Holiday SHOPPING is just around the corner and the good news is that last year retail sales were up about 4.7% in December. This is the perfect time to do some direct product sampling to people in the Holiday Spending mood.

“81% of consumers admitted that receiving a sample convinced them to purchase a product.”

Give a holiday gift to your customers and drive in-store traffic by participating in the NEW Holiday Sampling Program. The Holiday Sampling Program is an opportunity to distribute YOUR brands to a large group of consumers at Holiday Events. Samples (or coupons) will be collated into 20,000 Holiday themed drawstring bags and distributed person-to-person by our Street Team Elves – 2000 per venue; such as:

Baltimore – The Mayor’s 40th Annual Christmas Parade
Chicago – McDonald’s 77th Anniversary Thanksgiving Parade
Dallas/Fort Worth – Children’s Medical Center Holiday Parade
Detroit – America’s Thanksgiving Parade
Los Angeles – The Hollywood Christmas Parade
Los Angeles – Comcast America’s Childrens Holiday Parade
Minneapolis – Holidazzle Parade
New York – Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Philadelphia – Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade
Seattle – Macy’s Holiday Parade

Shoppers are bombarded with hundreds of messages everyday but none as effective as direct sampling of your product. Sampling is the best way to gain loyal customers who will continue to purchase your brand. Take advantage of the holiday shopping season, and let Cosmetic Promotions help increase your sales with our NEW Holiday Sampling Program. Simply fill out our Holiday Sampling Program Signup and let Cosmetic Promotions get your sample out to the consumers giving them a reason to buy your products.

Please contact Tracie Gilbert at 877-665-1640 or tracie@cosmeticpromotions.com for more information.

Our annual Hispanic sampling program is a way of promoting Rite Aid’s health and beauty products at 10 community events in Hispanic markets. 2,000 bags are distributed at each event to women in attendance. The bags contain a variety of samples and coupons from Smooth ‘N Shine, Palmer’s Cocoa Butter, Halle Berry Fragrance, Benefiber, Kiss Nails, Fantasia Hair Polisher, Lactaid, L’Oreal, S by Shakira Fragrance, Bio Oil and select bags contain a special $100 gift card to Rite Aid for the recipient.

On June 24th, we did exit sampling after the MANÁ Concert in Los Angeles, CA. The world’s biggest Latin rock band brought thousands of fans to downtown LA as they opened the first of a record-setting 4 sold-out nights at the Staples Center. For almost three decades MANÁ has been one of the most popular Mexican pop/rock groups. Winning 4 Grammy’s and 5 Latin Grammy’s to date; the concept behind MANÁ has been a world-music mix of Latin and pop rock. After a long hiatus, MANÁ returned to the stage with an innovative show where they performed songs from their new album “Drama y Luz”, which reached #1 on the Latin Billboards. We had a table setup right outside of the Staples Center with a Rite Aid banner hung in front to attract the crowd as they were leaving the concert. The attendees were pleasantly surprised to see Rite Aid on site. There was a rush of people and they couldn’t wait to open up their bags to see what was inside. We handed out all 2,000 sample bags in less than an hour.

On June 26th, we participated for our 6th consecutive year in the San Juan Bautista post-parade concert in Camden, NJ. It is considered the largest summer event in the region with over 30,000 attendees. The parade is a well-known, family-oriented, cultural and educational event, which always takes place on the last Sunday in the month of June. It displayed a mixture of Latin rhythms and dances from around the region, marching bands and decorated floats that lead into Wiggins Waterfront Park for a grand slam summer concert with the partnership of the largest radio station in Philadelphia. The concert offered a fun-filled day of Latin sounds, exhibits as well as the flavors and aromas of ethnic cuisine. As parade-goers entered the park they were greeted by our team at the Rite Aid booth distributing the sample bags. Our team was able to educate thousands of attendees on the Rite Aid Beauty Guarantee and answered lots of questions about how the guarantee works. Many ladies were not familiar with it and said they would definitely be shopping at Rite Aid soon for their beauty needs. The event was a huge success and before night fall all 2,000 bags had been distributed.

The next event we are scheduled to be at is on July 31st during the Junta Hispana festival at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York. Junta Hispana is a unique Hispanic Heritage event celebrating all 20 Spanish- speaking countries. Working with the consulates, tourism and cultural offices, the beauty, culture, heritage, music, dance, food, arts and uniqueness of each country are brought to one event. The stage features performances for the entire family to enjoy. They have a food court with a variety of cuisine from the different Hispanic countries. Rite Aid will have a Pharmacy onsite where visitors can learn about medications and health issues along with receiving free health screening. The sample bags will be distributed to the ladies as they visit the Rite Aid booth. Rain or shine the lines form early at each of the different plazas and continue all day. No matter where you are inside of the venue there is something to do or learn about the different countries represented.

