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QVC and HSN: Prototypes of Pitchers

I recently watched the movie “Joy,” about Joy Mangano’s Miracle Mop and couldn’t help but think about the different prototypes of successful pitchers as seen in her success story. 

Neophyte: When Joy Mangano first pitched her miracle mop on QVC, they sold out immediately due to her ability to present herself as an outsider who wasn’t a business person, but a mom who recognized the need for a better product and made it in a way that was homespun. Like the McDermott sisters, Mangano developed a network of expert mentors who wanted to see her succeed. Her personality and honesty was able to come through and resonated with viewers. Throughout her career, Joy maintained this ability to connect with everyday people and products and was known for supporting other neophytes, recognizing their ability to sell what they know best. Individuals in this category are most at risk of being pushovers - if they don’t trust their product, they can waffle and quickly have their pitch diluted. 

Showrunner: Joan Rivers has helped QVC make more than $1B. While she’s known for critiquing fashion, she is by no means an expert or a designer. Like other showrunners, she brings the glamour, the spectacle, and the enthusiasm of showcasing innovation and new products. Individuals in this category run the risk of being used-car salesmen, given their enthusiasm and more surface-level knowledge of products. However, Rivers had an ability to use humor to relate and a work ethic and straightforward-ness that kept her enthusiasm and dazzle sincere. As featured in the movie Joy, she matter-of-factly tells Joy to show off her legs, highlighting the need to dazzle, while also selling out jewelry by giving it to the audience straight. 

Artist: While not featured in the movie, Isaac Mizrahi and others on QVC are more of the artists when it comes to pitching. In thinking this through, I watched a few videos of his pitches and what’s consistent is a more detailed analysis of the product itself. These pitchers are successful for their ability to create a vision that resonates with the audience. This group is most vulnerable to being robots, given that they may talk in detail about the product or the vision behind its design in a way that could be overly rehearsed or formulaic. 

Looking at these three archetypes in the QVC/HSN setting, what’s consistent is that pitches must be genuine or they run the risk of tipping into a category that kills the pitch itself - the pushover, the robot, or the used-car salesman. 

These channels speak to individuals who may not feel comfortable shopping or may not feel served by other stores or populations. From the comfort of their homes, audience members want to see individuals from all three archetypes, with the undercurrent of needing a genuine connection. 

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Beauty Industry’s Lack of Shade Diversity...SO Shady

Earlier this year, Tarte released 15 shades of shape tape with almost no dark shades. After social media uproar, they were forced to apologize. The initial pallet is below. Shades included three types of sand (light medium, medium, and tan) and four types of honey (light medium, medium, medium tan, and deep), not to mention even lighter shares like porcelain and beiges. 

Beauty companies have offered a range of reasons for this lack of diversity in shades and one has been the lack of market. However, last September, Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty, with 40 shades. All dark foundation brands sold out at Sephora. Since last fall, a few makeup brands have been expanding their shades to be more inclusive but there’s still such a long way to go. 

The ad below for Fenty Beauty is an edgy celebration and pushes against the lack of diversity, as well as the prioritization of lighter shades and skin tones that’s been far too acceptable in makeup brands. Hopefully Fenty’s success continues to push other makeup brands to respond, broaden customer base, and propel this conversation. 

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‘03 Burberry and Clyde “The Only Time You Wear Burberry to Swim”

In October 2002, Jay-Z and Beyonce took over the airwaves with their first duet, “’03 Bonnie and Clyde.” This video, which compares the newly public couple to the pair of American outlaws, was the epitome of cool. In the song, Jay-Z raps “The Only Time You Wear Burberry to Swim.” At that time, Burberry had made a resurgence as a hip luxury brand, popular with a younger demographic and increasingly embraced by the hip hop community. The price point of Burberry was above places like Banana Republic and Ralph Lauren but still significantly below Prada, Hermes, and Gucci to name a few. Jay-Z’s lyric is an awesome time capsule of Burberry in 2003. It was hip and luxurious enough for hip hop royalty to reference it but, since Jay-Z and Beyonce are next level rich, this middle price point luxury line was only good enough for swimwear. 

