Product

MAC Cosmetics is one of the leading cosmetics companies in market place, becoming more and more popular each day. MAC has a very broad Product Portfolio, offering numerous different products in an aim to reach out to differing market segments. Offering products from over 128 different lipstick shades alone, to foundation, nail polish, eye shadow.. even to their own wipes!

At the beginning, when MAC was founded in 1984, it aimed their products at professional makeup artists. This is why their products are highly priced, due to being better quality than other competitors. According to the MAC website, they chose to be different from other makeup brands by establishing themselves as  "the ultimate colour authority". This all started when they introduced their first, very bold and different at the time, Matte Red Lipstick - this created the ambition to steer in the other direction of other makeup brands, as they were all generally skincare companies.

As MAC brand themselves and their products as bold, adventurous and "outrageous", it has created a certain stigma and expectancy in the makeup world.

From the above photo we can clearly see that MAC aim for boldness, and this has created some major controversy. As they create a lot of "out there" shades and colours of makeup - people are concerned that it is pressuring girls, especially younger females, to be the same. This can ultimately mean that MAC are catering their products to a specific syndicate.

However, majority of people (whatever age) can find something when walking in to a MAC store, this is because not only do they offer makeup but they also provide a service - you can now book in and get your makeup done professionally for a special occasion, or just for the fun of it.

When in comparison to other makeup companies like "Benefit Cosmetics", their products are more suited to all females, however, they tend to target a younger audience. This could be for many different reasons however, one of which being, they inherit a lot more natural products and shades.

As you can see from the above campaign by Benefit Cosmetics, they aim for a more subtle and simplistic look when in comparison to MAC.

Also, when comparing the two companies products, packaging is a factor which should be considered. Both MAC Cosmetics and Benefit Cosmetics offer high end, high quality products but when comparing the two types of packaging, they are totally different. MAC's packaging of their products are all very subtle, dark and plain - this gives a more contemporary vibe.

Here we can see the dark, plain packaging of MAC products are in great contrast to the bold and exciting colours in them.

This type of packaging is favoured a lot in the makeup industry and attracts a more older and mature crowd of people. This is because the packaging enhances the daring colours, promotes a classier look and emphasises the unique quality of the products.

Now we can see the bright, exciting and exclusive packaging that Benefit has to offer - inheriting statement colours and shapes.

Their packaging engages a much younger generation, by giving a more feminine, aesthetically pleasing look. For many parents, Benefit Cosmetics would be reached for and sought after for their child before MAC, this is because to many - the bolder packaging of their product accentuates how subtle and natural the actual product is.

Place

The Economic Times website explains the definition of Place within the Marketing Mix well, stating that it "refers to the channel, or the route, through which goods move from the source to the final user. Place could be the intermediaries, distributors, wholesalers and retailers.".

For all makeup brands, in store and online are options for purchasing. High end makeup brands such as MAC have numerous stores located worldwide, MAC particularly have a large number of stores in the UK alone.  However, for majority of high end makeup brands in the United Kingdom, online is the best way to purchase products - this is because makeup brands such as Urban Decay, Too Faced, Estee Lauder, Chanel and so on, are only sold in big department stores such as The House of Fraser, Debenhams, John Lewis  and Selfridges, rather than having a store themselves. This means the variety of products are limited, with only a selected amount on sale.

However, Digital Marketing (known as e-marketing) is progressing rapidly for all high end makeup brands. This is because they allow customers to purchase products on different sites as well as their own, despite having very well developed online stores. This gives customers the option to purchase from sites such as John Lewis or The House of Fraser rather than the actual "Too Faced" website for example. This is preferred for a number of people as they are able to purchase from a well known site that they may use regularly for a number of different things, also allowing them

to do it at the comfort of their own home - any time, any place. For people living the United Kingdom, getting our hands on popular makeup brands can be tricky, so recently with the development of a site called "BeatyBay", the buying of American makeup has become easier. This site offers all makeup brands which aren't available to buy in UK stores, this recent development has exploded and has worked well in the promotion and selling of certain brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills, Too Faced, Morphe and many more.

In regards to makeup brands such as Maybelline, Rimmel and so on, the name developed for these brands are known as "High Street" this is because you would typically buy these products in our local "drugstore". However, both in store and online purchasing is available, but these brands have never had their own stores and products are sold in shops known as Boots and Superdrug (these two being the leading "drugstores" in the UK).

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Physical Evidence

Physical Evidence is one of the final three factors added on to the extended Marketing Mix - according to Oxford College of Marketing (website accessed in 2016, published 2013), Physical Evidence can be described as followed - ‘The environment in which the service is delivered and where the firm and customer interact, and any tangible components that facilitate performance or communication of the service’. 

For many makeup brands, the physical evidence in and around stores are similar. Whether it be high end brands having their own stores or in bug department stores, or high street makeup getting sold in the drugstore - the layout is much the same. For high end brands such as Benefit Cosmetics, the layout and design of their products in store is a lot more extravagant - meaning, the displays and layout of the products are more extreme. This could be because the higher end brands obtain more profit on their products meaning more can be spent on things to improve their physical evidence. As we can see from the below photograph, Benefit Cosmetics have a very eye catching way of displaying and selling their products.  From the above photo, we can see that the store layout of the brands products as if it were a females bedroom - with dressing tables, drawers and cabinets - all displaying the differing products.

However, in comparison to the high street brands like Maybelline - the displays aren't as appealing. This could be because the stores that sell these makeup brands have a large amount of other brands to promote and sell also - for example when walking in to a Superdrug store, you are bombarded with the various different brands of makeup to your left and your right, with each store offering over 50 different brands of makeup at a time.

Here we can see the inside of a Superdrug store and how all products are laid out for customers to see. From the photograph we can see that there are numerous different makeup brands and products, meaning high street brands aren't given the chance to "show off" or sell their products in the same way.

For Higher End makeup brands, physical evidence is a factor of The Extended Marketing Mix that can be taken advantage of - this is because they are able to attract customers in eye catching ways. If a customer were to walk in to a store and see a Maybelline display compared to a Benefit Cosmetics display - the one that would gain more attention would be Benefit. Ultimately, this will be very beneficial for makeup brands such as Benefit as it will entice and draw people over to the eye catching, bold and flattering displays - meaning more sales, resulting in more money being obtained.

For all makeup brands, every employee has their makeup done perfectly. This not only promotes the brands products, but it encourages customers to buy the brands products from the beautiful women on hand to help. This draws customers to them, aspiring to look like them which means buying the products. All products are laid out the same way, with a tester made available and easy to see.