Master of Arts Dissertation: A comparative study of Asian and Non-Asian consumer perceptions of promotional strategies in the cosmetic industry

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DISSERTATION
A comparative study of Asian and Non-Asian consumer
perceptions of promotional strategies in the cosmetic
industry.
a conceptual project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Arts in International Business and Management at the
Westminster Business School
of the
University of Westminster
by
SB
29.August 2013
Supervisor: NS

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Abstract
As the world’s economic gravity centre is gradually shifting from west to east,
it is of tremendous interest for cosmetics companies to either enter these
markets or to further familiarize themselves with the market characteristics to
optimize their strategies. The increase in disposable income of the middle
class promises for Asia to host 64% of the global middle class and will be
responsible for over 40% of worldwide middle-class consumption.
The omnipresence of the Internet and the availability of vast amounts of
information have empowered consumers and therefore made company
sponsored advertising through traditional marketing less effective.
In order to increase consumer’s purchase intentions and gain customer
loyalty, firms now need to consider using new media strategies, such as
indirect advertising through opinion leaders on social media platforms. The
latter imposes a higher risk for firms as reviews online can spread negative
word of mouth, but the emphasis of negative attributes is what makes the
message more authentic and credible to consumers.
This research has compared the consumer perceptions of various means of
advertising, traditional and non-traditional, and the trust therein of Asian and
Non-Asians with the use of an online survey.
The most predominant finding of this research was that the advice and
recommendations of friends and family were preferred over any medium at
any time. However, it was found that Non-Asians showed a favorable attitude
towards more factual and expert advertising such as print media and sales
staff. Asians were strongly influenced by online reviews and blogger’s
recommendations. Non-Asians also had a very strong bias towards company-
sponsored advertising, whereas Asians felt largely indifferent towards it.
Company-launched social media networks were largely unheard of, but
Asians showed an interest in using those, whereas Non-Asians strongly
preferred independent social networks and reviews. In line with the findings of
this research, recommendations have been provided for firms.

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Table of Contents
1.Introduction .............................................................................................................6
1.1. Economic Shift towards Asia..............................................................................6
1.2. Cosmetics in Asia ...............................................................................................7
1.3. Web 2.0 and Social Media..................................................................................8
1.3.1. Reference Groups .........................................................................................10
1.3.2. Opinion Leaders.............................................................................................11
1.4. Project Objectives.............................................................................................12
2. Literature Review............................................................................................... 12
2.1. History ...............................................................................................................12
2.2. The Cosmetics Industry....................................................................................13
2.3. The Asian Cosmetic Industry............................................................................14
2.4. Marketing ..........................................................................................................15
2.5. Cross Cultural Marketing ..................................................................................17
2.6. Traditional Advertising ......................................................................................17
2.7. Online and Social Media Advertising................................................................19
2.8. Non-Traditional Advertising ..............................................................................20
2.9. The Influence of Bloggers.................................................................................22
2.10. Word of Mouth in the Cosmetic Industry........................................................24
3. Methodology ....................................................................................................... 25
3.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................25
3.2. Gap Analysis.....................................................................................................25
3.3. Research Design..............................................................................................25
3.4. Primary Research- Quantitative Survey...........................................................27
3.5. Sampling ...........................................................................................................28
3.6. Pilot Test ...........................................................................................................28
3.7. Secondary Data ................................................................................................29
3.8. Limitations .........................................................................................................29
3.9. Data Analysis ....................................................................................................30
3.10. Ethical considerations.....................................................................................30
4. Data Analysis and Interpretation................................................................... 30
4.1. Basic Data.........................................................................................................31
4.2. Motivation and Influencers................................................................................32
4.3. Company Advertising........................................................................................38
5. Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................. 41

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6. Limitations........................................................................................................... 44
7. Appendix.............................................................................................................. 53

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1.Introduction
1.1. Economic Shift towards Asia
It is no news that the world’s economic gravity centre is gradually shifting from
west to east. (Dobbs, 2012) Above all, the increase in disposable income of
the middle class shows assuring figures and by 2030, Asia will host 64% of
the global middle class and will be responsible for over 40% of worldwide
middle-class consumption. (Rohde 2012) Consequently, the Asian emerging
markets portray attractive investment opportunities for multinational
corporations (MNC), who have largely been expanding into these regions.
The economic growth has brought a change of lifestyle to these areas,
increasing the consumption of consumer goods. Emerging markets usually
need to achieve a certain level of income or GDP before consumer goods are
adopted. Initially, these markets are introduced to household goods such as
detergents, soaps and processed packaged foods before moving to personal
care products and cosmetics (Mirae Asset 2012). Given the aforementioned
middle class predictions and the fact that Asia ‘s development is moving
towards advances stages, this region should be the main focus of fast moving
consumer goods (FMCG) and cosmetics companies. As Figure 1
demonstrates, the personal care industry has been steadily growing over the
past five years and is even said to less sensitive to crisis compared to other
industries. In the 2001 crisis, lipstick sales soared 11% in the US, and was
referred to as the “lipstick index” by Leonard Lauder, the chairman of Estée
Lauder. He believed that the latter was a reliable indicator that lipstick sales
increased in economic downturns, as women still try to find more affordable
ways to indulge and treat themselves (The Economist 2009).

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Figure 1 Dow Jones Personal Products Index, 5yr performance Source:
Bigcharts.marketwatch.com
1.2. Cosmetics in Asia
Moreover, the Asian vigorous skincare routine with the use of multiple
products goes far beyond an average European. Additional skin concerns
unknown in the western markets, such as whitening creams, equip the market
with further sales opportunities. (Daneshku 2013)
Thus, in order to make use of that highly profitable market and gain market
share and customer loyalty, companies try to reach out to consumers in
countless different ways. Numerous studies investigating different advertising
techniques and consumer perceptions in the Asian cosmetics market have
previously been conducted by authors such as Barnes (2009) and Barnes and
Yamamoto (2008), whereas none of them have included perceptions non-
traditional approaches, such as endorsement through blogs, YouTube
channels, online reviews and other social media platforms. On the other hand,
word of mouth (WOM) enablement and consumer engagement through social
media has been explored to a large extent, but not in a comparative cultural

