Small Packages, Big Rewards May-June 2012 A very interesting article on beauty sampling by BW Confidential magazine.

1. Insight
Sampling
Small packages, big rewards?
New technology and distribution methods may give beauty
sampling a boost, but challenges at retail remain
A lot more options in sampling are on offer today beyond the basic vial or scent strip,
enabling brands to better reach consumers and turn testing a product into a sale.
For example, samples can now do more thanks to QR codes, which consumers can scan
to see a video or find out more about the product. “A sample can be scanned to give the
consumer far more detailed information and linked to a video on YouTube that shows
more about the product,” explains UK-based Sampling Innovations managing director
Mark Lockyer.
Linking street sampling campaigns to the internet can also yield results. For example,
in May, US-based prestige haircare brand Living Proof launched a three-day bus tour
in New York City called Restore the Love. The bus made stops throughout the city
providing hair analyses, consultations with “Living Proof scientists”, free samples and
hair styling services. The event was well attended and garnered positive feedback from
fans on Facebook.
Another novel sampling campaign was from UK-based bath and body brand I Love
“
Some brands look to
reduce the costs of their
Cosmetics. Also in New York, the brand samples, which is a big
Beauty sampling websites placed ice cream carts outside of Duane mistake as the sample
Reade drugstores (where the brand is
The growth of beauty sampling websites, such as can then reflect poorly
sold) and offered passers-by free ice
Glossybox, which gives members a set number of beauty
cream cones in the same “flavors” as on the brand. If you strip
samples every month in exchange for a fee, have renewed
the products on display on the cart.
brands’ interest in samples. A sample put in the right out too many costs
Shoppers were given a 100ml bubble
hands—those of a popular blogger or simply a Facebook
bath and shower cream along with in the quality of the
member with a lot of “friends”—can quickly generate a
a buy-two-get-one-free coupon for
substantial buzz for brands. sample, you will deliver
Duane Reade. That same month, I Love
Glossybox, which is present in more than 15 markets,
Cosmetics said its sales of creams and a poor or average
offers a set of five beauty samples to its members every
bubble bath increased five-fold.
month in exchange for a subscription fee. Members fill sampling experience,
Aside from traditional retail and
out a “beauty profile” in order to receive samples tailored
street marketing, more brands are which can be completely
to their needs. The company also introduced a box for
also looking to get more out of their
men in France to come out on a quarterly basis. self defeating
samples by teaming up with non-
Birchbox, another members-only subscription sample
beauty stores to distribute their pro-
site, recently launched its limited-edition box called Just
Because, which contains ‘deluxe’ samples and full-sized
beauty products in addition to items such as candy and
stationery. A UK site, Latest in Beauty offers The Little
Beauty Box, a monthly package which contains three
ducts. “We are seeing an increase in
the use of product dispatch. Rather
than going through its own website
or retail partner, brands are seeking
”
Sampling Innovations
managing director Mark Lockyer
affiliate partners, such as fashion
small samples (usually sachets or vials) free of charge—
websites, grocery retailers or magazine
customers just pay a £1.50 shipping and packing fee.
publishers [to distribute their samples],”
The site also offers a “luxury sample” option for a price.
comments Sampling Innovations’
Lockyer. He cites UK-based ■ ■ ■
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CONFIDENTIAL

2. Insight
Sampling
■■■ retailer Asos, a fashion company that offers beauty brand samples inside the
packages it ships to customers, thereby providing an opportunity to expand a beauty
brand’s reach.
What’s the ROI?
Yet despite the advances in samples and what can be done with them through the
internet and elsewhere, they are often one of the first budgets to go when a brand
needs to make cuts. “Sampling is often seen as an expense, but our objective is for
brands to see sampling as an investment. A successful sample is the one that gets used.
A brand that wants to cut corners on quality could well end up with unused samples
that do not resonate with or tempt the consumer. In that case, the brand might have
done better to invest in a cheaper strategy, such as advertising,” Aptar Beauty and
Home vice president of business development Isabelle Lallement explains. Sampling In-
novations’ Lockyer agrees: “Some brands look to reduce the costs of their samples,
which is a big mistake as the sample can then reflect poorly on the brand. Sometimes
purchasing departments lose sight of the fact that a sampling campaign is meant to
create a positive impression on the consumer, but if you strip out too many ■ ■ ■
Novel sampling innovations
Arcade Marketing is a nomad point-of-sale display (pictured) that dispenses
samples on demand. “Our briefs from beauty brands were very specific in that the samples
should be closed and hygienic, at a relatively low cost and that the consumer could keep
the product,” explains Arcade Europe senior vice president international
Philippe Ughetto. Totem is currently being tested by two major brands at the point-of-sale.