Recently we conducted a shared “Its New” sampling event at 200 Walgreens stores across the country. Four brands participated in the event: Mennen Speed Stick, Colgate Wisp, Revlon, and Almay. The event resulted in 3,400 immediate sales and almost 20,000 coupons were distributed that will result in future sales. The demonstrators were also able to train 255 Beauty Advisors on all of the participating products.

Customers were thrilled to receive travel size samples of the Mennen Speedstick Deodorant and Colgate Wisp – over 15,000 samples were distributed during the event which took place over four consecutive Saturdays. The demonstrators were professional makeup artists and they performed “color-matching” demonstrations for Almay’s new Smart Shade Foundation and “lip makeovers” featuring Just Bitten Lipstain by Revlon. Both brands were a huge hit.

A survey conducted during the event indicated that over half the consumers had never tried any of the products before, but 95% said they would purchase the brands now that they had the chance to try them. 41% of those people made their purchase during the event as a result of the money saving coupons that they received.  Consumers also were excited to sign up to win a Beauty Basket – one winner per store – that contained full size products of those items being demonstrated.

As budgets get cut, manufacturers are looking for more economical ways to promote their brands. By sharing the event, it cut their cost by 50-75% and makes the event even more exciting for the consumer because there is more for them to try. We currently execute shared events at Rite Aid, Walgreens and just recently added CVS. Contact us to set up your shared event today!

Las Vegas, NV – Walgreens Las Vegas store locations have been home to many in store events implemented by National Marketing firm, Cosmetic Promotions. Four stores in the Vegas market including the ones located at MGM Grand and Venetian played host to a special beauty event that ran four days at each store. Each day featured beauty brands including Revlon, Coppertone and Bain de Soleil.
Professional makeup artists applied and demonstrated the new Revlon Photo Ready foundation and powder along with Colorburst lip products to almost 200 women during the 4 day event, resulting in 140 immediate sales. In addition, the makeup artists trained the 28 beauty advisors on the products to help them sell more products in future events.

With the high heat index, it was no surprise that the sun care products featured by Coppertone and Bain de Soleil were a hit with the customers – almost 250 pieces were sold between the two brands. The 30 SPF sprays were a huge success with men. The nostalgic Bain de Soleil line (exclusive to Walgreens in all states excluding Florida) demonstrated their iconic Orange Gelee to a new generation. Over 900 coupons were distributed during the event. Exuberant demonstrators ventured outside the stores to help customers protect their skin from damaging sunrays. To add even more excitement, Vegas gamblers had a chance to win a beauty basket at each location filled with Revlon or sun care products.

“The theory is that people on vacation have more time to enjoy a makeover event and will go back home and purchase the products as well,” says Joann Tyson, president of Cosmetic Promotions. “Women are pleasantly surprised to find a professional makeup artist and beauty consultants at a drug chain – and to discover that the drug store brands are just as good as the department store ones they might have been using – 91% of the women surveyed during this even said they looked forward to more such events in their local Walgreens.

Cincinnati, OH – Ten CVS stores in the Cincinnati market were hand chosen by P&G to host hair care consultations on the NEW Pantene Formulas. Customers were greeted by a hair care consultant to assist them in choosing the correct Pantene regime for their hair needs. Informational brochures were handed out to over 400 customers and over 150 demonstrations were performed during the 4-hour event. 73 purchases were made that day and 362 coupons were distributed which should result in additional future sales. To encourage customers to visit the consultation table, they could enter to win a basket of products – one basket per store. Invitation postcards were sent out to consumers announcing the event and offering them a coupon.

Cosmetic Promotions, a national marketing and promotion firm executed the event for P&G and reported the results as follows:

• For every two demonstrations completed one piece of product sold.
• The consultants trained a total of 19 associates on the products so they can continue selling Pantene after the event.
• 50% of the customers said they would purchase at a later date and took a coupon.
• 75% said they would like to see more demo events.

A customer survey performed during the event concluded that the majority of the consumers were not only familiar with the Pantene brand but considered it a leader in the hair care category and were eager to learn about and try the new formulas.

Celebrating 20 years of business in 2010, Cosmetic Promotions regularly supplies professional makeup artists; skincare and hair care consultants to companies including RITE AID, Walgreens, Cover Girl, Maybelline and Neutrogena. They are the only promotional company dedicated to improving the sale of beauty products at mass retail. There services include all types of printed materials, sweepstakes execution and associate training programs. Their new website includes video’s on some the events and programs they have completed.

Winter Park, FL – 200 top Walgreens stores in Florida and California hosted product demonstrations on Banana Boat Sport and Ultra Defense sun care products. Over 3,000 demonstrations were performed during the 4-hour event, which took place on Fridays & Saturdays in June & July and resulted in over 1,800 immediate sales. 6,200 coupons were distributed during the event and the Brand Representatives spend time educating consumers and store associates on sun protection.

