MAC vs Anastasia Beverly Hills
Mac and
Anastasia Beverly Hills are both popular make up brands worldwide among young
teenagers, women and especially make up professionals. Both companies sell
similar products and have the same target market but both companies do many
things in different ways including the way they use the marketing mix.
Mac was
founded in Toronto by a professional make-up artist and photographer who was
not satisfied with how the colours looked when they were photographed on models
and so they began making the make-up products in their kitchen and selling it in a salon. The popularity soon grew and led to the products being sold in a store in
Toronto and from there it spread and became the worldwide known make-up brand it is today.
Anastasia
Beverly Hills was founded in 1997 by beauty entrepreneur Anastasia Soare, who was a Romanian immigrant with no language skills or financial means when she entered the US. She introduced many new skills into the make-up industry and made a name for herself with a small brand that is now an extremely
popular brand all over the world that provides a wide range of products to its
customers. Anastasia has come a long way since arriving in the US and is now one of the most renowned make-up artist and make-up producers in the industry.
Product
MAC
Mac
have a very distinct and recognisable brand logo that appears on all their
products and makes it easy to identify the product as MAC, they are constantly
bringing out new products and market them well using social media and
advertising in stores. Emails are sent to customers who are registered online
to inform them of the new products being released and these customers help to
inform other potential customers of these products using word of mouth, this is a very successful
method for MAC to get the information about their new products out to their
customers, which often sell out fast. MAC are currently in the maturity stage
of the product life cycle with the majority of their products. People like to
stick with what they know and buy products that they know are good because they
have purchased them before. Make-up artists are good for keeping the products
in this stage as they are constantly using products on clients which can lead
to a client then buying the product because they have found it worked well for
them. The core service of MAC is to provide an affordable high quality make-up
product to customers, their products are of a high quality and are very durable
and long lasting, there are not many after purchase services available as there
is nothing to be installed, nothing that can be easily broken and for hygiene
reasons products cannot be returned to the store but the staff are very helpful
when you are purchasing products to ensure that you are choosing the right
product and the right shade for yourself. Mac have a large mix of products with
a wide range of product types in many different colours and shades. MAC, like their
branding have a distinct packaging with products coming in black branded boxes,
meaning their products are protected from damage and it also means customers
can keep the products in a nice package.
Anastasia
Beverly Hills
Like MAC Anastasia Beverly Hills have a distinct logo but it is a lot fancier than
MAC’s with more intricate detail that appears on all their products and again
makes it distinct and recognisable. They bring out new products often and were
the first to introduce ‘brow shaping’ in the US (Anastasia Beverly Hills, 2016) it was made known
through Anastasia Soare’s use of this technique on famous faces such as Kim
Kardashian, Naomi Campbell and Jenifer Lopez.
These celebrities also help to advertise new and already available
products, for example Kim Kardashian has videos of her make-up routine with
products on her app in which she uses Anastasia Beverly Hills products. Like
MAC they advertise new products by social media and emailing their customers to
inform them of the products that are going to be available to them soon. Again,
like MAC, Anastasia Beverly Hills are in the maturity stage of the product life
cycle with most products still selling well due to customers repeatedly buying
the same product that they like and new customers deciding to buy products for
the first time. Make-up artists also help to promote products to their clients
resulting in an increase in sales for the company. The core service of
Anastasia Beverly Hills is the same as of MAC’s, hence the reason they are
competitors, they both aim to provide high quality, affordable make up products
for their customers. The products are designed to benefit the customer with
them being simple to use and easy to access the contents, they show the brand
name and are products of a high quality. Again there isn’t much the company can
do to follow up after a purchase as they cannot provide warranty or install
anything. Anastasia Beverly Hills packing is easily identified by the logo which
is always somewhere noticeable on the product, the packing is simple yet
elegant and does not damage easily.
PRICE
Both MAC and
Anastasia Beverly Hills are not the cheapest make up brands on the market but
they are brands that are considered to be two of the best brands on the market and therefore are a reasonable quality for the quality of product you receive when you purchase
them.
MAC
MAC
prices have been the same for products since I began shopping there, each
product has a set price, no matter what shade it is, the only time it increases
is when it is a bigger bottle or a palette with more variety. The products are
reasonably priced and are long lasting, for example I’ve had my MAC powder for
almost a year and it still has plenty in it but the life of a product varies
with every person as some use theirs more than others do. MAC prices are not
the cheapest out there but they provide a good quality product at a price that
is affordable but not a price that you would be happy to spend on a regular basis.
MAC do not offer many in store promotions, although occasionally do a % off
promotion at a seasonal change or on a day like black Friday, but online they
provide customers with free delivery, free returns and also offer a sample
product with all online orders. All prices on the MAC site include VAT charges
but exclude delivery charges, the total cost of your shop is the product plus
delivery charges which are priced on the site. (MAC terms & conditions, 2016) MAC do not
discriminate with their prices as they are affordable although they are more
expensive than some brands, they are not specifically aimed at richer people.
