Advertising

Due to the fact MUA Cosmetics is yet to become a well-known brand, the small company has very little advertising. As far as I am aware through research of the internet and looking through magazines, MUA has minimal TV or magazine advertisement, if any. Because of this, they heavily rely on Social Media and Superdrug stores to sell and promote their products.

I generated a little research of my own to see how the makeup stands in Superdrug stores looked. The images below show two different stores in Southend which show the displays of products:

The image to the left shows a regular makeup stand where the products are laid out on a flat display showing all the products at once. At the top middle of this stand, MUA show the products they have on promotion. At this current time of the photograph, their eyeshadows were on offer for 2 for £7, rather than £4 each. The stand is separated into clear sections to show product ranges for easier navigation for customers.

To the right, we can see that the MUA stand is a separate swivel stand. This has its positives and negatives. The positive side of this is that it is different from the other stands and makes the viewing more interesting for the customer. There are graphic posters in between each section to promote MUA as a brand and gives the customer an idea of what they can purchase. The fact that this stand is separate can also be a negative due to the fact that it may not be noticed by customers as it is not displayed like the other makeup brands' products. Customers may dismiss this stand as less of a prestigious makeup brand as it looks less important that the others.

To my disappointment, these particular Superdrug stores didn't do MUA any favours with these displays at the time of my visit. The displays were very low on stock making the displays look bare and unappealing. The testers of the products looked old and overused which created a mess and looked unprofessional. If I did not know MUA better, and it was my first time viewing the brand, I would not purchase the products. Fortunately, I have seen MUA stands looking fantastic before which drew me to the brand the first time and luckily the products were very pleasing, resulting in myself being a returning customer.

Not only do MUA have social media and Superdrug to advertise their product, they also have a product with a celebrity endorsement. This product is Lip Boom which is endorsed by Alexandra Burke. 

Muastore.co.uk, (2015). Search results for: 'alexandra burke' | MUA Make up Academy. [online] Available at: http://www.muastore.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=alexandra+burke [Accessed 28 Apr. 2015].

If you are not an X Factor fan, then you may not have heard of Alexandra Burke before. She is known by few, yet her target market fans' age range is likely to be the same as MUA's target market age range. As you can see these products are currently in the sale, which may suggest that they aren't doing particularly successfully anymore. This lip range was in fact released in May 2012 when Alexandra's success was more public and the sales of this product may have been more successful at that time.

Love, R. (2012). Alexandra Burke to release Lip Boom range next month. [online] Digital Spy. Available at: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/news/a375690/alexandra-burke-to-release-lip-boom-range-next-month.html#~pb8Bxw8qCfXIAh [Accessed 28 Apr. 2015].