Comprehensive Analysis of Colorbar’s Marketing Strategy – Affordable Luxury Brand on the rise

Previously, we discussed the intensive marketing strategy of Levi’s, the world’s most iconic clothing brand and the pioneer of blue jeans. In this case study, we’ll be explaining, in brief, the idealogy, persona, and marketing strategies followed by Colorbar, one of the leading manufacturers of cosmetics in India.

In order to understand the Marketing Strategy of Colorbar Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd, our students from the PGPDM batch of June ‘21, Anusha Pandey, Aishwarya Dhadke, and Chirag Somaya made a comprehensive analysis of the brand’s online presence, problems faced, and campaign strategy to overcome such problems and media planning. Before we take a deeper dive into the research, let us understand a bit more about the company.

About Colorbar 

Colorbar Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd. is one of the leading beauty brands in India and across the globe. Starting off as a pet project of the director of Modi Enterprises, Samir Modi, the brand didn’t perform well till 2010. That is when Modi took matters into his own hands and changed the growth strategy of the brand. 

Today, Colorbar which started selling cosmetics from a standalone store in Chandigarh is operating out of 1300 shop-in-shops and 100 brand stores. Colorbar has come a long way and has not just established itself as a trustable name in the Indian market but also emits an international look and feel through its extensive lineup of products. 

The brand believes in gender neutrality and that everyone has the birthright to express themselves in their own way and their cruelty-free product range caters to this idealogy. Colorbar believes that change is the only constant and challenges themselves and the traditional beauty norms that are present in the industry. It is this forward-thinking and the urge to grow beyond the lines that helped the brand secure two Guinness World Records.

Now, let us move on to the market research and analysis of Colorbar Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd.

Research & Analysis of Colorbar

The student team conducted a brand audit for Colorbar to get a transparent image of the brand’s standing in the current cosmetics market in India. This audit is a compilation of primary research (survey reports through interviews) and secondary sources (media publications, research papers, and articles.)

Target Audience 

Keeping in mind the rising number of women entering the corporate environment clubbed with globalization and liberation of the Indian mindset, Colorbar has focused its attention on the target demographic of modern millennials who are willing to allocate a considerable part of their purchasing power to popular fashion and beauty trends. 

This target demographic includes women between the ages of 20-45. Out of this audience, the majority are working professionals, makeup enthusiasts and homemakers who are rediscovering their love for fashion and beauty culture with the help of social media.

Competitor Analysis

Colorbar presents itself as a premium and innovative brand that provides international quality and variety through its products. In the Indian market, Colorbar competes with makeup veterans, Lakme and draws inspiration from fellow Indian beauty startup, Sugar Cosmetics.

Problem/Opportunity Statement

Colorbar prides itself on providing an international product appeal and shopping experience where the consumer can rediscover their love for makeup and be pampered all under one roof. The brand provides this experience for an affordable price while maintaining inclusivity with sustainably sourced ingredients and the philosophy of having a “color for everyone.” Colorbar’s Samir Modi aims to bring the Colorbar experience online for a boost in sales by hopping onto major beauty trends. 

The consumer base that the brand is targeting is digitally aware, and informed, and spends a majority of their time online. Unlike their counterparts, they read about what goes into the products that they intend to use. They are concerned that the packaging is eco-friendly and even the brand’s take on modern issues. These consumers are more inclined towards quality, and online presence and often sway in the direction of emerging trends when it comes to beauty and fashion.

Our student team has successfully identified the meeting point for the brand’s goals and the consumer’s desires in the beauty segment. After a thorough analyzing of the same, they have come up with a campaign idea to boost Colorbar’s position in the Indian market.

Strategies and Solutions for Colorbar

According to a survey conducted by the student team, Colorbar’s target audience gets awareness about the brand mostly through social media. 68 percent of the surveyees reported that they find out about makeup brands majorly through influencers. 

Through this survey, our team was able to conclude that gone are the days when a brand’s sales could be boosted by the slightest promotion by the trendiest stars. Colorbar’s target audience depends more on product recommendations given by their peers whom they view as genuine influencers. This demographic is highly cynical of flashy collaborations and sponsorships.

The same survey also helped us conclude that social responsibility is non-negotiable for Colorbar’s target audience. This audience is a crusader for change and a part of the most eco-conscious generation for whom taking action against non-sustainable practices is directly tied to safeguarding their own future. 

Our student found out that a clear majority of the surveyees had no problem shopping online and a huge portion of them preferred the online experience. Another relevant finding was that almost 80 percent of the surveyed shopped for beauty products exclusively before the wedding season, which brings us to our campaign strategy for Colorbar.

We have come up with a new campaign for Colorbar called “The Colorbar Wedding” which addresses the target audience’s requirements and caters to the “big, fat Indian wedding.”

Campaign Hashtags : #thecolorbarwedding  #colorforeveryone

SEO

 

For Colorbar’s SEO strategy, we recommend the following blog ideas

• 5 Makeup must-have for this wedding season
• 11 wedding makeup tips every bride should know
• 11 essential wedding day makeup products
• 11 Must-have bridal makeup kit essentials
• Top 5 makeup artists every bride should follow

All of the above blogging ideas are wedding themed and help create awareness about our campaign “The Colorbar Wedding.”

