BOC: Four Well Known Brands 4

 

Pantene; a one-billion dollar brand became a three-billion dollar world-class category leader.  “[Pantene] is not in the business of teeny-tiny, niche businesses.  They’re really about creating big, global scale noise and really broadly appealing propositions.”  http://www.grey.com/assets/pdfs/cases/Pantene.pdf

Pantene made a challenge to become a “global mega-brand.  The idea for this product all started with an ingredient called Panthenol.  The purpose of Panthenol was to heal and was originally used to cure burn victims in World War II.  This created a word in the minds of the Pantene directors.  Magic.  I couldn’t have said it better myself.  The idea of this healing property of the main ingredient truly does bring the thought of magic.  The directors bring an idealistic woman into the picture and think about her desires.  “She wants beauty, but she doesn’t want to just stop at beauty.  Beauty is the part that empowers her to glide through the day and to bring more magic and love and warmth and power in her experience of the day.”  http://www.grey.com/assets/pdfs/cases/Pantene.pdf  Pantene says they can make your hair explode and twist and dance and move and still fall right back into place.  I don’t know about you but I want to be a Pantene woman!

In 1947 Pantene was born.  Just a few years later, in the 60s, a new formula was discovered to make the consumer’s hair even healthier; Pro-Vitamin B5 Complex.  Pantene was smart once again with their marketing in the 70s.  Charlie’s Angels was a popular show and made long hair a trend.  Pantene jumped right on this trend and made a new product to make long hair luscious and beautiful, thus the birth of Cure de Beauté Conditioner.  Are you familiar with the famous Pantene gold cap?  In 1975, “Pantene [changed] to new packaging with its iconic gold cap.  45 years later, women still remember gold-capped Pantene.”  http://circle.supersavvyme.co.uk/en/media/pantene/project-handbook_pantene.pdf#page=13  Just with this brief history, it is quite clear that this company has had, and always will have, the health of the consumer’s hair in the forefront of their focus.  Today, “Pantene [has re-launched] with customized solutions for your hair type.  If you know the hair you have, Pantene can give you the hair you want.”  http://circle.supersavvyme.co.uk/en/media/pantene/project-handbook_pantene.pdf#page=13  They cleverly call it “The Structure Revolution”.

It is so easy to customize what type of shampoo you want.  Pantene has any kind of shampoo you could ever imagine.  Do you want a shampoo to protect your colored hair but still give you volume?  Get Pantene’s Color Preserve Volume Shampoo.  Do you have unmanageably frizzy hair?  Then Frizz Control Shampoo is for you!

If the well being for the consumer was not enough for Pantene, they are also highly involved in making the world a better place.  A campaign called “Healthy Hair for Healthy Water” active in 2011 said, “More than half a billion women and children in developing countries lack safe drinking water.
When you purchase Pantene from pgestore.com, Pantene will donate $0.10 per bottle to the P&G Children’s Safe Drinking Water Fund, the cost of providing one week of clean drinking water (10 liters) to a child in the developing world who needs it most…”  http://www.pantene.com/en-US/csdw/pages/get-the-facts.aspx  Any company that allows the consumer to give back to the community, and even the world, while still giving to themselves is a great success, and I’m not talking about their annual revenue.

BOC: Four Well Known Brands 3

Does your man get embarrassed when buying you something intimate?  If you answered yes, that’s probably because he doesn’t shop at Victoria’s Secret!

The sole purpose of the creation of Victoria’s Secret was to make it comfortable for a man to shop for lingerie.

Quite an interesting story is the one of how Victoria’s Secret, the amazing and gorgeous lingerie store, came about.  “…it all started when a graduate student from Stanford Graduate School of Business felt rather embarrassed when it came to purchasing beautiful lingerie from a department store.”  http://whiteorchids.hubpages.com/hub/History-Of-Victorias-Secret  Roy Raymond, the founder of Victoria’s Secret, opened his first store in 1977 in the Stanford shopping center.  Quickly after, Raymond found success and created a mail-order catalogue along with opening up 3 more stores.

