Visit the cosmetics department at a nationwide drugstore chain, and the choices are staggering: myriad brands, colors and products, and a wall of beauty tools, with items that many people probably don't even know how to use.

Cosmetics also is one of the most profitable categories for these stores, especially since most shoppers purchase beauty items on impulse, says Jennifer Novak, customer marketing manager for Revlon, based in New York. "People getting a prescription walk by the cosmetics counter and will buy a lip gloss shade that wasn't on their shopping list initially."

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In order to better capture these unplanned purchases, Revlon last year launched Rev It Up!, a quarterly, 8-page newsletter designed as a mini-magazine. The issues were produced for the stores' cosmetics counter employees and product managers, and focused on each season's new color pallets and items on the shelf. Content included usage techniques and sales tips.

"While there was no way for us to really track quantitative ROI, we received phenomenal feedback from the retailers," Novak says. "Specifically from Walgreen's, which is probably our biggest indicator since they have dedicated beauty advisors. [The newsletter] educated them on the products and helped them sell specific products and keep their shoppers abreast of the trends for that season." Walgreen's also is partnering with Revlon to provide training to its employees on the cosmetic company's products. Eckert and CVS were two other companies targeted in the Rev It Up! campaign.

Ventura Associates, a sales promotion agency based in New York, came up with the concept for Rev It Up! "These stores are important accounts [for Revlon], and we thought the concept of the mini-magazine would motivate these women," says Renee Azoulay, senior director of new business development. "We brought fashion into play, with the basic premise that as a beauty advisor, they're becoming brand advocates themselves."

Ventura also produced an "Almay Day at CVS" event, designed to promote the Revlon brand to CVS employees, and is overseeing the second phase of the Rev It Up! campaign, which will launch later this year to 10,000 stores nationwide. "This time we're shifting the focus and making the newsletters more sales oriented," Azoulay says.



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