Mac Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics

"All ages, all races, all sexes, all MAC. " This is the motto for one of the fastest growing cosmetics brands in the world, MAC Cosmetics. For MAC artists and MAC customers this motto is not just words it is truly what drives the culture of this amazing Company. At any given time you will find grandmothers shopping for color with their granddaughters. Isn't that an amazing and wonderful concept?

As you read further you will see why MAC is such a unique entity in this well established industry. Every aspect of what makes MAC Cosmetics; "MAC" being its products, its location, its brand image, or its phenomenal price point is unique and goes against most typical marketing methods. As we all know product, price, promotion and place are the four fundamental variables that either make or break a company. MAC is currently the only Estee Lauder brand that is not only meeting; but exceeding its annual sales goals. Last year MAC surpassed its sales plan by 121 million dollars! Which is unheard of in this industry.

Lets start at the beginning...Makeup Art Cosmetics or MAC was created in 1984 by two men, Frank Tosken a seasoned makeup artist and photographer and Frank Angelo a successful business owner of a chain of salons in Toronto. They found that cosmetic products that were readily available were not performing well under the intense environment of studio lights & perspiration, had little color payoff, and were constantly having to be touched up. So, they created cosmetic formulas and colors that met these specific needs. By using them backstage on models and performers news traveled fast about how wonderful these products were. At first MAC was only available to the professional makeup artist. Then by word of mouth news spread to the general population and was maid available to the public and in 1994 was purchased by the Estee Lauder who owns many of the world's favorite cosmetic brands. MAC continues to be a testimonial brand of cosmetics, meaning that there is no paid advertising for MAC to promote their traditional product. They rely solely on testimonials and word of mouth advertisement. However you may find that MAC does advertise only one product and that is Viva Glam Lipstick. This is their charity lipstick and it comes in five different shades. 100% of the retail selling price of this lipstick goes to men, women and children living with or affected by HIV and AIDS. This money goes to living needs and not research. MAC feels that there are enough efforts going towards finding a cure for AIDS, and that providing money to help make someone's life a little easier makes more of an impact right now. Currently the spokes person for Viva Glam V lipstick is Pamela Anderson, and she has helped us raise 4 million dollars for our MAC Aids Fund. As a whole, Viva Glam Lipstick has raised over 50 million dollars since its inception in 1984 and this number continues to climb.

MAC's image is Sleek, Clean, and straight forward. This is expressed through their packaging, product names, store image and how their employees dress. MAC is all about allowing the product to be the focus, so product packaging is simple and made of plastic or glass. There are no fancy shapes or embellishments. This allows for a reasonable price point and for the product not to be overshadowed by opulent, gaudy packaging. MAC products also have straight forward, logical names. For example eye shadow is called eye shadow, and their matte foundation is called Studio Matte Finish Foundation, instead of something creative like "eye transformer" or "Perfect Finish Foundation" which many other cosmetic companies use to sensationalize a product. Often you will find that MAC products have the word "Studio" or "Pro", before the actual name of the product. Such as Studio Fix Powder Foundation or Pro Eye makeup Remover. This is done so that customers know that this product was actually used by makeup professionals and used in a studio setting. This means, that these products do what they are meant to do quickly, and are easy to use and create a great finish that lasts.

MAC wants its customers to be able to experience their product line in a clean straightforward way. So, MAC locations are minimalistic, with Marble counter tops, wood or poured cement floors, and open tester units. When a customer walks into a MAC location they tend to be a bit overwhelmed, because all of the products are open and available to experience. That is why the MAC makeup artist is so important. All MAC employees are professional makeup artists. This means that before they are hired they must have experience doing makeup in a retail environment, or doing makeup as a profession. That is why customers have such high expectations when they come to a MAC counter. They know that the experience they'll have is going to be at a higher level since they are dealing with professionals. The MAC image is also communicated to the customer by the way artist dresses for work. A 100% Black attire is required. There is no particular dress code other than that. An artist is free to express their personal clothing style, as long as it is black. This allows an Artist to express and display their creativity and individuality, and in turn allows the customer to get a feel for the style of a makeup artist. Each customer is drawn to the MAC artist that represents a look that they can identify with, which is the start of a great customer experience. MAC artists are also required to wear a minimum of fifteen MAC and only MAC products on their faces every day. This is great advertisement, and shows the versatility of the products.

MAC is considered to be a luxury cosmetic line. Channel, Lancome, and Christian Dior are also luxury brands. Their prices tend to be quite high, for example the average price of a foundation from any of these lines is around $40.00. The most expensive MAC foundation is $27.50. They keep their prices down so that everyone can afford the experience of wearing professional products. The straight forward packaging and the lack of mass advertising and free gift promotions allows them to keep their prices reasonable. So you may ask, why doesn't MAC have a free gift? Every three to four weeks MAC launches a new color collection. Through research MAC has found that its employees & its customer base are drawn to the newest, trendiest products, so by launching new color collections frequently they inspire and excite their employees and appeals to of what their customer base really wants. By doing this MAC has a steady flow of income throughout the year. Most of the other companies have severely high revenue during "free gift" promotions and low revenue points when