CosPro Agency executed another incredibly successful event!  Our professional makeup artists promoted Maybelline’s Color Sensational Lip Color and the Pulse Perfection Mascara wand in 479 CVS stores nationwide over the last two weekends in September! 44% of the customers that received the demonstration had not tried either of these products – so this provided great product awareness. And the CVS customer appreciated being able to test the products.

The event resulted in over 5,100 sales — averaging 10.5 pieces of product sold at each store in just 4 hours!  For every makeover performed, the makeup artists at least one product and we averaged 125% closure rate!

Retail stores are using more third-party companies to assist in sustaining and building their sales in today’s tough economic climate.  While budgets get cut and staff is reduced, sales can go into a tailspin as marketing efforts are reduced.  By hiring outside firms to bolster their scaled-back marketing teams, chains are finding great results with less investment.

Cosmetic Promotions, Inc. (CPI); a marketing and promotional company based in Winter Park, Florid,a is a prime example of such a company.  Working with the Beauty Category and Marketing Managers at chains such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, Winn Dixie, and Sears, they design and implement programs and specialty events that relieve the overworked marketing staff and bring in new sales for the chains.

At Walgreens, CPI handles their monthly Beauty Box program.  This program involves sending a monthly “red box” to every store’s Beauty Department. Walgreens has between one and six beauty advisors (BAs) in each of their 7000 stores - on average 3.2 BAs in each store.  The monthly box contains kits from the various beauty vendors such as Revlon, L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Unilever. Inside each kit are marketing tools ranging from signs and customer samples to continuing education training. BAs are encouraged to read and use the materials by entering to win prizes if they send in a quiz postcard for each brand.  CPI grades the postcards and sends the prizes direct to the winners.

When Walgreens eliminated its Beauty Supervisor positions, CPI created a Red Book training program for the stores to help fill the gap. The Beauty Supervisors were responsible for arranging training seminars for their stores. Without this layer, training was becoming difficult to achieve.  The Red Book program provides a book on all the brands that are stocked in the department. Each BA who completes the 50-question Red Book Quiz receives a diploma. So far over 2000 diplomas have been sent out for 2009.

In May, CPI teamed with Coty Fragrances for a Mother’s day fragrance sampling event at 200 Walgreens stores.  More than 6,300 customers received a fragrance demo and 40,000 samples were distributed. In addition, over 750 pieces were sold that day.  Some 80% of the customers had never tried one or more of the fragrances, and 72% of the customers surveyed said they would purchase at a later time, which should result in future sales.

To attract more women to its stores this season, Sears launched its upscale cosmetic and fragrance presentations in 13 stores in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.  CPI assisted in their launch of full beauty departments by conducting makeovers for four brands: Yves Rocher, Iman, L’Oreal, and Maybelline.  Almost 800 makeovers were completed during the 2-day event, which resulted in over 1,000 pieces sold - an impressive 127% closure rate. The professional makeup artists helped consumers choose the right colors and products for them.  Some 77% of the customers had never tried Yves Rocher and 69% had never tried Iman before the event, providing massive exposure to these two exlusive brands.  L’Oreal had the highest sales, with almost 15 pieces per store during the event and 400 coupons distributed to stimulate future L’Oreal sales.  Each vendor had 8 hours of demonstration time in each of the 13 stores. Some 98% of those surveyed wanted more such free makeover events at the stores. A short video was produced of the event for Sears to use in their promotional materials. On December 5^th and 12^th, the same 13 stores will host a similar event featuring Iman, Rimmel, Milani and L’Oreal brands.

At Winn Dixie, Cosmetic Buyer Karen Lagarde engaged CPI to execute a special makeover/demonstration event in their top 25 stores - most in South Florida.  The stores had an event every Saturday during September and four vendors - L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble, Wet n’ Wild, and Pacific World - shared a professional makeup artist to entice consumers to sample beauty products while doing their food shopping.  Winn Dixie sent an email blast to their Customer Rewards Card members in these markets and had in-store signs publicizing the event in the weeks leading up to it.  More than 300 pieces were sold during the event.  To add value and excitement, CPI worked with six vendors to prepare a free beauty sample bag that was distributed during the event.  Winn Dixie is pleased with the sales lift and say they intends to replicate the event before the end of the year.

