Bloggers, other ‘influencers’ are making an impact on today’s shoppers
Dorothy Hamill made a big impact on me back in the day. Besides being an Olympic figure skating champion at the 1976 Winter Olympic games in Innsbruck, Austria, Hamill had the best haircut a girl could want. I wanted to be like her, or at least as close as I could come without putting on a pair of skates and doing a triple axel.
Hamill was the 1970s version of an influencer, those bloggers and media darlings of current times who are quickly gaining a spotlight in the beauty industry. Hamill played a huge role in who I wanted to be for a short time in the mid-70s, and she had a big impact on how I dressed and acted in those days.
Today, these influencers and brand ambassadors, appearing in traditional media and on Instagram and elsewhere, are doing the same thing with young, easily influenced and extremely eager consumers, who look to the experts for tips on how to be up with the times and the fashions in this fast-paced and quickly-changing world.
At the NACDS Annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., last month, I had the opportunity to meet well-known model Ashley Graham, Revlon’s newest brand ambassador, at the company’s annual event at the conference. Ashley’s presentation was flawless, focusing on Revlon’s new “live boldly” campaign. Frankly, her confidence, style and overall personality were infectious, and I quickly saw why she has the power to win over young people.
Hamill rose to prominence by winning a gold medal and being fortunate enough to have the all-American, girl-next-door look. Endorsement deals came flooding in, and the result was her face plastered all over magazines and billboards.
Today’s influencers do not need to win gold medals to be taken seriously. With the dawn of the Digital Age, many influencers are simply people with a well-known and well-respected blog or website.
The beauty industry is definitely paying attention. Suppliers are hiring their own influencers like Graham and spending huge marketing dollars putting them in spots where consumers are going to quickly notice. The goal, of course, is that their “spokespeople” will be a little more popular and, thus, influential, than those working for the company down the block.
Retailers also are noticing and many are hiring workers to monitor the trends, and helping retail buyers make the right decisions on what products to stock in their beauty sections in the weeks and months ahead.
In the end, though, it all goes back to making an impact with shoppers who simply want to be shown a better way. The difference, of course, is that years ago it was a slow, meticulous process where trends stuck around for a few months or so.
Today, it is done in a heartbeat, increasing the demand for the instantaneous result, but also growing the risk factor for those merchants who may bite too early or too late on a trend.
It’s all part of beauty retailing near the end of the second decade of the 21st century. Don’t worry. It will only become more and more complex in the future.
Hamill was the 1970s version of an influencer, those bloggers and media darlings of current times who are quickly gaining a spotlight in the beauty industry. Hamill played a huge role in who I wanted to be for a short time in the mid-70s, and she had a big impact on how I dressed and acted in those days.
Today, these influencers and brand ambassadors, appearing in traditional media and on Instagram and elsewhere, are doing the same thing with young, easily influenced and extremely eager consumers, who look to the experts for tips on how to be up with the times and the fashions in this fast-paced and quickly-changing world.
At the NACDS Annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., last month, I had the opportunity to meet well-known model Ashley Graham, Revlon’s newest brand ambassador, at the company’s annual event at the conference. Ashley’s presentation was flawless, focusing on Revlon’s new “live boldly” campaign. Frankly, her confidence, style and overall personality were infectious, and I quickly saw why she has the power to win over young people.Hamill rose to prominence by winning a gold medal and being fortunate enough to have the all-American, girl-next-door look. Endorsement deals came flooding in, and the result was her face plastered all over magazines and billboards.
Today’s influencers do not need to win gold medals to be taken seriously. With the dawn of the Digital Age, many influencers are simply people with a well-known and well-respected blog or website.
The beauty industry is definitely paying attention. Suppliers are hiring their own influencers like Graham and spending huge marketing dollars putting them in spots where consumers are going to quickly notice. The goal, of course, is that their “spokespeople” will be a little more popular and, thus, influential, than those working for the company down the block.
Retailers also are noticing and many are hiring workers to monitor the trends, and helping retail buyers make the right decisions on what products to stock in their beauty sections in the weeks and months ahead.
In the end, though, it all goes back to making an impact with shoppers who simply want to be shown a better way. The difference, of course, is that years ago it was a slow, meticulous process where trends stuck around for a few months or so.
Today, it is done in a heartbeat, increasing the demand for the instantaneous result, but also growing the risk factor for those merchants who may bite too early or too late on a trend.
It’s all part of beauty retailing near the end of the second decade of the 21st century. Don’t worry. It will only become more and more complex in the future.