On your marks, get set… Market! Olympic fever inspires cosmetics companies

Molton Brown, a UK luxury cosmetics brand has entered the Olympic spirit with several products including a limited-edition set of bath and shower gels called Global Heroes Collection.

Cover Girl’s limited-edition Olympic Games versions of its LashBlast Mascara, Perfect Point Plus Eyeliner, and Outlast All-day Lipcolor were popular lines, driven further by endorsement from Canadian Olympic boxer Mary Spencer.

Endorsements and affiliation​

Procter & Gamble’s Gillette brand are another who has used affiliation with some of the event’s big names in order to further its marketing attempts.

It has partnered with a team of 24 athletes from 18 countries to represent the brand at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, with the hologram lights show put on in Boston in support of swimmer Ryan Lochte and sprinte Tyson Gay​, just one example.

Priti NYC has even released a special-edition London 2012 Olympics Collection called Heavy Medal, inspired by the medal colours.

“It may be a short-term engagement, but savvy marketers know that the response will extend far beyond, especially with products inspiring patriotism, such as OPI’s USA! USA! available in Sephora,”​ comments research firm Kline.

Sporting advantage​

“Tying in with sporting events as a means to promote brands has been a long and successful staple; recently, this type of promotion has been extremely popular with the male grooming market gaining momentum fast this year.”​

Kline explains that in the past, in order to build greater engagement with the male consumer, many brands have entered or extended their relationships with various sporting associations, such as Unilever’s partnership with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to promote its Dove Men+Care line and PG’s Gillette Fusion brand collaboration with the National Football League (NFL).

With the FIFA World Cup kicking off in Brazil in 2014 and then the 2016 Olympic Games, the country’s consumption of personal care and beauty products is predicted to far outpace that of developed markets over the next five years.

“The baton is being passed, and competitive personal care brands in for the long run are doubtlessly planning how to win a greater market share by teaming up with these high profile sporting events,”​ adds Kline.