At Rite Aid, CPI assists their marketing team and beauty department with various community sampling programs. Their Glam Camp Teen Program has been very successful for more than 3 years.  Street teams hand out Glam Camp duffle bags filled with beauty samples at teen-oriented events such as concerts, beauty pagaents, cheerleading camps, and college campus events.  In addition, they bring the teens back to Rite Aid via their annual Back to School campaign, which involves a spread in Seventeen Magazine, Gift with Purchase program, Glam Camp web page, and in-store makeover event.  The Back to School makeovers were conducted at 200 top Rite Aid stores and featured professional makeovers or demonstrations on St Ives, Wet n Wild, Black Radiance, Veet and Clearasil products. More than 2200 pieces were sold during the event, over 3300 demonstrations performed and the website had over 32,000 hits during the August - October time period of the event.  Other sampling events target demographics such as African-American, Hispanic, and the new Men’s sampling program.

For more information on these and other events, contact Joann Tyson (joann@cosmeticpromotions.com or 888-644-9916)

Cosmetic Sales at Drug and Discount Stores Rise Due to In-store Demonstrations

Shoppers visiting Shopko stores in June were surprised to find professional makeup artists promoting CoverGirl products such as Simply Ageless Foundation, TRUblend Foundation and Loose Powder, Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner, Eye Enhancer Eye Shadow, and Eyelights Mascara.  Over 560 customers took advantage of the free makeover and that translated in almost 2000 sales in just 4 hours! 38% of the customers who had the makeover had never used CoverGirl cosmetics and were glad to be able to try before they bought. In addition, 3000 coupons were distributed which will bring the customers back, and 51% of customers surveyed intended to make a purchase.

The Saturday event was supported by an ad and the same store sales increased in these 93 stores by 17% in dollars and almost 23% in units. The chain is considering offering more such events combined with super saver ad programs.

Over at Navarro Drugs, a small chain catering to a mainly Hispanic market, professional, bi lingual makeup artists demonstrated TruBlend Liquid Makeup, Simply Ageless Foundation, TruConcealer, Wetslicks, Lash Blast Luxe ,Eye Enhancers, TruCheeks Blush, Perfect Point Eyeliner  and Continuous Lipstick to customers. Over 267 pieces were sold in less than 4 hours in the 10 Miami area stores. Of those who didn’t purchase that day, 30% indicated intent to buy. At both Navarro and Shopko, customers could enter to win a free beauty basket filled with CoverGirl Products - one per store.

Both programs were completely coordinated and executed by Cosmetic Promotions Inc. The company secures the professional makeup artists, trains them and handles all the details to insure a successful event.

In store events and 2 page magazine spread for Back to School

Harrisburg, PA - Teen spending in the U.S. is expected to reach $208.7 billion by 2011, an increase despite an estimated 3% decline in the 12-17 year old population. Currently, Teens make up over 11% of the U.S. population and are an important target market to RITE AID with its various Glam Camp programs including sampling, a gift with purchase and in-store events all geared towards teen girls 13-19.

The September Seventeen magazine issue (on counter August 10th), will feature a 2-page Glam Camp ad announcing this year’s mega Back to School event happening at RITE AID throughout August and September. Teens can receive a free Glam Camp beauty sample bag by mail when they purchase any 3 items featured in the Glam Camp ad. Maybelline, Clearasil, NYC Cosmetics, Sally Hansen Nails, Got2Be hair, Veet, Loves Baby Soft and Phisoderm are the participating brands.  Seventeen is promoting the gift with purchase event via their website and email blasts. In addition, teens can visit www.riteaid.com/GlamCamp for more details. RITE AID will also promote the event in their August-September Circulars and it is part of the August and September Single Check Rebate Catalog.

At store level, the ad is supported with special signs and displays on tables promoting the gift with purchase feature. There will also be Teen Makeovers conducted by a professional makeup artist at 200 top stores on August 15th, 16th, 22nd and 29th. Teens can get a new Back to School look from Wet n Wild or Black Radiance brand cosmetics and enter to win a beauty basket filled with full size products at each store - 200 baskets will be awarded. Other items being demonstrated include Veet hair remover, Clearasil Pimple Pen or Vanishing Treatment and St Ives Apricot Scrub.  Teens can find a store near them by checking the www.riteaid.com/GlamCamp website.

