Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Real Techniques new Bold Metals collection: Social Media Monitoring 2

CURRENT METRICS
Comparing to previous metrics:

GoogleTrends

IceRocket


According to Google Trends Bold Metals collecting has rapid decline in interest. On recent IceRocket chart there is a high spike some time around March 8. Lats take a look at what happened then. There was this picture posted on Instagram at that time:
The first thing you see is a pile of Real Techniques original line make-up brushed. But if you look closer or read the description - these brushes have Sam and Nic's signatures on them. These are going to be hidden on the shelves in stores worldwide for fans to find them. By the number of likes we can say that people are excited already.
As we can seen, campaign is starting to slowly die out. There is an evident decline in almost all statistical data.There are less mention, less hash-tags. However there is a more positive sentiment now than it was three weeks ago.

COMPANY’S GEOGRAPHY
Using Alexa.com to analyze company’s website I found some interesting and surprising statistics -website is 3.5 times more popular in U.S. then it is in UK. However Google trends show that Real Techniques search volume index in U.S. is 25, while in UK it’s 87. Do UK people buy Real Techniques products somewhere else? Do U.S. people go straight to the company's website? Unfortunately these questions I can't answer. Yet.

TARGET AUDIENCE, DEMOGRAPHICS AND FEEDBACK
In their new product launch video on YouTube Sam and Nic claim that Bold Metals is a premium brush line at higher price, and that is exactly what they wanted to create. They also make a promise that their original brush line, which is the best at its price range, is not going anywhere and will be added with new brushes.
Real Techniques original brush line is known to be budget friendly. Therefor the main target audience war a mix of teens, students and then professionals or older ladies who have more low to average income. So there have been a gap in the market and Sam and Nic exploited it.

Some people have been complaining about the fact that Bold Metals brushes are too expensive for being drug store brushes, but the fact is that they are not drug store make-up brushes, they are premium/high-end brushes that are being sold in drugstores.
Higher price point is pretty much self-explanatory as this line is specifically targeting a more professional, higher end demographic. The brushes are priced higher for a reason – they are of a better quality, they have weighted handles for better application, feature new sleek design.
The problem is that people are used to the fact that Real Techniques brushes are reasonably priced and suitable for everyone. So with new Bold Metals line people were expecting the same price range.
It may be concluded that Real Techniques make-up brushes – both originals and new Bold Metals – are targeting women (as seen on snap shot) of all age and income level.
Alexa.com
 
BRAND SWOT ANALYSIS 
Strengths
Weaknesses
-          Experienced in beauty industry;
-          Good reputation among web community;
-          High quality products;
-          Vegan/cruelty free make-up brushes made of synthetic material Taklon;
-          Wide price range;
-          Product presence online including Amazon and in stores;
-          Instructional videos on the products;
-          Friendly attitude to customers/viewers.
-           Poor marketing campaigns in the rest of the world (besides UK and U.S.);
-          Lack of present on big live beauty related events;
-          Very few collaborations with other brands/YouTubers.
Opportunities
Threats
-          A lot of marketing ideas and opportunities (as it is a rather new company and has its reliable audience);
-          Upcoming events can widen the targeting audience.

-          Rather intense competition in the market of beauty products;
-          A great number of new brands appearing as the years go by;
-          Possible reduction in sales in Russia effected by sanctions.

HOW CAN REAL TECHNIQUES GET MORE POPULARITY AND CUSTOMERS IN U.S. AND GLOBAL MARKET?
Beauty Conventions
The fact that Real Techniques has already built up their target audience doesn’t mean they can’t widen it. Empowering your customers and fans on social media websites is great, but nothing can be better than real life interactions (or both combined). "Bandwagon" effect plays a huge role here as well! When people see something they are passionate about in real life, whether it’s an object or a person or both, they experience unity with them and a sense of belonging. Imagine seeing one of your favorite actors in real life – you will probably scream with joy and when you will come back home you would more likely want to watch a movie with this actor. In our case – get home and buy some make-up brushes and tools. The same affect happens with our beautiful ladies – San and Nic. People attending beauty conventions and events are probably the most active buyers of beauty products, but at the same time – the more critical ones. Luckily the Real Techniques products can stand fire (not real fire though)!
In fact, Real Techniques holds its own events - #RTRoadshow (Real Techniques Roadshow). 
Company invites to attend the events where people can meet Sam & Nic, shop Real Techniques brushes, and win great prizes. The roadshow started in April 2014 and will end in April/May 2015. 17 events total - 8 in U.S. and 9 in Europe. 4 events left – all of them in U.S. Next upcoming event – contest, meet&great and high tea + consultation for the winner in Chicago, IL. 
the map shows pictures uploaded with  #RTRoadshow
Recommendations:
Although it’s good that Real Techniques is holding its own events, but as of U.S. market it’s probably not very helpful. Instead the following could be a smart thing to do:
-   Collaborate with other brands that are popular in the U.S.
-   Attend big beauty events like BeautyCon
BeautyCon was opened to the public for the first time in 2013. Unlike other trade show events it is catering to online personality market, mostly teen-girls. Attendance has increased from a few thousand attendees at BeautyCon LA 2013, to over 7,000 in 2014, with over 22 countries represented.

Should I mention that these kinds of real live events have a huge impact on social media – vblogs, blog posts, Instagram pictures, new hashtags, tweets etc. Speaking of YouTube, the number of vlogs and hauls from BeautyCon grow correlatively with the growing number of attendees –7.7 million views on YouTube in 2013 nearly doubled in 2014 with 15.5 million views.
There are eight upcoming cosmetic and beauty productsindustry trade fairs in U.S. this year, besides BeatyCon. This year BeautyCon has already made it in Dallas, TX. Three upcoming events will take place in LA, NY and London (!).

YouTube promotion through collaborations and sponsored videos
Even though Real Techniques has a good presence on YouTube platform it doesn’t mean that’s enough. There are some great marketing steps that can be done via YouTube.
Recommendations:
-   Collaborate with other YouTubers (tutorials etc.)
-   Give out free products to beauty gurus to make reviews on
-   Spread some discount coupons to the viewers
YouTubers are really good at spreading word of mouth as they have got some influence on people watching their videos. Some of the most popular beauty gurus have millions of subscribers. Both big and small companies give away discount coupon codes on their products though YouTubers. This is also a good idea for Real Techniques to try.

Search Engines Promotion
Real Techniques appear in “natural” search results for “make-up brushes”:
Google – 1 page
Bing–5 page
According to statistics, Google is the most used search engine in UK, U.S. and the world in general. However statistics show that Bing is quite popular in U.S. and it has more sponsored links appeared in search results than Google.
Recommendations:
Considering doing promotions on Google or/and Bing might be a good idea for the company.

Highlight vegan factor
The fact that Real Techniques brushes are cruelty free and therefor vegan may be appealing to a big part of world population. The bristles of Real Techniques brushes are made of Taklon - synthetic material. Taklon has many benefits: 
- cruelty free, 
- more sanitary, 
- provides better application of products.
Recommendations:
Emphasize the fact that their brushes are made out of synthetic material and yet are as soft as if made out of real animal fur. Use it in campaigns.

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