Anastasia
Beverly Hills
Anastasia Beverly Hills prices have always remained the same
price they were originally set at. The products from Anastasia Beverly Hills
are highly regarded in the make-up industry, they are of a high quality and are reliable
products that are long lasting which is why they are often purchased by make-up
artists. They again, like MAC, are not cheap products but are worth the money
you pay for them, their palettes have a large variety of shades and there are a
large variety of make-up palettes available from them. Anastasia Beverly Hills
do not offer promotions and discount codes on a regular basis but do offer free
shipping on orders over a certain price and do also participate in Black
Friday. Anastasia Beverly Hills pricing terms state that any pricing errors
will be corrected where they are found, it also says that they have the right
to revoke any offer on their site. (Anastasia Beverly Hills terms & conditions, 2016) Anastasia Beverly
Hills aim their products at young teens, make-up artists and all women, they
are endorsed by a lot of celebrities in America who openly say that they use
and like the products such as the Kardashians although they do not aim their
products at celebrities, they make their items affordable for all types of
people and want to have a wide variety of consumers.
MAC
MAC use
social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter Instagram and Snapchat to
advertise their products, old and new, because these sites are so popular it
means that more people will see new products and it means that people who like
MAC can follow their pages to specifically see what new products are coming out
or what sales they may have on. They are able to directly aim their products at
their target market especially by the use of social media and also through bloggers, because by sending the products
to the bloggers for them to use and post pictures of on their blogs and social media post, they can target the young people that follow the blog posts. MAC entice
customers with their free delivery and free sample with every order offer on their website
because women can’t resist free make up!
Below is a review by a You Tube blogger on one of MAC's products.
Anastasia
Beverly Hills
Anastasia Beverly Hills also use social media to advertise their
products to their desired target market via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
Snapchat. They often advertise their most popular items but often advertise
their new products on the sites. They also gain a lot of their advertising
through bloggers by sending them free products to advertise on their blog and
to use and mention on their social media posts. Anastasia Beverly Hills
encourage customers to buy their products through word of mouth and reputation
as they are a well respected brand that are thought of highly in the make-up
industry, they also offer free delivery on orders over a certain price which
encourages customers to spend more so that they do not need to pay for the
delivery of their products.
Below is a You Tube blog post reviewing an Anastasia Beverly Hills product
People
MAC
MAC
have over 2500 members of staff, they tend to hire make-up artists or people
aspiring to be make-up artists such as people studying make up artistry at
college so that they are able to advise people on the best products for them
and so that they can also provide customers with makeovers that are of a high
quality. MAC provide staff with a week of basic training in which they learn
everything about the company including the history of the company, the products
that are sold and how to apply the make-up properly. Staff are provided with a
‘bible’ with everything they need to know about MAC and are given constant
training on new products so that they can keep customers up to date on all of
their products and are shown how to use these products by professionals. (Leigh, 2014) . Staff in the MAC
stores are always very helpful and ensure that you find the product you are
looking for and get the correct shade for your skin tone, they are also very
pleasant and chatty when you are in to get your make-up done by them, they
ensure their customers are well cared for at all times.
Below is a link to a blog post about a girl in New Zealand's time working at MAC
Anastasia Beverly
Hills
Anastasia Beverly Hills is sold in 25 countries, with stores all over
the US in places such as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Orlando and many
more, they are always looking to recruit staff and have a process for applicants
on their website. Staff have many requirements to even be able to apply for the
job and these requirements include 2 years of experience in the beauty
industry, ability to work in a team and alone, excellent organisational skills,
ability to work in a fast past paced environment, excellent writing and verbal
skills and preferably a college degree. (Anastasia Beverly Hills, 2016) These many requirements
ensure that Anastasia Beverly Hills only receives applications from people who
are serious about working in the store and who want to actually be make-up
artists in the future, not just young girls who love the make-up brand and want
a discount. The requirements listed show that Anastasia Beverly Hill want staff
that are able to communicate properly with customers and ensure that they are
able to make their shopping experience memorable for the best reasons.
Process
Anastasia
Beverly Hills are well known for being a cruelty free company. They are listed
on PETA’s website as a cruelty free company meaning they do not test their new
possible make-up products on animals, this means that they may sell a lot more
products than brands that do test on animals as there are many people who are
completely against the concept of testing on animals.
MAC on the other hand is
a company that is not cruelty free, they test their possible new products on
animals before selling them to the consumer, this may reduce their sales as people
who support PETA might not buy their products.
There is not much information
provided on company’s that do test on animals although if you do want to find
out it is available on PETA’s website but many people might not know about this
and therefore might not know that MAC test on animals and Anastasia Beverly
Hills don’t. This may be the only point that the two brands differ but this
minor difference could be a big thing for the companies sales. People often
protest outside of stores who test on animals, like MAC, meaning that people
might avoid the MAC store and their sales may drop for a period of time or
permanently because it could be a realisation for people who didn't know about
this.
Below i have attached the link to PETA's site where you can search and see which brands are cruelty free, so go and search your favourite brand to see whether they are cruelty free or not.