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study in the context of cosmetics. These researches will be further explored in
the literature review.
1.3. Web 2.0 and Social Media
The Internet has transformed the world. There are people born in the new
“digital era”, growing up with the Internet and having no imagination of what
life would be without it. (The Economist, 2010) Now that a third of the world is
connected to the Internet, the state of hyper-connectivity has been further
enforced with the emergence of social media. (Aljazeera, 2012) Creating our
identity online has become a consistent part of modern life. (Beddington, J.
2013)
This has created an entire new sea of opportunities for companies, as they
can now use an interactive approach with their customers. Consumer
engagement has led to discoveries of new ideas on how to market and even
improve products. Those include factors such as better insight to consumer
behavior, and actual measurable Return On Investment (ROI). The constant
improvement of analytical quantifying tools will soon be able to enlighten the
actual return on investment on social investments, especially if the recent
trend of institutionalizing social practices integrates itself into normalcy.
(Holmes, R. 2012)
Considering those recent modifications, the business environment is faced
with rising dynamism and complexity. Constant changes in customer demand
challenge businesses to innovate new strategies to keep up with the market
pace. (Alpay, G., Bodur, M., Yilmaz, C. 2012) A profound issue that
businesses are faced with is the fact that consumers are becoming better
informed by the day and therefore have built some immunity towards
advertising. (Social Media Contractors, 2012)
Furthermore, tools like Online Reviews and Social Media have created a
platform for users to engage with each other as well as to be more connected
to a brand. It is therefore of high importance for businesses to realize that
traditional advertising is not enough to encounter the informed consumer in
the way to stimulate their purchase intention. (Kirby 2006) Businesses have

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started adapting their marketing strategy to an Integrated Marketing Strategy-
that means, in addition to traditional advertising, businesses must engage
consumers with Social Media as well as find bloggers to actively review their
products. (Figure 2)
Figure 2, Source: Nielsen 2012
The emergence of online-based social media platforms has enabled one
person to communicate with thousands of other people about products used
and companies that deliver them. Therefore, the power of consumer-to-
consumer communication, also known as word of mouth, has been
significantly magnified. Mangold and Faulds (2009) hence argue that social
media is a hybrid element of the marketing mix, as it enhances traditional
marketing by allowing companies to directly communicate to their consumers,
and transformed non-traditional ways by consumers directly exchanging
experiences and knowledge to one another. Contrary to traditional integrated
marketing communications, the content and frequency of occurrence of the
latter is out of the company’s direct control. Kingaby’s (2012) found that 90%

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of adults use social media platforms- 79% of those who purchase beauty
products online spent half their time researching products pre-purchase
through blogs and other social media. Consequently, the average budget
companies allocated for blogs and social media has tripled in the last three
years.
Given the powerful position of consumer driven conversation and buzz,
managers must learn to influence and form consumer discussions that is in
line with the organization’s mission statement and performance objectives. As
it is crucial to promote consumer engagement to establish a sustainable
customer relationship, it is suggested that companies actively provide
networking platforms, use blogs and other social media and promotional tools.
(Mangold and Faulds, 2009)
1.3.1. Reference Groups
A reference group is an individual or a group considered of having significant
influence and relevance upon an individual’s, aspirations, behavior and
evaluations. Before the Internet was extensively available, most reference
groups were formed with people who had face-to-face contact. Due to the
Internet, it is possible to share interest, opinions and content online through
virtual communities or blogs and reach out to a wider range of people that had
not been met in person. Whereas membership reference groups consist of
people that are known to the members, aspirational groups are composed of
members that people can identify with or admire. Marketers therefore attempt
to adopt an aspirational reference group strategy by focusing on highly visible
and widely admired figures and connect these people to brands and products
in order for them to make consumers associate those admirable qualities with
the products endorsed (Solomon 2010). In the cosmetics industry, this
strategy is widely used by celebrity endorsement. L’Oréal Paris for instance
uses celebrities such as Jennifer López, Beyoncé and Eva Longoria to
advertise their products.

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1.3.2. Opinion Leaders
Recommendations of some people carry more weight than other people’s.
These knowledgeable people whose advice is taken seriously are referred to
as opinion leaders. They are known to habitually influence other people’s
attitudes and behavior. The information opinion leaders provide is considered
extraordinarily valuable, as they possess expert and knowledge power in a
certain product category with which they are able to inspire and guide their
social environment. As they are independent, they present product
information in an unbiased way and consequently depict a credible and
authentic source of opinion seekers.
The blogosphere therefore has provided a massive platform for beauty
bloggers to establish themselves. According to Li (2005), the most significant
motivators for people to blog were self-documentation and self-expression.
Those needs combined with the prospect of monetization have led to a
significant increase in professional relationships between firms and beauty
bloggers. Even though most beauty bloggers receive products for free to
review, opinion leaders do not represent the interest of one firm, unlike
commercial endorses. Therefore, they are able to portray a more relatable
and credible image to consumers and form an ideal link between consumers
and firms. They are the ideal outlets for firms to communicate through a
credible source to their consumers.
Whereas for most people risk is the most purchase-encumbering factor,
opinion leaders are likely to be amongst the first to purchase new products
and thus absorb a large share of that risk, reducing hesitation for the less
courageous. Most importantly, beauty bloggers do not only focus on the
positive aspects of a product like company sponsored communication, but
include negative attributes into their reviews, which makes their opinion
invaluable to information seekers looking to reduce risk (Solomon 2010).

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1.4. Project Objectives
Even though giant market players such as L’Oréal and Estée Lauder have
entered the Asian markets years ago, it has not been effectively explored how
Asian consumers engage in Social Media in terms of beauty. This report aims
to investigate the attitude towards traditional and non-traditional media and
the perceptions thereof from Asian and Non-Asian consumer perspectives. In
Britain alone, Mintel (2012) suggests that 15million British people have
interacted with beauty and personal care brands online through social media.
Still, it is said that cosmetic companies have not managed to unlock its full
potential and haven’t been successful of implementing an effective social
media marketing strategy (Kingaby 2012). In order to understand the
consumer behavior, this research aims to extract and compare Asian and
Non-Asian responses to (1) what media, traditional and non-traditional, they
use to inform themselves about beauty products, (2) how much trust and
confidence they have in different media vehicles, (3) what factors they find
most influential on their purchasing decision and (4) if they actively or
passively engage with social media in beauty terms.
The findings of this research shall provide firms with an insight to consumer
perspective and preferences, and what media is favored and perceived as
most trustworthy to stimulate a purchase intention. This should aid firms when
making advertising decisions for Asian and Non-Asian target markets.
2. Literature Review
2.1. History
It is believed that the use of cosmetics embarked around 12’000 years ago,
when the ancient Egyptians discovered healing properties of essential
scented oils, and started making protective balms from substances such as
beeswax, olive oil and rosewater. Kohl was widely used as eyeliner to
enhance the intensity of the eyes. Cosmetics were popularized to the point

