We had the pleasure of sitting down with Fran Benaud from Beauty Life Moments. Throughout Fran’s career she has played a pivotal role in the success of many international beauty brands.

From product manager positions to product development and new product innovation with global development groups, Fran has seen it all. She has worked with prestige brands Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton along with Yardley, Nutrimetics, Nu Skin, Sara Lee DE Beauty Brands.

Fran now consults and runs Beauty Life Moments, a beautifully curated platform for beauty and lifestyle brand stories. Today, Fran shares her insights and experience around what a beauty editor is looking for when it comes to your Flaunter profile. Let’s see what she had to say…

With the proliferation of beauty products on the market, what are you looking for when a new product is pitched to you?

There are several key areas, dependent on the beauty category:

The Five Senses of Beauty

It is said that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". This is especially true when reviewing a product formulation sample or a product that has been fully commercialized, ready to be marketed to consumers. From that moment, when someone holds a product in their hands, it is the beginning of a new journey. In its own way a product captures a unique collection of our senses that resonates at a very personal level - through the sense of look, touch, smell, taste, and sound. And, it is these five senses that directs our desires. I look for these connections.

When curating a formula, or reviewing a finished product, I look to the feel and texture, which begins with your sense of touch. How does it initially feel on the skin? How does it feel and look once it is absorbed into the skin? This goes to the senses of touch and sight.

If the product is scented the initial fragrance appreciation is so important. A fragrance is the most emotive of all the five senses. A scent can take us back to a place or time. Does the chosen fragrance meet the overall story of that product? Overly scented products can be polarising - be it a skincare, haircare or colour cosmetic product.

When reviewing a perfume, the approach is very different. It is not only about that first top note or heart note, but how the base notes resonate. A perfume tells a unique story with each user - due to the reaction on our skin no one scent is the same on two different people. This is the beauty of perfume. When trying a perfume for the first time there is no need for over sampling. Enjoy that initial moment as a fragrance is released and then wait a few minutes to understand the heart of the scent. The dry down of a perfume is the final chapter of the scent's story. It is at this point that the fragrance will reveal its true self. It is important as a Beauty Editor or product reviewer that you do not rush - simply spraying a scent onto a spray card or your wrist and not allowing the fragrance story to unfold will not capture the full character.

How A Product Meets Its Brand Proposition.

One of the overriding factors is: "Does the product meet the brand proposition?"

This is not only in the formula story, but across the packaging and how the product is marketed. The beauty industry has different product position tiers. So, I look to see where the product is positioned - and what I often see are those that are pitched at the 'luxury' end of the market or claiming to be 'clean beauty' that do not meet expectation or the proposition. This may be because the overall packaging design is weak; the formulation is not unique; or the product claims and story does not meet the perception that has been pitched. A product that does not meet its positioning promise will fail - fast.

What is the key ‘event’ periods in the beauty industry such as gifting and seasonality to base your PR calendar around or to consider when crafting your pitch?

It is true that the beauty industry is cyclical. However, the sales cycles have altered tremendously over the last ten years, with the inclusion of the cross-border marketing into China. Now, not only do beauty marketers have to take in the traditional western seasons of Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas and seasonal releases. If your brand is cross-border marketed into China, you now evolve your strategies to include their key retail promotional events. There are around twelve of these pertaining to on-line marketing, with some of the most important being 11:11 Singles Day 11th November; 618 Mid-Year June 18th; and Chinese New Year. And like all industries there are new emerging markets such as India and Africa that you now need to consider.

Therefore, marketers need to have a retail sales and marketing strategy that is more multi-tiered than ever before. This goes beyond just the beauty counter, but also to how products are presented to the beauty media. The days of one 'generic' marketing and public relations strategy are long gone. And while new products are always exciting, eighty percent of product sales come from twenty percent of a brand's portfolio in most cases. Therefore, it is also important as a marketer that you have a top-line product public relations program to pitch to the beauty media - and to be very aware of their editorial media calendar to not miss potential opportunities. PR is not always only about new products.

Are product samples important to share with beauty editors?

Yes, a product sample is very important. It is wonderful to receive a press release and imagery, but it does not properly substitute for a real product experience. Any brand needs to factor this into their marketing budgets. And, if there is another product that complements the story that should also be included. Trial sizes are a good way to extend a story to a beauty editor outside of the main product pitch.

Not only is the product sample important - but how it is presented when arrives. There is nothing more off-putting than to see a product that has not been packed correctly. If a Public Relations agency has taken the time to present the product in a more creative way it can have a very positive impact. First impressions count!

Do TikTok and influencer trends play a role in directing the narrative of the beauty industry? What do you see as the key trends of the moment?

The beauty industry is one that is always on the move and at the top of its game when it comes to innovation in marketing and storytelling. The industry is driving social-first commerce, prioritising social media platforms as the top driver for sales and engagement. TikTok, Instagram and Facebook are not only instrumental in sales growth but how influencer engagement is evolving. One of the biggest challenges for brands, beauty or otherwise, is matching authentic influencers to the brand narrative. It is not always about the size of a particular influencer's following. Micro-influencers can have a greater effect in terms of sales generation if their marketing is direct, authentic and speaks to their audience.

User-Generated Content (UGC) is becoming more important. Social Media Today states that UGC is 8.7x times more powerful than influencer content and 6.6x more influential than branded content. This is now seen as uniting communities of users; they are the new product testimonials. Also, TikTok Shop has redefined influencer marketing with its integration of content, talent, audience and e-commerce.