In this music video, the Burberry check is iconic, recognizable, and was so fresh in late 2002. But recognizable also means tons of counterfeits, which have watered down the brand to some degree, and the brand has failed to remain cutting edge. 

With Riccardo Tisci as Burberry’s new Chief Creative Officer, Burberry is hopefully on the cusp of an exciting new chapter. Givenchy, where Tisci spent more than a decade, has a phenomenal reputation for luxury and cool. Almost too many rappers seem to reference, and wear Givenchy constantly. And Tisci himself collaborated with Beyonce and Jay-Z for the 2014 “On the Run” tour and Rihanna for the 2013 Diamond World Tour, to give a few examples. 

Hopefully Tisci can bring the cool and edge back to Burberry - and that the direction will follow this recent Rihanna pic below. 

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When I first came across this new video and saw that this initial photo was the background of Singapore Airline’s (SA) Twitter page, I was somewhat confused on the branding. But after watching this video and thinking more about how SA differentiates itself from other airlines, it made sense. 

SA sells a personal, customer-oriented experience. As seen in this video, this personalization and focus on the customer and his/her unique journey is to the extent that the airline itself fades into the background. For the child playing in the beginning of this video, her journey is pure magic. For the man working at his desk in the office, he’s able to feel transported and fully connected to his team. For the couple enjoying a live show, they are the only people in a spacious theatre until the flight attendant comes to check in on whether the personalized experience is satisfactory. And for the couple enjoying the cliffside view, they are able to enjoy the beginning of their personal journey, feeling like the ocean is the only expanse.

Customer service is key for SA and the next level is letting the airplane itself fade into the background, to the point that only exciting new destinations and the flight attendance, ensuring optimal experience, are along for the ride. 

In addition to this personalization, magic, and emphasis on the journey, the other important branding theme that stood out to me is the emphasis on open space. SA has prided itself on the most comfortable, spacious cabins, the first fully reclining beds, and has competed with other premium airlines to have the most per-customer space for luxury. In all aspects of this video, the forest, the ocean, the theatre, and even the office, the spaces seem enormous and in most cases endless. This subconsciously brands SA as spacious and luxurious where customers and their needs are paramount and space constraints and other aspects of travel are secondary at most. 

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Several years ago, I had the chance to go wine tasting in the Colchagua Valley in Chile. While I didn’t recognize this at the time, since it was the first wine country I visited, what stands out today is the way Chilean vineyards have worked to develop a brand of accessibility. On our tour of Viña Santa Ana we were taken through the entire winemaking process and encouraged to drink wine directly from the stainless steel tanks (first photo). The vineyard had a hotel next door, where customers were encouraged to stay and enjoy the grounds. We also went to older vineyards, including Concha y Toro, the subject of our case, known for its old oak barrel cellar (second photo). While the two vineyards and others varied by age and process, what united them was this approachability - allowing us to explore Concha y Toro’s wine cellar similarly to Santa Ana. Vineyards felt hands-on and wines were made to be approachable to visitors. 

This is all part of an effort for Chile to strengthen its brand as the New World leader for wine production. Recognizing it cannot compete with France and Italy on the mystique of several hundred year old vineyards, Chile has chosen the route of embracing the new and making their vineyards, production, and wines a fun, approachable alternative for consumers. 

Source: http://www.vinasantacruz.cl/#nosotros,  https://www.conchaytoro.com/?lang=en_us

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Corona’s strong brand has been consistent for decades. “Fun. Sun, Beach” for its U.S. communications strategy continues to resonate with consumers. Earlier today, after seeing the first ad above, I asked five classmates which beer was most likely to be featured in a dancing gif on a beach. Each person said Corona, which I think highlights the consistency of this brand. 

Now under the ABI umbrella, it’s interesting to see how ABI continues to let its brands speak for themselves. For example, in pushing its brands to promote corporate social responsibility, Corona has been very vocal in promoting and funding beach clean ups (second ad above). Even with CSR, Corona’s fun beach vibe is clear.