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where they were incorporated in religious rituals, such as the embalming
process before mummification. (Schneider 2005)
Since, the reputation of the use of cosmetics had experienced phases of
rejection or exclusivity, not reaching the status of mainstream until the late
19th century. Throughout the 18th and 19th century, the industry progressed
significantly due to developments in chemistry and medicine. Cosmetics were
still not fully accepted by society, but the Victorian style of the 19th century
demanded women to present themselves with beauty, fragility, precisely
defined facial features and extravagant clothes. Consequently, products such
as lipsticks, eye shadows and nail varnishes started gaining foot in the
market.
The rise of photography and film strongly influenced the 20th century,
increasing the demand for cosmetics in the western world and allowing the
industry to establish itself and invest in innovation. At this time, most of
today’s market giant market players, such as L’Oréal, were founded. They
introduced innovative merchandises such as mascaras and lip-glosses. After
the archaeological discoveries beneath the Egyptian pyramids revealed that
the ancient Egyptians used eyeliners, its sales soared and gained mass
popularity. After 1930, the international fashion and cosmetics industry
transformed quickly, presenting a different trend in each passing decade.
(Historyofcosmetics 2013)
2.2. The Cosmetics Industry
Nowadays, cosmetic products play an important role in all consumers’ lives.
Not only traditional cosmetics such as makeup and perfume, but personal
care goods such as shampoo and toothpaste are indispensable to today’s
western style life. The current cosmetics market is determined by constant
innovation- on the one hand, to gain competitive advantage in a highly rivaled
market, and on the other, to tailor their products to serve individual needs.
This is especially of high importance to such a globally present market, as
consumers come with all skin types, skin colours and personal as well as
cultural preferences, when they are acquired across several regions.

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There is a high turnover of products as the lifespan of regular cosmetics
seldom exceed 5 years. As consumers demand great variety and effective
performance, manufacturers annually reformulate at least a quarter of their
whole product range to stay ahead of the market. The US American
cosmetics market is the largest in the world, followed by Japan and China
(European Commission, 2013).
2.3. The Asian Cosmetic Industry
Global cosmetics sales have not declined once in the past 18 years, whilst
their yearly growth rate reported 4.4% between 1992 and 2011.
Whilst the Chinese cosmetic and skincare market has grown at a steep rate of
17% in the last decade, the premium cosmetics market even reached a
growth rate of 22.3%. With these promising figures and the increase in
disposable income of the middle class, it is no surprise that China and the
Asian emerging markets are of substantial interest to cosmetic companies.
Given the immensely lucrative outlook on the Asian markets, many market
players such as L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Shiseido PG etc. have been heavily
investing in these areas over the past ten years (Mirae Asset 2013).
L’Oréal’s strategic objective is to acquire another billion customers in the next
ten years and have consequently been stressing on internationalization into
the emerging markets. In 2012, the new markets became the most important
geographic zone for L’Oréal in sales terms, with Asia alone contributing 9.6%,
whereas Western Europe only registered an increase of 0.6%. (L’Oréal
Annual Report 2012)
According to Wantchinatimes (2013), the most profitable industry in China is
the cosmetics and personal goods sector. This can be justified with the
prevalent development of the premium skincare products market in Asia, and
the extremely high margins thereof. (Huang et all 2013)
Furthermore, Daneshkhu (2013) explains that in Asia, the Korean skincare
regime is the most vigorous, including the use of 10-11 products during 30-40
minutes per night, whereas the average French woman only uses 1-3
products during 3-10minutes. The article also suggests that this type of

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skincare procedure corresponds to other countries in the region, concluding
that the potential of multiple product sales are more likely in Asia than other
geographic regions. Besides the Asian willingness to spend more of their
disposable income on cosmetics and the cultural pressures to maintain
perfect skin, this geographic region offers an extension into the men’s
grooming segment. Whereas the use of men’s cosmetics was almost
unthinkable in the past in Europe, the Asian market does not know such
stigma, allowing companies to realize the potential of that segment and
herewith expanding their market reach (Mirae Asset 2013)
The high margin nature of this industry attracts a lot of market players,
resulting in very high competitiveness of the industry. Huang (2013) states
that “the physical product of skin care is largely a commodity business and
the gross margins for premium skin care products are extremely high,
demonstrating the importance of brand value for skin care products where
marketing channels play the dominant role.” Because the value proposition is
thus purely marketing based, cosmetic companies need to carefully design
their marketing strategy in order to win customer loyalty and differentiate
themselves from competitors.
2.4. Marketing
Marketing is said to be the process necessary to satisfy the needs of
stakeholders, such as customers, investors and the internal company
environment itself. (Kirby & Marsden, 2006) A commonly used model, which
was classified and introduced by McCarthy in 1960, is the so-called
“Marketing Mix”. The Marketing Mix is constructed with the use of the “4 P’s”
that refer to product, price, promotion and place. (Grönroos 1994) Each
element is equally as important as the others. In order to establish an overall
brand image, companies adjust each variable in the mix to fit their concept.
This is crucial for them to create a unique selling point that differentiates their
product from others. (GCSE 2010)
As a response to the growing consumer power, a customer-driven approach
has been introduced. This model focuses on the “4C’s”, of which there exist

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two viewpoints. Lauterborn (1990) emphasizes on consumer, cost,
communication and convenience, whereas Shimizu’s (1973) four C’s
concentrate on commodity, cost, communication and channel. (Davis, 2010)
The purpose of marketing ultimately is to favourably influence consumer
behavior, which is defined as “the behaviour involved in searching for,
purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that
they expect will satisfy their needs” (Schiffman et all, 2007).
Furthermore, the self-concept theory enlightens how marketing is able to
influence and manipulate consumers to a certain extent. This concept
discusses the beliefs and values a person holds about their characteristics
and how they assess these attributes, continuously comparing one’s actual
self to an ideal self. The problem recognition occurs when there is a
significant difference between the two selves and acts as the base for the
consumer decision-making process. The consumer therefore wants to satisfy
the detected need and starts to search for a solution to his problem. Whilst
this process occurs naturally, it is often encouraged by marketing efforts.
Marketers can uncover hidden needs by introducing the consumers to
opportunities, which might bring them closer to their aspired ideal selves
(Solomon, 2010). It is a common practise, especially in cosmetics advertising,
the consumer’s self esteem through hardly attainable appeals and to then
introduce their products, which are supposed to reduce the previously felt
dissatisfaction. The mechanics of cosmetics advertising was investigated by a
study conducted in 2010 by Apoala-Ibañez, who confirms, “the greatest
influences were found for the feeling of relief from dissatisfaction with one’s
self-image.” Her research revealed that the most chosen advertising
mechanism cosmetic firms use is to lower women’s self perception followed
by a delivery of relief from this displeasure, which translated to obtaining an
emotional benefit through the advertising brand. Ethically, the industry is often
criticized for their chosen strategy (Apaola-Ibañez et all 2010). Even though
often critiqued, images presenting attractive models characterize the norm of
cosmetics advertising, as it is a successful strategy used to influence the
consumers’ desire for the products being presented by inspiring them to
emulate the models. (Zhou & Belk 2004).