And the Beauty industry cannot forget engagement at a retail 'bricks and mortar' level - in the stores. The brand storytelling and brand identity must be reinforced here, with consistent messaging that reflects the full marketing circle.

The industry's largest audience with the buying power is the 40+ beauty consumers. This is one of the biggest areas for engagement, in an industry that overflows with brands and products. So how you engage this market tier in relation to the brand's 'voice' needs to differ to that of the under 40's market. Especially in terms of brand ambassadors, influencer marketing and tone of voice.

How does Flaunter help you as a media user?

The Flaunter platform helps to begin brand and product conversations and offers quality creative that ensures continuity for stories and features. This is not only relevant for beauty brands, but also crucial across fashion and lifestyle sectors, as these are part of the core pillars of Beauty Life Moments.

When it comes to the ‘About’ section on Flaunter, what are the key things you want to know about a brand?

This is an easy question to answer.

The Brand Story: To be concise and meaningful; relay the Founder story; and the brand profile. It is in essence a mini press-release on a brand.
The Brand Representative: That the contact information is accurate and updated. And if an agency is representing the brand, it is important that all Flaunter users have access.
Social Media: Relevant social media links.

How should a beauty brand set up their albums, and how important is quality product imagery?

The styling and set up of a Flaunter album by a brand or public relation agency is so important to a brand's perception.

The Album Layout

Firstly, an album needs to be current:

If an album is outdated, then remove it.
If an album is still active and needs updating - then update it! Not all PR is about new products so existing product information needs to be very current.

The Product Information

A full product press release or product information fact sheet is crucial to tell the product story.

This needs to include:

The Brand and Product Name - how the brand and product name require to be styled.
The Product Descriptive - one paragraph on the product identity and essence.
Who is the target audience?
The Product Benefits - the three key benefits and key active ingredients. (It is important here that any product claims information is substantiated.)
The Product Sizes and Retail Pricing.
The Product Availability - Regular line or limited-edition; sales and market channels.

The Brand and Product Imagery

Like a beautiful perfume it is about the quality not the quantity.

The setup:

By beauty category type.
Three to five of each: Product; Product swatches; Founder images; Retail Outlets if applicable.

Formats:

High-res and low-res options.

Model Usage:

Specify the use-by-date on model images.

Discontinued Lines:

Remove from files.

Tell us more about the ‘gunk’ shot and why this is a hero image.

The hero image tells the story - in beauty it is not only about the beautiful packaging image. A product swatch that is more than just a crème on a white background can be emotive. A product swatch image which, for example, shows a bottle where the product is being released creates a vision of how that product will feel with a reader. General product swatches are also important as they can reveal the different textures or colours of a lipstick or body exfoliator - as examples.

Images from Vivier via Flaunter.

Why is the document section in Flaunter important to a beauty editor?

The document section should not only relay the general product information. It is important that beauty editors understand the difference between a cosmetic product verses a therapeutic good, and how this relates to marketing a product. This is 101 of beauty marketing.

It is a brand's responsibility to ensure that the marketing information is compliant. And the same applies to PR agencies who are representing a brand.

An Example:

Moisturising Product Claim: Cosmetic claim: ‘Our body lotion contains aloe to help hydrate and moisturise your skin’. Therapeutic claim: ‘Our body lotion contains aloe to help hydrate dry skin, soothing and repairing psoriasis patches’. Products marketed to help elevate psoriasis are therapeutic and therefore require regulatory approval. Unless the product has this, you cannot make a therapeutic claim. Or create such a perception or claim through use of imagery.

The Check List

Are the product claims substantiated? If it is a list-able product: Has the Press Release been approved by the brand's compliance person? And if you are engaging in multi-markets: Have you adjusted the narrative accordingly to be compliant in such markets?
If a brand states it is sustainable: Have you included the relevant certifications to support such a claim?
If a brand is claiming to be organic or natural (which goes to how the product has been developed and manufactured). Can you substantiate such claims?
Have you briefed you PR agency accordingly? If the product is a therapeutic good they need to adhere to the approved copy supplied.

As Beauty becomes more cosmeceutical the regulatory bodies globally are looking to redefine categories. Beauty devices and the use of the term 'clean beauty' are currently being reviewed to define usage and terminology. The beauty regulation landscape is continually changing and therefore brands need to ensure that all marketing information released is compliant and up to date.

What advice would you give to an emerging beauty brand looking to start their PR journey?

A beauty PR strategy requires many things, especially if you are an emerging brand.

Firstly, ensure that you have scoped out your brand/product story and your brand messaging is on point. Not only in how you speak about your brand but what your imagery portrays.

In an over-prescribed market; what is your unique selling proposition? Simply saying, for example, that you are a "botanicals-based skincare brand", is simply not enough. And, if you have multi products in your collection do not keep repeating the same general copy descriptions for each product. Every product needs to tell its own unique story.

Then ask yourself the following questions:

Are you able to handle your PR launch yourself?
Are you a copywriter or do you need to engage someone to assist in this area?
Have you put aside funds for PR purposes?
Are you media savvy and have credible media contacts?

Engaging with beauty and lifestyle editors today is becoming more and more virtual and this is where platforms such as Flaunter can provide key assistance and advantages for emerging brands.

How to pitch your beauty products with Fran Benaud