The original design of the store included wood panel walls with a Victorian feel and décor.  “Instead of bras and panties being hung on a sterile rack, they were paired together in all sizes and mounted on frames. The stores were very detailed and were quite inviting when a gentleman came to purchase lingerie.”  http://whiteorchids.hubpages.com/hub/History-Of-Victorias-Secret

The store operated for 5 years under Raymond.  Roy sold his store to The Limited, who own the company today.  It is sad to report that Raymond failed and went completely bankrupt on his second business venture.  This caused him to jump to his death off the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Limited took over Victoria’s Secret with authority and expanded the company to more than just lingerie.  While still keeping the Victorian theme in the store, they added products such as shoes, perfume, and evening wear.  This skyrocketed the company to becoming the largest American lingerie retailer, making over one billion dollars in the 90s.  Today, “Victoria's Secret is the leading specialty retailer of lingerie operating more than 1,000 stores across the U.S. Victoria's Secret has helped, perhaps more than any other brand, attract attention to the lingerie industry.”  http://www.fragrancex.com/products/_bid_Victoria--Secret-am-cid_perfume-am-lid_V__brand_history.html

Being visually appealing and delightfully controversial, Victoria’s Secret is undoubtedly efficient in marketing.  “The attention received by Victoria's Secret for their aggressive advertising campaigns has generated priceless word-of-mouth and media bytes to further enhance the Victoria's Secret brand.”  http://www.fragrancex.com/products/_bid_Victoria--Secret-am-cid_perfume-am-lid_V__brand_history.html  Grace Nichols is credited much of the company’s success.  She started as vice president and general merchandise manager in 86, then was promoted to executive vice president two years later.  In 91 Nichols was named president and CEO of Victoria’s Secret.

“The design team [has] an incredible record of accomplishment. Bras in particular sell so well that it is believed Victoria's Secret endeavors to launch a new bra style every year.”  http://www.lingerie-uncovered.com/labels/victorias-secret-past.htm  Victoria’s Secret keeps consumers excited with their new products and happy with their current products.  I got my very first Victoria’s Secret bra at the age of 19 and ever since, I have never gone back to a competitor’s product, nor have I wanted to.  “…their striking and romantic lingerie, and their remarkable sales record prove that women are still looking for intimate underwear that promotes a feeling of sensuality, well-being and worth.”  http://www.lingerie-uncovered.com/labels/victorias-secret-past.htm

BOC: Four Well Known Brands 2

 

“It’s one of the most recognized fashion brands in the world and—with more than $5 billion in annual sales—also one of the most profitable.”  http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/calvinklein/  What brand is that?  Calvin Klein of course!

Calvin Klein, whom rightfully deserves the title of a legend, was born on November 19 in 1942 in the Bronx, New York.  The very place that he lived in what inspired Klein to set out to launch his own clothing company.

1968 was the year Calvin Klein started his company.  An accidental but amazing thing occurred.  “…a buyer from the now-defunct high-end department store Bonwit Teller accidentally stumbled into his workroom in 1969 after getting off on the wrong floor; within a week, Klein had his first $50,000 order.”  http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/calvinklein/  By the time the 80’s rolled around, Klein was a well known fashion brand for minimalist fashions.  His marketing and advertising campaigns were just as well known as his clothing.  The company went from $24,000 to $7.3 million in only 10 years of business.

 

Ask almost anyone what they know about Calvin Klein and they will say they remember the ever popular, and ever provocative, “You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”  According to Newsweek, that phrase increased Klein’s revenue by 300% in just 3 months.  “…Consumers responded to this ad and began scavenging through major department stores in search of Calvin Klein designer jeans.”  “He had created mass hysteria over denim and generated emotional responses in consumers across the nation.”   Brand Story by Joseph Hancock page 29  It’s unfathomable how emotionally involved consumers can be in a simple ad for jeans.  Calvin Klein put designer jeans on the map and started a revolution.  Calvin Klein jeans cost around thirty-five dollars when first produced in the 80s.  Today the average retail price of the ever famous Calvins are seventy dollars.

Today, Calvin Klein’s brands include Calvin Klein Collection, cK Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Sport, Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein Home, The Khaki Collection, Calvin Klein Golf, Calvin Klein Underwear, cK One Lifestyle Brand, Calvin Klein Watches and Jewelry.