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2.5. Cross Cultural Marketing
Advertising is fundamentally subjective to cultural values as it is built on
communication and language. (Usunier 2000) As culture defines the manner
in which people consume and prioritize their needs that mold their style of
living, it is crucial to obtain an understanding of local culture to succeed in
cross-cultural advertising (Ghauri 2010). It is said that consumers commonly
respond positively to advertising messages that demonstrate congruency with
their cultural values, and reward advertisers who recognize and reflect such
aspects in their marketing content. (Müller 1992; Zhang and Gelb 1996)
Consequently, international marketers are faced with the need to
comprehend the impact their marketing campaigns have in terms of cultural
sensitivity and ethical values when taken across regions (Fam and Waller
2003). Nakanishi (2002) argues that western adverts usually use a rational
approach such as facts and figures or expert endorsement to convince
people. Whereas Japanese ads, for example, are more holistically orientated
and have an emotional appeal by utilizing intuitive, affective and empathetic
messages. The implementation of western models is widespread in Asian
advertisements, but is exclusively used to promote non-Asian products
(Clammer 1995). For instance, Japanese consumers feel positively towards
fragrance commercials featuring French models, as it enforces the country-of-
origin-effect and radiates classiness, status and internationalization (Müller
1992). Alibhai-Brown (2010) also suggests that western features are
considered the ideal beauty standard in Asia. Perceptions of beauty standards
are also changing in China; even though western models might be perceived
as correlated to high fashion, some companies favor the use of Chinese
models in order embody a more traditional appearance for the Chinese
audience. (Zhou & Belk 2004). However, Barnes’ study (2008) revealed that
the affinity and likeability of the model was more important to the audience
than beautiful physical features only.
2.6. Traditional Advertising
The traditional forms of marketing are usually built around mass media
advertising. This includes media such as TV, radio, magazine, newspaper-

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and billboard commercials with a large audience. With the rapid growth of the
Internet usage in recent years, however, the traditional advertising industry
has suffered. The major criticisms for traditional advertising include the lack of
measurability of exposure and the lack of linkage to actual return on
investment. (Nova Advertising 2013) Therefore, it has become unthinkable to
exclude Online Advertising from a corporate marketing strategy. Sacks
(2010), however, explains that print media is not dying out, but undergoing a
deep-rooted transformation from print to digital. Figures show that digital
revenues will exceed print revenues, forcing publishers to adapt their products
to digitally compatible. Especially with today’s omnipresence of
technologically advanced devices such as tablets and smartphones, most
print magazines were forced to take themselves online (Challinor 2013)
In the cosmetics industry, magazines play an essential role to reach out to
potential customers. Even though print media is thought to be dying out
slowly, the Professional Publishers Association (PPA) clarifies that in fact,
magazine advertising delivers remarkable return on investment. The study
they had conducted with 20 different branded consumer goods confirmed an
increase of 11.6% in sales compared to the control group that was not
exposed to the magazine adverts. (PPA 2012)
As opposed to the slowly maturing traditional marketing practices in many
industries, the beauty industry witnessed an increase in print media spending
over the last year. Figure 3 demonstrates how L’Oreal Paris, which is
considered to be the most heavily advertising company, has increased their
spending on magazine print advertisements compared to the first quarter of

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the financial year 2012. (Richards 2013)
Figure 3 The top 5 beauty advertisers. Source: AdRadar, Beautypackaging.com
2.7. Online and Social Media Advertising
With the Internet being the largest existing communication tool, it has allowed
marketers to reach consumers in an entirely new way. It is now possible to
target consumers directly- technology has enabled pages to track user
preferences and then deliver ads accordingly. Additionally, websites can track
the traffic on a webpage based on the number of times an ad is being clicked
on, which permits the ability to analyze consumer response to their adverts.
Finally, online advertising provides an interactive platform where it lets
consumers be part of the advertising campaign. (Solomon, 2009) Social
Media Advertising has brought another level to this interactive, two-way
communication model. Consumer engagement has enabled companies to
uncover new ideas on how to market and even improve products. Social
Media has previously also been criticized for not fulfilling its overhyped
expectations from a business perspective. (Deloitte, 2012) Those include
improved insight into consumer behavior, enhanced office productivity with
internal networks and above all, measurable Return On Investment (ROI).
One of the transforming developments that Social Media and online

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commerce as a whole has brought onto the market was measurability. It is
believed that this gap between the desired state and the reality will soon
merge as a result of establishments if new social technologies. The steady
improvement of analytical quantifying tools will soon be able to enlighten the
actual return on investment on social investments, especially if the recent
trend of institutionalizing social practices integrates itself into normalcy
(Holmes, R. 2012). Furthermore, the use of YouTube advertising has allowed
companies to save on TV advertisements, as they are believed to have twice
the recall power than TV adverts alone (ThinkwithGoogle 2013). According to
a report from Forrester Research (2011), it is believed that online advertising
will overtake TV advertising by 2016. (Hof, 2011)
Despite better measurability and consumer targeting, critical voices
concerning personalized retargeting practices have arisen. A study with 2000
participants has shown that 65% of felt that they were exposed to limited
information, as it delivers adverts concerning products that the user had
previously looked up on search engines and possibly already investigated on.
Another 73% felt that their privacy was invaded and responded unfavourably
to targeted online ads (Hof 2012). Consequently, firms should consider
refining their outlets for intentional exposure, as consumers expect more
relevance from their Internet searches.
2.8. Non-Traditional Advertising
Kevin Roberts, the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, stated the following in 2005:
“For the first time the consumer is boss, which is fascinatingly scary and
terrifying, because everything we used to do, everything we used to know, will
no longer work.” Kirby (2006) argues that the biggest challenge that has
resulted from the Internet and the abundance of information is the skeptical
and marketing-savvy behavior of consumers. This especially applies to young
consumers who have a pessimistic attitude towards the efforts large
corporations make to win their loyalty. In order to keep up with those
consumers and give off a more credible and authentic image; marketers have

