Executive summary
Illamasqua is a premium cosmetics brand, launched November 2008 in the UK. In the subsequent year it has has significan impact on UK make-up retailing and has now launched into the USA and the Middle East.
Propaganda has worked with Illamasqua over the past 3 years to prepare a business strategy to position the newly developed company as the only premium, British cosmetics brand to establish a strong and valuable emotional connection with its consumers – existing market research demonstrated that consumers mainly connect to individual products, rather than brands.
Illamasqua’s mission has been to provide a range of make-up that encourages consumers to explore their alter ego with a full range of professional premium products that focus upon use at night-time, a unique territory for any brand in the sector.
Since launch, Illamasqua has achieved enviable distribution in some of the UK’s most successful retail outlets, as well as establishing a strong online channel. By Q2 2009, Illamasqua started international expansion with its launch into the USA.
Behind the success is the passion, focus and belief of the combined client / firm team that a make-up brand could challenge the promiscuous loyalty of consumers. Working closely with the client, Propaganda has been instrumental in bringing verified consumer insight and market validation to inform business planning, product development and ongoing brand strategy.
Working together, Propaganda and Illamasqua have launched a code-breaking cosmetics business that has delivered £2.2m sales (wholesale) in its first year.
“Since we first started thinking of creating a new cosmetics brand, Propaganda has worked side by side with us. They have challenged and evolved our thinking to ensure that we were fully prepared to take on what is certainly one of the most competitive retail sectors in the world.
They have been instrumental in tapping deep into the psyche of consumers to ensure our brand is based upon real and tangible consumer demands. The Propaganda team have combined an acute understanding of retail cosmetics with independent advice that gives us informed confidence in our decision-making. This is critical at such an early stage in the business evolution.
We are extremely proud of the brand we have built together with Propaganda and everyone at Illamasqua is excited about the future prospects for the brand, both in the UK and abroad.”
Carl Atkinson, Managing Director