Uses Social Media In Her Creative Quest To Rethink The Business of Beauty
Avon calling—on Facebook? Not exactly what you’d expect, but looking for a Ponce de León key to “social networking” among the digital generation is a company that rings a bell of another era.
Claudia Poccia, global president of mark., Avon’s trend-setting beauty and fashion boutique brand, and her team are successfully reinventing the direct selling business model for the next generation by tapping into the world of social media. In November 2009, mark. launched the first-ever digital selling application that transforms direct selling “from door-to-door to wall-to-wall!” mark. has a Facebook page, YouTube Channel and IPhone application.
In short, mark. is positioned to make its mark. “The face of the retail landscape is rapidly changing due to external forces and the consumer’s shift in shopping habits,” says Poccia.
Poccia joined Avon in November 2005 as global president of mark. She’s careful to distinguish “mark.” from “Avon,” even if both share entrepreneurial spirit and beauty products.
“mark. and Avon are two separate and distinct brands…The [mark.] brand was created to attract a new generation of customers and representatives—and to re-imagine direct selling for this new audience of women in the digital age.”
According to the savvy executive, both the mark. rep and customer, unlike Avon’s girl, are “digital natives…84% participate in social media and 74% participate in online shopping.”
And the mark. girl is different in other ways. “She craves total immersion in a brand, 24/7,” says Poccia. “We needed a way to bring social media and shopping together.”
But while Facebook and YouTube seem frivolous to some, mark. is involved in more than marketing endeavors. The brand established “m.powerment by mark.,” a philanthropic program with the mission of ending the cycle of dating abuse and partner violence.
For Poccia and her team, mark. is a way of empowering women—specifically, a future generation of mark. entrepreneurs no longer ringing doorbells to be heard.
As for the future of the company? “Our plan for mark.,” says Poccia, “is to continue to be ‘ahead of the now’ with innovation and finding new…ways to interface with the consumer.”