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added new marketing tactics to their portfolio of strategies. Those methods
include buzz, viral, word-of-mouth and guerilla marketing. (Solomon, 2009)
Buzz Approaches
Word of Mouth
Marketing
Strategy that involves giving people a reason to talk
about products and services by facilitating the
conversation
Buzz Marketing
Makes people talk about the product or brand by
using high-profile entertainment or news
Viral Marketing
Entertaining and informative messages that are
designed to be passed on in an exponential way,
mostly electronically.
Guerilla Marketing
"Attacking" consumers with promotional content in
unexpected places
Figure 4 Source: Word of Mouth Advertising Association
Notarantonio (2009) argues that consumers perceive buzz marketing as more
influential than traditional advertising. Her studies have shown, however, that
buzz marketing has given off a less authentic impression than traditional
advertising. Stone (2012) also affirms that traditional advertising enables
companies to gain market share easily and reduce competition as its high
barriers to entry emphasize the need for distinctiveness and brand prestige.
Even though traditional media has been criticized for being expensive and not
being able to correlate to an actual return on investment, she states that most
consumers can remember ads that have affected their mood profoundly. This,
according to Stone (2012), is proof for the fact that if an advert can change a
customer’s mood, it must inadvertently change their decisions as well. On the
other hand, Kirby (2006) emphasizes that new “ad-busting technology”
enables consumers to ignore advertising by blocking and skipping it- and
therefore challenge the traditional marketing concept.

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2.9. The Influence of Bloggers
Marketers trust bloggers and social networkers to have the ability to create
the buzz that will either make or break a new product (La Plante 2007).
A study carried out by the PR agency DeVries and the weblog BlogHer in
2011 has shown that blogs have twice the influence potential than regular
company advertisements. Their survey examined the most helpful source in
providing beauty product advice and recommendations, to which the
respondents contested with “familiar blogger”, 61%, “store website”, 46% and
“social network”, 33%. 50% of the participants even indicated a purchase of a
cosmetic product following a bloggers recommendation who also publishes
about other topics than beauty (PRWeb, 2011).
Depending on the price range, cosmetics can even be considered a high
involvement product category. If looked at the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it
becomes evident that the requirement for safety, health and security of body
represent fundamental needs. (Maslow, 1954, Figure 5) Cosmetics are
Figure 5 Source: Maslow

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products that might challenge this intactness of physical integrity; therefore,
consumers can feel a more predominant need to reduce the purchase risk by
performing thorough research before committing to a purchase.
Consumers feel greater skepticism towards cosmetics advertising which
promises to enhance physical attractiveness and relies on verbal claims
(Prendergast and Liu 2009).
Therefore, beauty bloggers have gained tremendous popularity over the years
as they provide valuable advice on beauty products with which they are able
to inspire and guide their social environment. As they are independent, they
present product information in an unbiased way and consequently depict a
credible and authentic source of opinion seekers.
Contrary to commercial endorsers, beauty bloggers are not obliged to
represent the firm’s interest, even though they receive products for free to
review. Unlike company-sponsored advertisements, they also highlight
possible negative product outcomes and portray a more relatable and credible
image to consumers. Beauty bloggers do not necessarily fall into the category
of aspirational people like celebrities and give off a more attainable feel to
readers and viewers. Particularly bloggers who express themselves through
YouTube can directly familiarize their audience with how a product is being
used. These vloggers (video-bloggers) are powerful social influencers with
devoted followers and high levels of engagement on various social media
platforms (Aspler 2013). With over a billion monthly views, it is clear that
consumers seek visual content (YouTube Statistics 2013). Consumers watch
beauty vloggers in order to inform themselves on what products to buy, what
stores they favour and what techniques they use. Whereas brand channels
have an average 10,000 subscribers on YouTube, popular beauty vloggers
have several hundred thousand subscribers. (Aspler, 2013) The most
subscribed beauty vlogger to date is Michelle Phan with over 4 million
subscribers. (Vidstatx, 2013) These visual demonstrations and tutorials can
significantly reduce the purchase-hindering factor of risk for potential
consumers (Solomon 2010).

24
2.10. Word of Mouth in the Cosmetic Industry
The old-fashioned word of mouth is still considered to be the most trustworthy
and powerful form of advertising in the cosmetic industry. (Montague-Jones
2007) According to Qualman (2009), however, that model is plagued by
several shortcomings. He argues that if the information travels from one
consumer to another, the speed at which the news spreads is considerably
low. Furthermore, the original message alters when exchanged and if the
recipients further down the line are unfamiliar with the original source, lack of
trust or identification could lead to discredit of the content of the message.
Alan Wilson, in an interview with Montague-Jones (2007), further reasons that
consumers seldom discuss the products they use, limiting the efficacy of word
of mouth in practice. This is where social media platforms come into the
picture; a Facebook status or a tweet allows the message to be directly
received by the entire network, or reach even further through sharing.
Therefore, social media eliminates the aforementioned flaws and portrays the
ideal vehicle for word of mouth communication. (Qualman 2009) The danger
thereof, however, is the speed at which negative word of mouth spreads. It is
believed that dissatisfied consumers will share their experiences with 11
acquaintances whereas positive incidents will only be spread to 3. (Kotler
1991) Consequently, if the latter is combined with the use of social media to
directly communicate to a wide range of potential consumers, it can have a
very damaging effect on companies.
In addition to increasing their presence on social media platforms, cosmetic
companies have started launching their own social networking sites in order to
strategically drive word of mouth more aggressively. For instance, Procter &
Gamble launched an online community called “Vocalpoint” for women in 2006,
encouraging them to discuss and share their opinions and advice. (Berner
2006) This project was incentivized through various angles, including
numerous free samples of P&G products and with the promise of “the brands
actually listen to what you have to say“ (Vocalpoint, 2013) Vocalpoint has
been successful at acquiring over 600,000 users who receive coupons and
new product samples in the mail and then share their experiences with of 25-
30 other women a day, whereas the average woman only speaks to 5.