SEM

• Google Display Ads

Users who have visited Colorbar’s website or are a part of the brand’s social media audience will be shown these advertisements enticing them to make a purchase and end their journey. Our team has allocated 10 percent of the total budget towards Google Display Ads as it is a great tool to enhance brand recall using remarketing. They can be targeted based on interest as well. Display ads have one of the highest rates of conversions in the industry.

• Influencer Marketing

The audience of an influencer represents a very active user base of people who like to imitate their favorite people on the internet. For Influencer Marketing, our team recommends collaborations with personalities like Kritika Khurana, Malvika Sitlani Aryan, and Jyoti Sethi for a modern take on beauty norms and wedding-themed inspirations, especially with Kritika Khurana’s recent wedding-based campaign. The budget allocation for this has been set to 10 percent of the total, which amounts to 1.6 crores.

• Google Video Ads

With videos being the most popular form of media consumed on the internet, we believe that Google Video Ads can be utilized for their advanced targeting options and influence the buying patterns of our audience. Our team has set aside 10 percent of the budget for Youtube advertisements.

• Social Media Marketing

As discussed earlier, Colorbar’s target audience is between the age group of 20-45 and such a demographic prefers Instagram and Facebook over other social media platforms. Hence, our team has allocated 15 percent of the budget for Facebook and Instagram ads in the form of static posts, stories, and carousels.

• E-commerce portals

For sponsored brand placement on beauty category pages of e-commerce websites, our team has shortlisted Amazon, Myntra and Purplle for creating more brand awareness online and The Wedding Brigade to collaborate on “The Colorbar Wedding.” The budget allocation for third-party advertisement mediums has been set to 3.2 crores.

• Google Search Ads

Conducting remarketing through google search ads is one of the most tried and tested strategies in digital marketing. For this purpose, our students have made a list of “brand,” “competitor,” and “generic” keywords that we can target. The budget allocation for Google Search Ads is 1.23 crores.

• Remarketing

This ad campaign uses email addresses or RLSA (Remarketing lists for search ads). This is a feature that let us customize your search ads campaign for people who have previously visited your site, and tailor your bids and ads to these visitors when they’re searching on Google and search partner sites. For remarketing, our team has allocated a budget of 4.37 crores.

Check out the full media plan that our team has curated here.

Fashion and Beauty Trends

When Disney + Hotstar released Euphoria in 2019, the internet became obsessed with the makeup and fashion aesthetics of the show’s characters. The internet had exploded with Euphoria-based lookbooks and blogs and every major brand had its own products sponsoring those articles. 

Colorbar missed out on that trend which could have been a major awareness campaign for the brand. Our team’s recommendation would be to stay on top of such trends and get on the Euphoria bandwagon as soon as the next season makes the internet run their fingers through their makeup bags. 

Chatbot

According to our sources, the most common frustrations witnessed by consumers include 

• Website being difficult to navigate
• Not being able to get answers to simple questions
• Basic details about a business being hard to find

Here is where Chatbots shine as they fulfil the dual purpose of helping the consumers find solutions to the simplest queries easily and keeping the bounce rate of the website in check.

Social Media Strategy 

When it comes to beauty and fashion, Instagram tops the game with all the major brands and influencers being active on the social media giant. Both Lakme and Sugar Cosmetics have 2 million-plus followers on their Instagram while Maybelline has a staggering 11 million followers. This is an area where Colorbar needs to pull up its socks as it has a mere 552K follower count on Instagram. Our team has curated a variety of creatives that could be utilised to get more activity and engagement on Colorbar’s social media pages and create awareness for “The Colorbar Wedding” campaign. 

Our team recommends the following tips to strengthen the online image of Colorbar – 

• Humanized Content
• Makeup Tips
• Hop on Trends
• Heavy focus on Reels
• Skincare for Brides
• Wedding Makeup

Other Recommendations

• A mobile app exclusively for Colorbar products and a blogging portal curated for makeup artists and enthusiasts.
• A QR code is provided with Colorbar products that give the customers a discount code for future purchases through the app.
• For offline marketing, paid features in bridal magazines and newspapers during the wedding season would create a buzz for “The Colorbar Wedding” at a point when the target is at the action stage of the AIDA funnel.

The Outcome of the Campaign

In the previous financial year, Colorbar had a turnover of over 425 crores and expects to see a growth of 40 percent in the next financial year. 

If the brand implements our campaign strategy and makes sure to put the recommendations into action, we expect to see sales over 595 crores in 2022 out of which online sales would contribute at least 209 crores. This would spike up Colorbar’s online sales from 20 to 35 percent fulfilling both the brand’s expectations and the consumer’s demands.

Conclusion

Colorbar Cosmetics Pvt. Ltd. is a relatively new brand in the Indian beauty market. The brand’s USP highlighting its “International Formulations,” “Affordable Luxury” and “Constant Innovations” meet the demands of the modern consumer. Yet, Colorbar is considerably on a lower scale when compared to similar Indian brands like Sugar Cosmetics which has an online presence comparable to veterans Lakme India. 

Although the brand has its idealogy right, its online presence and campaign need a kickstart. For this purpose, our team has strategically devised “The Colorbar Wedding” along with a number of non-campaign recommendations that will help our brand acquire the market share that it deserves.

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