Where many cosmetics companies fall afoul of powerful feminist groups, Bobbi Brown's commitment to enhancing natural beauty and her ability to remain CEO even following a major corporate merger sets Bobbi Brown apart from other cosmetics giants in that shopping for Bobbi Brown cosmetics of utilizing her instructional videos and books is not cognitively dissonant with feminist theory. The Bobbi Brown aesthetic is another major branding point. Rather than working with over used extremely commercial looks, Bobbi has never been afraid to do something completely different than what all the competitors were doing with startling success. Following the acquisition of her company by Estee Lauder, the company began to suffer as a result of both extremely inexpensive reproductions as well as an imposing corporate structure which limited the ability of the creative team to work as artists and not simply as employees of a corporation. Sensing the decline in the brand Brown made the decision to move headquarters to a more artistically friendly environment. The move to SoHo, drastically changed the public image of the brand emphasizing a more liberal and artistic organization as opposed to just another branch of a large multinational conglomerate.

Brown's commitment to independence from any aesthetic or image than her own has made her infinitely easy to brand. Her decision to move from a prestigious office building into a loft and her life in a New Suburb are fairly iconic for the image. She is an artist and a mother and she markets to "every woman." As a brand, Bobbi Brown is not defined by age or by income level. Rather a commitment to natural beauty and artistry.

Promotion:

Bobbi Brown cosmetics is an innovator in promotional advertising. Throughout the course of the company's history they have pioneered not only groundbreaking models they have also moved away from the more traditionally commercial look of print campaigns favoring a more artistic and editorial look. The website is relatively free of catchy slogans and more generic marketing tools and focuses on real feedback from industry insiders as well as creative use of color and video to highlight the diversity of their range of products as well as their commitment to artistic vision.

Bobbi Brown also has a number of different websites highlighting different aspects of the overall cosmetics company. These additional sites feature similr colors, songs, and interactive video and chat features which provide an easily identifiable continuity for customers positively linking colors and music to the brand which help to keep the brand as well as the websites in the forefront of people's minds. The diversity of sites though all funnel customers back to the central cosmetics site which aids in increasing viewer spending. The close connection between all of the Bobbi Brown products and the marketing of Bobbi Brown as a lifestyle rather than a specific lipstick, blush, or book makes it much easier to offer cross product promotions which may result in an individual who would not otherwise have begun using either the books, the cosmetics, or the brushes and fragrances an opportunity to try them ultimately leading to long-term loyalty. The branding of Bobbi Brown as a lifestyle also increases the likelihood that if a customer is going to begin purchasing Brown cosmetic products, that they will be likely to begin using other products as well.

Bobbi Brown has syndicated columns in a number of international publications as well as fairly regular appearances on talk and radio shows internationally. By partnering with these other companies, Brown secured excellent promotion of her products both on the site (most of the product descriptiosn are accompanied by a testimonial from an industry insider) as well as in a variety of other publications with diverse viewer and readership. Further, as a result of these favorable partnering, Brown is able to offer not only cross product incentives but even cross company incentives as well as access to events hosted by the companies she works with. Simply being part of the Bobbi Brown aesthetic is an all inclusive lifestyle which gives customers a sense of personal voice as well as access to industries, individuals, and events they would not otherwise have had access to. Also, allowing customers to write reviews for products which will be published on the site is a fantastic way of making sure that the customers feel not only valued but actively involved in the company.

Social Networking:

Through the site they are able to post purchases and gifts through a number of social networking sites such as twitter and facebook. There is even an option to upload tutorials to youtube. This strategy allows customers to feel empowered as well as enjoying the relative prestige of being able to advertise their affiliation with such a famous brand. Further, these social networking sites allow Bobbi Brown to advertise effectively both in terms of cost and maximum visibility any upcoming events or product launches.
The use of social networking tools on the website has more than simply the purpose of generating buzz about new products and the brand itself. It also allows researchers to collect data regarding the relationship between viewing and trending patterns. If say there is a major fashion event happening, and Bobbi Brown make up is being used in the show, researchers can see how significantly the amount of views the site gets as well as the increase in general spending on the site increases or decreases. This allows the marketing team to focus their efforts either on building stronger connections in certain areas or withdrawing resources from other already well established areas for reallocation. These sites also allow the company to track more effectively customer feedback on individual products following the purchase. In the process of research and development this information is invaluable. It is not enough to know that one product is not selling, the genuinely probative information is in the reason why the product is not selling. That information disseminated throughout the company can ensure that products will have a positive reception not only by listening to what the customers say they want but also being able to positively correlate a new product with an existing product.

Recommendations:

Careful analysis of Bobbie Brown.co.uk website and associated literature has lead to several recommendations which may improve the overall traffic flow to the site as well as increasing the amount of business generated by the website. Though the site itself is very productive, contributing to the half billion dollars in revenue generated by Bobbi Brown cosmetics there are a number of areas which can be improved perhaps resulting in an even greater contribution.

Though it is quite novel to have the first page of the site be a video of the application of make up in keeping with the latest campaign, the immediate inundation of music which cannot be muted can be off putting to visitors to the site. It is also difficult to stop the video, needing to click specifically on another page of the site in order to navigate away from it. It might be more effective to have the video playing in a smaller box as part of a more unifying front page, with clearly visible controls to mute and/or stop the video at the viewers convenience. Because the visitor is forced to make an immediate decision about where specifically to go in the site, a great deal of potential business is lost in the inability to spend time browsing initially before navigating specifically to the desired product or product range.

The special offers available are also not capitalized on properly. The cosmetics and accessories ranges offered are fairly up market products. The average college student or young professional will not likely be able to afford to stock their make up bag with such products unless they are on sale or presented as part of a special offer. Because the majority of customers are part of the category of individuals who likely cannot afford to spend a great deal of money on cosmetics regularly more prominent placement of the "offers" section and re titling of the "last chance" to another less negative title may increase sales.

Finally, though the website offers "chat with an artist" it may be an idea to offer specific sessions where they are able to interact with Brown herself. Chatting with an artist is an extremely useful and novel approach as it helps make people perhaps less experienced with make up and the various products they might need feel more comfortable. However giving customers a chance to actually interact with the CEO herself would be an unprecedented level of access which will not only result in a great deal of media attention but it will also allow for the collection of completely original marketing research as well as allowing the company…