25
Vocalpoint promotions made sales in test locations double (Ferguson 2008).
3. Methodology
3.1. Introduction
Before any research was carried out, it was necessary to obtain information
on the existing research possibilities. Initially, the advice of lecturers at the
University of Westminster and the Research Methods for Business Students
5th Edition have been obtained. After encountering articles about studies that
have been conducted to investigate comparable matters, it was decided to
adapt a similar strategy. For the primary research, a quantitative survey
method with a few qualitative attributes was chosen in combination with an
extensive use of secondary data including textbooks, academic articles,
journals and news sites.
3.2. Gap Analysis
After extensive research of secondary literature, it became evident that
numerous studies of cosmetics advertising perceptions and the influence
thereof had been conducted. However, none of those studies had included
the medium of social media such as blogs and YouTube tutorials. On the
other hand, there was a lot of literature available on social media examining
various angles. Therefore, the gap was determined to be the combination of
both the latter, a comparative study of Asians vs. Non-Asians and their
perceptions of traditional and new media in the cosmetics industry.
3.3. Research Design
The research instrument was designed to extract findings that would meet the
objectives of the report. Initially, it was planned to solely use the qualitative
approach by interviewing consumers. Even though this qualitative approach

26
would have provided a deeper understanding of consumer opinions, it was
then found that the responses would be difficult to index and behavioral
patterns to be recognized for a comparative study. Particularly, as the
comparison of Asians and Non-Asians was the objective, it would not have
been ideal, as the respondents should have the same options to choose from
in order to investigate a possible difference in perception and behavior.
Furthermore, the studies previously conducted investigating advertising
perceptions in Japan and China by Barnes (2009) had also adopted the
quantitative design.
Given the time constraint and the aim to discover a behavioural pattern of the
partaking respondents, it was then definitely decided to carry out an online
quantitative survey, as it is a convenient, rapid and cost effective tool.
Considering both Asian and Non-Asian participants, it was the most ideal
approach to carry out the survey online, as that minimized the issue of the
geographical distance to certain Asian respondents and shortened response
time and ensured high distribution speed. Besides multiple choice and
checkbox questions, 5-point scales and a few open-ended questions were
included to give the contestants the opportunity to express their opinion in
more detail. The questionnaire had been designed using googledocs and
distributed through multiple channels to target participants who are interested
in the subject matter of cosmetics. Prior to distribution, a pilot study had been
conducted with a few students from the University of Westminster to verify if
there was a lack of clarity regarding the questions asked and to ensure
eventual correct function. The questionnaire had been amended with the
implementation of the feedback acquired during the pilot study. The results
were obtained through a period of 3 weeks. The questionnaire was in English
and particularly the Asian participants were asked to share the survey to other
potential Asian respondents, as it was more challenging to obtain their
responses given the geographical distance.
The respondents were solely asked to click on their choice of response and
submit the survey, which did not take longer than 5 minutes on an average.
As cosmetics are a topic that is happily discussed by females, there were no
issues regarding unwillingness of participation. Ultimately, 80 responses were
obtained, of which 40 were Asian and 40 Non-Asian. The majority of

27
respondents were students (36%), followed by full time employees (30%),
part-time employees (17%) and unemployed people (7%).
As far as the educational background was concerned, 45% had a Master’s
Degree, 44% a Bachelor’s Degree, 9% High school Diploma and 3% a PhD.
The largest age group represented was the 25-30 year olds (46%), followed
by the 18-24(33%), 31-40 (16%), and 40+ (6%). The data was analyzed
using excel and was compared to results from secondary research.
3.4. Primary Research- Quantitative Survey
In order to meet the objective of investigating and comparing the behavioral
patterns of Asians and Non-Asians towards cosmetics advertising, a survey
had been designed to extract information which could later be correlated and
provide insight. The main age group that was of interest was 18-40, as those
elder are less likely to interact using social media.
The questionnaire comprises three sections. The first part was designed to
obtain basic information of the contestant, such as age, employment status
and ethnicity. It was followed by a section to inquire about the frequency of
interaction with cosmetics, such as purchase, the level of importance of
cosmetics to the contestant’s life and allocated budget spent on cosmetics.
The final and core part requests participants to specify the degree of research
conducted prior to purchases and preferred media vehicles thereof, the level
of trust they have in those and their own social media behavior in beauty
terms. For this part, a five point semantic scale was used, where it could be
chosen from “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree”. In order to get a deeper
insight, qualitative questions have been incorporated into the survey as well.
Respondents are required to elaborate on to what extent their cultural
background influences their desire to use cosmetics and what cosmetics
companies could improve to be more interesting for them. The responses to
the latter should deliver an understanding of the cultural differences and
media behavior between Asians and Non-Asians.

28
According to Mintel (2012), adults under the age of 35 are most likely to share
their thoughts on beauty products on social media platforms. Even though the
survey addressed women from 18-50+, most responses were purposely
obtained from the age group of 18-40 by choosing the most age-appropriate
distribution channels. Besides addressing students from University of
Westminster, the survey was also distributed through social media. As
another Mintel (2012) article suggests that Facebook is the favored vehicle for
opinion sharing on beauty brands, the survey has been shared on Facebook
pages of popular cosmetic brands and bloggers such as MAC, NARS,
Shiseido, Urban Decay, L’Oreal Paris India, L’Oreal Paris UK, Benefit
Cosmetics, Kosé, Skinfood, Pixiwoo, Estée Lauder and Michelle Phan. This
step has ensured to reach a target audience with a shared interest for this
subject.
3.5. Sampling
In total, 80 responses have been obtained, of which 40 were Non-Asian and
40 Asians. Given the more feminine subject field, it has been decided to only
include female participants into the research. Initially, this research was
considering focusing on one specific nationality versus another, but time
constraints and limited access did not allow for this design to be executed.
Therefore, the Asian ethnicities included Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysians,
Indians and Japanese. The Non-Asian group integrated responses mainly
from Caucasian Europeans and Americans. Hogg and Tanis (2010) suggest
that a sample size of 25 or greater is enough to produce statistically relevant
results. Therefore, it was made sure to exceed this number on both the Asian
and Non-Asian group.
3.6. Pilot Test
The pilot test had been conducted with a small group of 9 people from the
University of Westminster. The survey was distributed to them online and was
filled out under the author’s presence, so that the contestants could clarify
immediately if there was anything unclear with the questionnaire. The pilot
survey had included a question about the disposable income of participants in

29
order to identify how much of their income was allocated to purchase
cosmetics. This question was justified with the fact that the monthly amount
spent on products become more meaningful when compared to the entire
disposable income. Even though the survey is anonymous and the option of
“prefer not to say” was included, the question was removed due to its
sensitivity. Initially, the survey had only included quantitative questions.
However, as the pilot group was eager to discuss and elaborate on their
choices of answers, more qualitative and open-ended questions were
included to allow deeper elaboration.
3.7. Secondary Data
Academic articles, textbooks, newspapers, YouTube videos as well as
journals have been consulted further to determine the existing theories and
approaches. These were compared to and merged with the findings of the
primary research.
3.8. Limitations
As only little literature existed on the influence and popularity of beauty
bloggers, it was originally planned to expand the qualitative field by
interviewing a few bloggers to obtain an understanding of the functioning of
the blogosphere. However, the access significantly more difficult to acquire
than anticipated. Attempts to of contact were largely declined- therefore; it
was then decided to solely focus on the consumer perspective and the
quantitative approach. Ultimately, it allowed the research to isolate the
findings better rather than merging them with a qualitative result from the
source that was investigated through the sample group.
As above-mentioned, the focus on solely 2 nationalities was rejected due to
limited access and absence of time. As there were numerous nationalities in
both of the groups, it might give a more general result as the mixture of
cultures might deteriorate some of the responses.
Also, Kotler (2009) explains that some Chinese find hypothetical questions
difficult to answer, and the Japanese encounter difficulty with scale-based
questions. Barnes (2009) also mentions that the Chinese Confucian values

