her family members.

The Lauder family controls about 70% of the current Estee Lauder brand, which is pretty remarkable.  Leonard Lauder, William Lauder, and Aerin Lauder are just three of the remaining family members that help to control the brand.  

Suprisingly the CEO of the company is not a family member.  His name is  Fabrizio Freda and he has been CEO since 2009.  He has a great background in cosmetics and had worked for Estee Lauder for many years before being promoted to CEO.  I am including a link that has some great information on him straight from the Estee Lauder website.

http://www.elcompanies.com/the_company/fabrizio_freda.php

About me and my blog!

This is my new blog where I will be reporting on the Estee Lauder Companies.  Estee Lauder is a huge umbrella company that consists of many different brands.  Some of these brands include Clinique, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, etc…  I chose this company to research because I currently work at Clinique and I thought this would be a great way to learn more about the company I work for.

Now that I explained that, let me tell you about myself…

 My name is Megan and I am about to turn 21.  I am a Fashion Merchandising major at Middle Tennessee State University.  This project is for my Fashion Branding class.  I think this assignment is a great way for us to learn about a company and put our research into a medium that is very applicable to my generation.   I have a brother that lives in Nashville that also goes to MTSU, so I visit him in Nashville as often as possible.  I love living in the Nashville area and being able to enjoy all of the things that come with living here.

I look forward to posting all of my findings on here on a regular basis!