Cosmetic Promotions, Inc - the national promotional company coordinating the entire event - is utilizing Social Networking such as Twitter and Facebook as another way to promote the event to Teens. CPI secures the professional makeup artists and vendors as well as supplying the bags and baskets. They also designed RITE AID’s in-store signage, Single Check Rebate ad, Seventeen magazine spread, riteaid.com/glamcamp landing page, secured the gift bags and handle the collating and redemption of the gift bags.

Maybelline is launching their pigment rich Color Sensational Lipcolor in big way at Rite Aid in New York.  As a welcome bonus, the cast of the Broadway play Chicago will be there to support it as well.

On July 30^th, go to the Rite Aid at 26 Grand Central Terminal between the times of 8-10am, 12-2pm, and 3-7pm to check out the new lipstick and score freebies. Professional makeup artists will be there to give free makeovers and consultations, and they will be handing out gift bags with sample size products, coupons for Maybelline Color Sensational Lipcolor, and 50% discounts for Chicago the musical. Everything is on a first come first served basis so try to get there early!

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

In honor of the ‘tousled hair’ trend, Herbal Essences has launched a collection to help women get the look without a trip to the salon. To see the different looks, go to http://voting.elle.com/index.php?url=/Beauty_Face-Off/Fringed_Waves. You can vote on your favorite trend of the day by clicking on the photo of the celebrity you think has the best hair. After you vote you can see how everyone else voted, and find out more about the Tousle Me Softly line.

Don’t miss the Tousle Me Softly Sweepstakes on the Herbal Essences website: http://herbalessences.promo.eprize.com/tousle/?affiliate_id=2a. Just by entering your email address you’re entered into a sweepstakes that runs from July 1, 2009- October 1, 2009 with a $500 Visa gift card grand prize. We had a lot of fun checking out the daily Instant Win Game Play as well. There is a running picture, and if you click “STOP” and get a complete picture you win a gift card! Instant win game prizes include Visa, Express, Gap, Target, J.Crew, Panera Bread, iTunes, Starbucks, and Blockbuster, gift cards.  There is also an Herbal Essence Product collection prize, which gets you shampoo, conditioner, and mousse. You can play the Instant Win Game once a day so keep coming back. Good luck!

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

Good news for makeup artists who love free products! Elle Magazine and CoverGirl Cosmetics have collaborated to host the Beauty Guru Challenge where makeup artists can win hundreds of dollars of CoverGirl cosmetics. This contest will run from June 15, 2009 to July 2, 2010 and has a weekly and annual drawing.

How does it work? Go to http://videostar.elle.com and check out the monthly challenge. This month’s challenge is to create an Old Hollywood Glamour look inspired by the red carpet. You upload a video demonstrating how you get the look using at least 50% CoverGirl products onto the site. Your video will post on the site, and every time someone looks at your video it is counted as a vote. Tip: The file size has to be 100MB or less and music, photographs, and artwork in your video must be yours or you have to receive official permission to include it. Qualified judges will look at the number of votes, clarity of instruction, and the final look to select a winner every week.

If you’re the lucky weekly winner you win the Elle Video Star title $250 worth of free CoverGirl products! On July 9, 2010, an annual grand prize winner will be selected from all of the Elle Video Star winners. Not only is the grand prize winner featured on the site, they will also get $3,000 worth of beauty products. Good luck!

This article was written by Kristen Jason at Cosmetic Promotions. For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, please check out their website www.cosproagency.com or contact Kristen direct at kcopeland@cosmeticpromotions.com.

The Rite Aid Beauty the Rite Way program delivers fun and exciting product samples straight into the hands of African American women at local community events throughout the nation. The program, in its 5th year, is completely facilitated by Cosmetic Promotions Inc (CPI) - a national marketing and promotional company that specializes in promoting beauty products for mass retailers and vendors. CPI sends Ethnic models to various conferences and festivals in 5 markets to distribute a total of 20,000 beauty sample bags to female attendees. This year’s bags include products from Rite Aid beauty vendors including Jergens, Just for Me, Softsoap, Blue Star Ointment, Smooth ‘N Shine, Soft Crème, Maybelline Mineral Powder, Mane ‘n Tail and Fantasia Hair Polisher.  In addition, some of the bags contain a prize of a $100 RITE AID gift card.

