Marketing a product through the new media

The L'Oreal Beauty Club is a premier online beauty club. It provides the L'Oreal Group with an extensive database serving many purposes. It can be targetted to meet members' needs, trial products, conduct market research and build brand loyalty. It has provided significant savings, having broken the traditional ways to market and sell cosmetics. Most importantly, it optimises the value of customer relationships. As a result of reading this Case Study, the student should be able to:

• Analyse the impact of new technologies on business 
• Identify Internet-based approaches to marketing
• Explain the costs and benefits of a range of traditional and new promotional strategies.

Introduction

L'Oreal is a world leader in cosmetics. Founded in 1907, the L'Oreal Group now markets over 500 brands - from L'Oreal Paris skincare and Maybelline New York make-up to luxury brands including Helena Rubinstein and Lancome.

Advertising: the traditional approach

L'Oreal Paris, the signature brand of the L'Oreal Group, operates at the prestige end of the mass health and beauty market with a range of skincare, cosmetics and home hair colour for women of all ages.

A new approach to promotion

The L'Oreal Beauty Club - www.lorealbeautyclub.com.au - is a loyalty programme, supported electronically and designed to reach and hold customers, especially women.

The power of the database

Information about members is stored on a database that becomes the foundation for the success of the club.

Working in partnership

The nature of the communications medium required a non-traditional approach to advertising.

Ongoing market research

The L'Oreal Beauty Club is an e-newsletter, a tailored publication sent directly to the member's inbox.

Evaluating the campaign

The L'Oreal Beauty Club is renowned as Australia's premier online beauty club.

Conclusion

L'Oreal has made savings by using the club for quantitative and qualitative research, a big budget item.