Aptar Beauty and Home is a credit-card sized spray (pictured)
that dispenses 0.3ml of fragrance. Imagin’ can easily be inserted into magazines as it is
delivered flat (when the tab is pulled the sample ‘opens’ to allow it to be squeezed to
▲ Imagin’ (Aptar) release the fragrance). According to Sampling Innovations managing director Mark
Lockyer, Imagin’ is a cost-effective alternative to 1.5 or 2ml glass vial or spray samples, as
with 0.3ml it is a more “immediate call to action” for the consumer. “When you provide
1.5 or 2ml of fragrance the consumer can use that for quite some time during which they
can be influenced by other factors, not least another fragrance launch or brand and then
they’ve lost that high level of interest,” comments Lockyer.
▲ Totem (Arcade
Marketing) Orlandi Inc in the
US is a single-use applicator for fragrance, make-up or skincare. When peeled off, the
entire label can be removed and applied directly to the skin, without leaving a residue on
the magazine. The company’s ColorKiss sample (pictured, far left) provides one applica-
tion of lipstick on a flat card, which is meant to be folded and the upper and lower lip are
pressed onto the card to receive one dose of color.
▲ ColorKiss Castelberg offers Scent Blotter (pictured, near left), or thermo-formed
(Orlandi) polymers that can be moulded into different shapes and are infused with fragrance. This
technology is ideal for high-end or gift-with-purchase samples that can become a keepsake
and therefore be used as a longer-term advertising medium.
▲ Scent Blotter (Castelberg)
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3. Insight
Sampling
■■■ costs in the quality of the sample, you will deliver a poor or average sampling
experience, which will result in no desire to purchase the product, so it can be completely
self defeating.”
Retail lags
Another reason samples are sometimes undervalued by brands is how they are distributed
at retail. “The real worry for retail is that the strategy is backwards—the consumer gea
sample once she has made her purchase, which makes no sense. That approach means
that the sample either is meant to be tried later on or is to be used for traveling, which
isn’t good as many samples aren’t conceived for travel,” says Aptar’s Lallement.
Skincare brand Polaar has made sampling an important part of its strategy at the point-
of-sale. The company claims to provide 15 samples for each product sold (the industry
average is said to be around three samples per product sold). “Our goal in terms of sam-
pling is to satisfy our retail partners—the beauty advisor and the pharmacist—as well as
the end consumer, but the challenge is that we cannot target the consumer ourselves.
To remedy this, we train store staff extensively to be sure that they give the sample to the
right consumer,” explains Polaar president Daniel Kurbiel.
“
We train store staff
extensively to be sure
Polaar places its samples on or near the products on shelf, rather than having them dis- that they give the
tributed randomly at the cash register. “The sample should be used to back up a consul-
tation, rather than be a reward for a purchase,” adds Kurbiel. sample to the right
Fragrance still reigns Some analysts have said that the consumer. The sample
industry should move into selling sam-
The majority of samples are still in fragrance, but the skincare ples at the point-of-sale or on their should be used to back
and make-up categories are becoming more of a focus, accor- websites, especially for expensive pro- up a consultation, rather
ding to suppliers. Arcade Marketing, for example, increased its ducts that the consumer may want to
investment in both make-up and skincare last year, according try and consider for a few days before than be a reward for
to Arcade Europe senior vice president international Philippe splashing out and making a purchase. a purchase
Ughetto. “We launched a new technology last year that we Others advocate that retailers do
are rolling out worldwide which is the Beauty Pod—a 2ml
sample that contains a liquid formula and is a solution both for
the press and for the point-of-sale. It has been a big success in
North America and is currently being launched in Europe and
Asia,” he explains.
more to integrate sampling into their
loyalty card scheme, with a customer
receiving a certain amount of free
items depending on her purchase.
Tying sampling into the loyalty scheme
”
Polaar president Daniel Kurbiel
Sampling Innovations’ Lockyer believes that there is much also means that the retailer can access
untapped potential in make-up sampling. “I’ve always been a the customer’s purchase history to
little disappointed in the lack of color cosmetics’ sampling; offer more targeted products. Ano-
for years brands have just relied on in-store testers.” One ther strategy is to track the sample.
recent interesting color sampling initiative came from Christian L’Oréal-owned skincare brand Kiehl’s,
Dior, which launched an on-counter dispenser, called the Dior for example, prints a bar code on its
Forever Dramming Fountain to provide samples of its Forever samples, which allows the brand to
Foundation at Selfridges department store in London. The contact the consumer (via either the
dispenser resembles an espresso machine with six nozzles brand or the retailer’s database) to
corresponding to each shade. Consumers can book a create a follow-up conversation and
“complimentary color match” and are given a 5ml sample gauge satisfaction with the product.
to try at home. This strategy has been praised for combining If brands and retailers work more with
service (the BA helps the consumer choose the right shade) the consumer in mind, beauty sampling
with a novel tool and a generous-sized sample. could become a lot more efficient. ■
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