Cosmetic Promotions, the national marketing company facilitating the event conducted a survey during and with 500 responses; 32% of the customers had never tried a Banana Boat product before and 61% of the ones who did not make an immediate purchase said they would at a future time. While the Sport Spray 30 SPF appealed more to adults; parents were buying the 100 SPF Ultra Defense for their children since Banana Boat was a brand they could trust to protect their skin. Each store offered a sun care basket that consumers could enter to win. Cosmetic Promotions provided the Brand Representatives, the printed materials, created the gift basket and table set up.

Winter Park, FL – 100 Walgreen’s stores recently hosted a Maybelline makeover event introducing new eye and lip products to their Florida consumers. A professional makeup artist was on hand at each store to apply Studio Pearls Shadow, Lash Stiletto Mascara and Shine Sensational Lip Gloss in mini eye and lip makeovers to delighted customers. In just 2 days, over 800 makeovers were performed resulting in more than 1000 pieces sold. According to a survey consumers took during the event, over one-third had never tried Maybelline products before, 33% purchased something that day and another 62% said they would make a Maybelline purchase in the future because of this event.

While there, the makeup artist personally trained the store’s Beauty Advisor on the brands so that they may assist future customers. Walgreens stores have an average of 3 beauty advisors per store – the only drug chain with beauty help in all stores.

The event was facilitated by Cosmetic Promotions, Inc – a promotional and marketing company headquartered in Central Florida who handles a slate of marketing programs for the #1 drug chain. As budgets get cut and staff is reduced, Retail stores are utilizing more third party companies to assist in building sales. By hiring outside firms to fill out their lean marketing, chains are finding great results with less time investment.

Cosmetic Promotions prides itself on providing totally turnkey programs for retail chains. For their in-store demo’s they create an “event in a box” kit that is sent to each demonstrator to bring into the store, eliminating the chance of items getting lost before the event. A standard kit includes the products, custom made signs and a beauty basket giveaway that customers can enter to win. “Our makeup artists have a minimum 2 years experience applying cosmetics and we do live telephone trainings before each event” says Joann Tyson, the company’s CEO; “We also train them on selling tips and give them the proper tools so each artist can execute the event. This is why a standard rate of sales at one of our events results in selling about one week’s worth of product in just 4 hours”

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For more information on Cosmetic Promotions, contact Joann Tyson at 888-644-9916 or visit our website: www.cosproageny.com.

Winter Park, FL – The prestigious women’s magazine, Vogue Magazine, sponsored Cover Girl makeovers at 14 Florida market Walgreens stores. The professional makeup artists were demonstrating the new Lash Blast Mascara and promoted the Magazine’s latest sweepstakes – a chance to win an Andrew Marc Salina Handbag – by distributing trend sheets to attendees.

The event offered customers a wonderful Cover Girl gift-with-purchase cosmetic bag, which helped sell over 152 pieces during the event – a 62% closure rate. A survey conducted during the event showed that a whopping 81% of customers surveyed had used Cover Girl before and 99% of them wanted more makeover events at Walgreen’s. Over 59% of the customers were within the target age group (25-50) of the brand and magazine.

Cosmetic Promotions, a promotional and marketing company based in Central Florida executed the event. They handle many programs for magazines at retail stores. Their trained makeup artists have a minimum of 2 years experience applying makeup and execute events all over the United States. The magazines offer the makeovers as a bonus to their clients who purchase more pages in the publications.

“Customers were thrilled with the event, these are good results” says Rachael Cohn, Beauty Promotion Director from Vogue Magazine.

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South Florida Walgreens (March 6, 2010) – CosPro Agency recently held another successful demonstration at Walgreens locations across southern Florida. The event promoted and demonstrated the new CoverGirl Lash Blast Length mascara in order to amplify product sales and create product awareness.

The product was incredibly well received by consumers. Fourteen stores sold 152 pieces averaging eleven pieces sold, per store, in only four hours! The closure rate was very high; for every three makeovers done, two of those made purchases. Over sixty percent of customers made purchases that day and thirty percent said they will definitely be purchasing Lash Blast Length in the near future. In addition, twenty percent of the customers didn’t know the product beforehand so it was a great event for product awareness. With the chance to try a new product before buying, an enticing gift-with-purchase and knowledgeable demonstrators to help customers make educated decisions – this event was a hit!

Additionally, at least one beauty advisor per store was trained on the product and will be able to assist customers for future sales. And almost all (99%!) of the customers agreed that they enjoyed the event and would love to see more product demonstrations and sampling.

For additional information on samplings and demos please email Kristin Bocox at kristin@cosmeticpromotions.com or call (877) 326-7776 ext 501.

The CosPro professional demonstrators promoted L’Oreals hair products and provided FREE color consultations at 15 Rite Aid locations during July. The Everpure line and Feria Hair Color were the center of attention during this promotion which was sponsored by Lucky Magazine.  The event resulted in 761 products sales; averaging 15.5 pieces sold PER STORE! For every 10 demonstrations, 8 products were sold. There were also 2,500 samples of Everpure distributed which will result in future sales once the customer try this sulfate-free line.  Many customers were also thrilled with the color consultations done learning what color is right for them, over 900 consults were performed.