On Saturday June 27th, Beauty the Rite Way models will be onsite during the first day of the 17th Annual D.C. Caribbean Carnival. The two-day Mardi Gras-style fiesta has evolved into one of the nation’s premier carnivals. The annual Carnival is a one-of-a-kind experience that offers the community awareness of Caribbean culture and traditions and welcomes over 500,000 visitors to the nation’s capital each year to enjoy the third largest Carnival destination in North America. The festival will kick off with a three-mile Mardi Gras parade along Georgia Avenue. It will lead right into Banneker Recreation Park where Rite Aid will have a booth displaying a banner and the models will distribute free gift bags to the first 2,000 female attendees. The festival will conclude on Sunday with “De Savannah” a showcase of Caribbean arts & crafts, entertainment, and cuisine.

The entire program is completely coordinated and executed by Cosmetic Promotions Inc who secures the bags, the vendors, and the venues for the program. Rite Aid also has a Hispanic and Teen Beauty Sampling Program.

20,000 Health and Beauty Sample Bags to be Distributed

Harrisburg, PA - As part of its efforts to attract Hispanic Shoppers, RITE AID has partnered with Cosmetic Promotions Inc, a National marketing company that specializes in beauty, to promote their beauty and health department to Hispanic females. The program is in its 4th successful year sending Hispanic Bi-lingual models to a series of 10 community events in 4 key Hispanic markets and will ultimately distribute 20,000 beauty and health sample bags to female attendees.  The sample bags include products geared to Hispanics from RITE AID Beauty/Health vendors including  Smooth n’ Shine, Colgate, Tropez, Kiss, Jane Cosmetics, Clearasil, JNJ, L’Oreal, LA Looks, Palmers, Therma Flu, Dove and DeveloPlus.  In addition, some of the bags contain a prize of a $100 RITE AID gift card.

On June 20th, Rite Aid helped celebrate Puerto Rican and Hispanic Culture by attending the 30th Annual Yonkers Hispanic Parade and Festival distributing 2,000 sample bags within 3 hours to some of the 30,000 attendees. The Yonkers Puerto Rican / Hispanic Day Parade Foundation is dedicated to the preservation of Puerto Rico’s cultural heritage and the significant contributions Puerto Ricans make to the diversity of our society. By 3pm the parade reached Chicken Island, where the festival began with live musical entertainment and traditional food. The Rite Aid booth was set up right near the stage and as the crowd gathered to enjoy the entertainment, Hispanic models were there to greet them with the free sample bag. The recipients were very excited and many of the ladies were seen trying the lipstick that was included.

On June 28th, the bags were distributed at the San Juan Bautista Parade and Concert that was held at Wiggins Waterfront Park in Camden, NJ. Over 40,000 people attended this annual family-oriented tradition which displayed a mosaic of the very best of the Latin-American rhythms and dances from around the region, marching bands, decorated floats, exhibits, the flavors and aromas of ethnic cuisine.  The parade led the crowd into the park for the concert which featured the hottest local and international Latin bands. Located on the waterfront with a fabulous view of the Philadelphia skyline, the festivities continued well into the evening.

This sampling program is in addition to RITE AID’s African American (Beauty the RITE Way) and Teen (Glam Camp) beauty target sampling programs. All three programs are completely coordinated and executed by Cosmetic Promotions Inc.  The company secures the vendors, the bags and all the venues for distribution. The Hispanic program begins its 5th year in July and will run through June 2010 and events will be in the Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey areas.

If interested in participating in this or other targeted sampling events, please contact Tracie Gilbert at 877-665-1640.

Many women are on the hunt for a new fragrance for the summer. Fortunately, a Walgreens in Los Angeles (3201 W. 6th St.) will be giving away samples of the latest fragrances this Saturday from 12-4. At the end of the day there will also be a drawing for a basket worth $200.00! Brands will include Halle Berry, Nautica My Voyage, Bermuda Blue, Baby Phat Seductive, and Jennifer Lopez Deseo.