“…in 2002 Calvin Klein Inc. was… sold to Phillips Van Heusen Corp. for approximately $400 million in cash, $30 million in stock. Furthermore, the royalties and licensing rights linked to the turnover over the next 15 years were estimated at $200 to $300 million.”  http://www.luxtex.net/calvin_klein.html  Van Heusen’s Brazilian protégé, Francisco Costa, was appointed creative director of women’s.  “Today, Costa is the label’s most visible face, and his collections have been well received by both critics and the industry.”  ://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designers/bios/calvinklein/

BOC: Four Well Known Brands 1

When you hear, "easy, breezy, beautiful" what is the next word that pops into your head?  “CoverGirl” is your answer!  No, I’m not talking about the 1944 movie starring Gene Kelly.  I’m talking about one of a girl’s best friends.  Makeup, of course! 
“Since 1961, CoverGirl has been a fashionable cosmetic line, competitively priced, with formulas that are clean, fresh and natural, and that are good for the skin.” http://covergirl.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/968  Starting with a modest number, Covergirl only had 6 products at the birth of the company.  However, today there are countless beauty products produced by the one and only CoverGirl.  The name “CoverGirl” came about because this company wanted models on the cover of magazines to wear the product. 

“CoverGirl is the leading Cosmetics brand in the U.S. mass market with over $700 million in

annual sales.”  http://thearf-org-aux-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/ogilvy/cs/Ogilvy-09-CS-CoverGirl.pdf  Women can easily change their look with the reasonable prices they have to offer.  They’re coming out with new products so often, as well, that many women will return just to try the new product. 

Very recently “In late 2005 and for the first time ever, CoverGirl enjoyed success in Eyes with the introduction of breakthrough mascara innovation.”  http://thearf-org-aux-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/ogilvy/cs/Ogilvy-09-CS-CoverGirl.pdf  An iconic brand overtakes them, however, in that department.  Think about a green and pink tube… sound familiar?  They are the long-standing #1 mascara but CoverGirl was determined to take over the Eyes segment of the market as well.  CoverGirl launched a mascara called Lashblast Mascara that ended up being the biggest U.S. cosmetics launch ever.  “Next Big Thing was the catalyst for our holistic campaign. While we had designed a strong proposition, the launch could only be successful with a showstopping, holistic advertising campaign that rallied behind a single, clear message.”  http://thearf-org-aux-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/ogilvy/cs/Ogilvy-09-CS-CoverGirl.pdf

CoverGirl foundation was the first makeup my mother ever let me put on when I was in the 6^th grade.  I thought I was such hot stuff strutting around with my fresh looking CoverGirl-ed face.  Since then CoverGirl has come out with many new foundations to try.  A particular kind that I am partial to at the moment is called “NatureLuxe Silk Foundation” and yes, it is as luxurious as it sounds.  The product description online reads, “Redefine natural beauty with our lightweight silk foundation. With a touch of cucumber water and a hint of jojoba and rose hip extracts, our light yet luxurious formula takes heavy weight out of your polished finish.” http://reviews.covergirl.com/1332/cg_natureluxe_silk_foundation/natureluxe-silk-foundation-reviews/reviews.htm  Not only does this foundation look beautiful, but it smells delightful as well.


As no stranger to celebrity endorsers, you won’t be surprised to learn that CoverGirl’s very first celebrity was just a few years after the company was developed.  The first celebrity endorser was actress Jennifer O’Neill in 1962 when she was just 16.  Jennifer went on to have a 30 year contract with this company.  CoverGirl products sky rocketed into the top selling makeup line in the country.  Because of her long standing reputation with them, Jennifer is commonly known as the face of CoverGirl.  Since Jennifer, many celebrities have been the CoverGirl face.  Recent celebrities include Drew Barrymore, Ellen DeGeneres, Sofia Vergara, Pat McGrath, Queen Latifah, and Taylor Swift.  Taylor Swift is the face of the NatureLuxe Silk Foundation, as well as other NatureLuxe products.

The NatureLuxe line consists of silk foundation, gloss balm, and mouse mascara.  The NatureLuxe product carries a common theme in that all of these products are “light as air”, “luxurious”, and have natural ingredients.