30
might bias Chinese participants when answering to a 5-point scale and led
them towards a mid-point response.
3.9. Data Analysis
Excel was used to analyze and quantify the obtained data. Charts were drawn
to visualize the results for a better understanding. In order to weigh the results
and compare both groups against each other, the answers have been
numerically weighed.
3.10. Ethical considerations
All contestants were informed about the purpose of this research before
participating in the study. They were also informed about its anonymity and
the survey was designed to be completely confidential. Therefore, no names
or Westminster IDs were obtained when responses were recorded. However,
due to the culturally investigative nature of this study and categorization and
statistical purposes, the contestants were asked for age and ethnicity. The
partaking was entirely voluntary. The creation of the survey online enabled the
study to be paperless and did not require additional sealed storage. The data
extracted from the interviews will not be misrepresented. No bias will be
implicated in interpreting the collected data. Only information of which
permission had been obtained will be published.
4. Data Analysis and Interpretation
The data used in this research has been gathered both from secondary and
primary research. The primary research has been conducted through an
online questionnaire (Appendix). As secondary sources, academic journals
and articles as well as my supervisor’s input have been implemented.

31
4.1. Basic Data
The basic data revealed that cosmetics play a more crucial role in Asian
respondent’s life than Non-Asians. Figure 6 demonstrates the numerical
difference, as the survey ask the respondents to rate the importance on a 1-5
scale, where 1 was least important and 5 most important.
Figure 6
Consequently, the Asian group disclosed a slightly larger average monthly
spending on cosmetic products. (see Figure 7)
Figure 7
The respondents were also asked to specify the type of cosmetics they tend
to purchase. The survey gave the option of choosing from drugstore skincare
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Importance
of
cosmetics
Importance of Cosmetics
Asian
Non-Asian
Asian
81
Non Asian
73
Monthly Cosmetic Expenses

32
(Skincare D) and makeup (Makeup D) and prestige skincare (Skincare P) and
makeup (Makeup P). Whilst drugstore makeup was of similar interest level,
prestige makeup and drugstore skincare were heavily preferred by Non-
Asians. Prestige Skincare, however, was notably more of Asian interest. The
literature supports this finding as Asian women use up to 11 skincare products
every evening, compared to modest 1-3 products of the average non-Asian
woman. Moreover, the result reflects the exponential growth of the Asian
luxury skincare market.
Figure 8
4.2. Motivation and Influencers
In order to examine the motivation behind the use of cosmetics, the
respondents were asked to state the reason why they had started using
cosmetics. There were influencers from the social environment, such as
family and friends, or the general social and cultural framework that could
impose a certain norm or expectation. The other factors included non-external
factors such as acne or problematic skin, which would intrinsically motivate
the consumer to reach out for cosmetic products to better their current state.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Makeup D Makeup P Skincare D Skincare P
Typeof Cosmetics Drugstorevs.Prestige
Asian
Non-Asian

33
The last factor was celebrity, another external influence by which many
women use as a source of inspiration. (Figure 9)
The Non-Asians as well as Asians were both strongly influenced by friends.
The Asians also felt a stronger influence from family than their counterparts,
which has been further validated by the high responses in social and cultural
pressures. Celebrity was more a more popular source for Asians, which
contrasts Barnes’ (2009) findings, as his research showed that celebrity was
perceived to be relatively unimportant.
The Asian social and cultural influence can be supported with the fact that the
nationalities that had partaken in this survey were all from a more collectivist
cultural background. The individualism level according to Hofstede is
considerably low, as Indonesia (14), China (20), Japan IDV (46) and India
(48) are all considered collectivist cultures. (The Hofstede Centre 2013)
Yaveroglu and Donthu (2002) argue that collectivist cultures are more likely to
imitate each other and rely strongly on Word of Mouth from the surrounding
society.
The underlying issue in focus is the degree of interdependence a society
maintains amongst its members, and is determined by whether people define
themselves as “I” or “we”. Whereas in individualistic societies, people are
solely expected to take care of themselves and immediate family, collectivist
societies move in groups and look after each other in trade for loyalty. (The
Hofstede Centre 2013)
Consequently, the Asian responses valuing family and social pressure higher
than their global counterparts could be related to their collectivist nature.
Furthermore, Asians not only use more skincare products than Non-Asians,
but also have another cultural motivator; Skin color, or the fairness thereof.
Having fair skin is considered ideal and is associated with a better social
status, especially in India (Rajesh 2013). The absence thereof in western
cultures could have also contributed to the lower responses in cultural
pressure and family influence.

34
Figure 9
As nowadays there are countless media available to inform oneself about new
products, participants were inquired about their preferences. (Figure 10)
It stands out that Asians particularly rely on the word of mouth
recommendations of their family and friends, which is again in line with their
collectivist culture. It turned out that Non-Asian valued traditional media such
as magazine and TV advertisements much more than Asians. Even though
traditional media is sought to be dying out, the literature supports the fact that
it is still of crucial importance in the cosmetic industry. Non-Asians have
further favoured company social media, such as a Facebook fan pages, and
e-mail newsletters, which provides the reader with regular updates. The Non-
Asian preference pattern reveals a slight preference for more factual and
tangible media. The interest in blog and YouTube recommendations were
almost equal on both sides, which could be justified with the fact that there is
equal access and availability of the latter, and no differing incentives that
could influence the preference. For both focus groups it can be concluded that
external motivators were stronger than intrinsic ones such as Acne and
sensitive skin.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
How did you get interested in cosmetics?
Asian
Non-Asian

35
Figure 10
After establishing the preferred source of information, the contestants were
asked to evaluate which factors stimulate their purchase intentions the most.
This was a 5-point scale question, which has then been evaluated by
weighing “strongly agree” as 5 and “strongly disagree” as 1. The contestants
were able to choose as many checkboxes as they desired. The sum of the
weighing numbers 1-5 were exported into the chart (Figure 11)
It stands out that Asians lean towards online media such as reviews, YouTube
tutorials and the products that were used. Bloggers, with whom the Asian
consumers identify, seem to have a strong influence on purchase intention
along with endorsed celebrities and again family and friends. It is evident that
Asians strongly identify with aspirational reference groups such as celebrities,
and feel the need to reduce the purchasing risk through opinion leaders
before committing to a product.
Non-Asians significantly favored the advice of sales staff more than any online
opinions. This could be linked to the fact that in Western cultures, a less
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
PreferredMedium for Information
Asian
Non-Asian

36
emotional, more rational appeal is preferred and often, experts are endorsed
when it comes to promotion and advertising (Nakanishi 2002). Sales staff is
therefore trained experts who can counter any mistrust or uncertainties with
professional knowledge. Therefore, celebrities had the lowest impact on them,
as from a non-Asian point of view; they do not exert any expert or knowledge
power. In this research, non-Asians were much less influenced by aspirational
reference groups. However, they did indicate a similar amount of influence on
purchase intentions through popular bloggers as Asians. Friends and Family
recommendations were also of highest value to the Non Asian respondents.
Figure 11
Even though Asian consumers felt strong purchase intention after consulting
online outlets such as bloggers and reviews, it turns out that Non-Asians
conduct a more thorough pre-purchase research. (Figure 12) Non-Asians
therefore feel a stronger need to reduce their pre-purchase risk and are less
likely to commit to a product and perform impulse buys. This could again be
supported with the thirst for factual knowledge of westerners. Asians on the
other hand indicated that impulse buys were more likely for them. Research
0 50 100 150 200
Friend/Family Recommendation
Identification with Blogger
Celebrity Endorsement
Products used in Tutorial
Online Reviews
Sales Staff
Popular Blogger
TV Advertisement
Magazine Ads
Factors InfluencingPurchase Intention
Non-Asian
Asian

37
has been conducted which confirms that store design has an impact on
impulse buys (Mohan, 2013). Firms can therefore strategically plan their store
designs to actively provoke impulse buys in Asian countries.
Figure 12
It was discovered that only a small number of participants engaged actively in
social media activities in beauty terms. As supported with the preference of
online and blogging information for Asians, they indicated a higher passive
consumption, whereas Non-Asians have strongly denied the active usage of
the available social media tools. Their passive consumption was lower as
they had previously indicated a moderate interest and influence power of
bloggers and online reviews.
146 148 150 152 154 156
Intensity of Pre-PurchaseResearch
Non-Asian
Asian

38
Figure 13
4.3. Company Advertising
As company sponsored advertising messages habitually only highlight the
positive attributes of a product, consumers feel great skepticism towards
them. Prendergast and Liu (2009) argue that consumers feel greater
skepticism towards adverts for cosmetic products. Their explanation for this
finding was that these products claim to improve or enhance physical
attractiveness. Marketers in this industry heavily rely on verbal claims rather
than specific numerical statements to highlight the effects of their products.
Consumers also felt that verbal claims offer a wider scope for deception than
more specific quantifiable statements. (Prendergast, 2009)
As the research has revealed, family and friends proved to be the most
trustworthy and influential source for both ethnic groups. This confirms the
consumer’s desire to choose unbiased word-of-mouth recommendations over
any other source at any time. Non-Asians felt more critical towards direct
company advertising, whereas Asians felt largely indifferent or showed a
moderate trust in its credibility. It can be suggested that the more rational
approach to cosmetic purchasing of Non-Asians exposed a more critical
analysis of advertising.
0 5 10 15 20 25
Yes
No
No, but passively
Do you actively engage in cosmetics social
media?
Non-Asian
Asian

39
Figure 14
In order to combat the mistrust of the marketing savvy consumers, firms are
trying hard to give off a more authentic, genuine and more relatable image of
their products to increase positive word of mouth. The survey asked the
participants to express their opinion in terms of what firms could do to improve
in order to gain more of their attention. The majority stated that they wished
firms provided more transparency regarding the contents and claims products
make. Furthermore, both ethnic groups felt that the use of Photoshop in
cosmetics advertising made them less credible and relatable, resulting in a
negative feeling towards the brands. The respondents suggested the use of
more relatable models to reduce the distance to the unattainable image the
brands give off. The Asian respondents also strongly suggested that brands
should represent themselves with models of all skin shades. The most
prevalent answer of non-Asians included the desire for a strong sense of
corporate social responsibility and better trained sales staff that delivers
trustworthy expertise. It can be concluded that the open-ended answers all
expressed a desire for more authenticity, as the consumers are actively
seeking for reasons to trust the company.
0
5
10
15
20
25
1 2 3 4 5
No bias Strong bias
Levelof Trustin Company Advertising
Asian
Non-Asian

40
The most worrisome aspect of the usage of consumer induced online
activities, such as reviews, is that it is out of direct control of the marketer
(Mangold and Faulds 2009). Especially as of mouth spreads more intensely,
as it is believed that dissatisfied consumers will share their experiences with
11 acquaintances whereas positive incidents will only be spread to 3. (Kotler
1991) Therefore, firms are trying to actively inject positive word of mouth into
the market by launching their own social networking site where consumers
can exchange tips, review products, socialize with like-minded consumers and
inform themselves about products by watching tutorials. This allows word of
mouth to be generated in a company-controlled environment, and firms are
faster to react to consumer dissatisfaction and negative experiences.
Rewarding reviewers with free samples incentivizes those sites. Moreover,
firms have a direct access to customer feedback- negative and positive- and
can improve their products accordingly. The research exposed that Non-
Asians had no interest at all to engage in such company-launched social
networks. They also indicated a heavy preference for independent social
networks or review platforms. This is supported with the previous finding of
the strong bias Non-Asians feel towards company advertising. Asians
indicated an interest in using these types of social networks and a lesser
attention in independent sites. Only the minority showed a regular interaction.
Whilst the negative attitude towards those WOM networks can be justified
with lack of trust and suspicion, however, the fact that the majority had not
heard of these networks before cannot.

41
Figure 15
5. Conclusion and Recommendations
Even though similar in many ways, the comparative analysis had revealed
some significant differences between the preferences of Asian and non-Asian
participants. It can be generally concluded that both groups trust their friends
and family’s recommendation the most and would always prefer that medium
to any other. There was also a robust indication that Non-Asians feel a strong
bias towards company advertising, whereas Asians felt more indifferent and
were also interested in using the company launched social networks. The
recommendations will be made in line with the objectives of this report.
The first project objective was to figure out what media, traditional and non-
traditional, the focus group uses to inform themselves about beauty products.
Here, the most significant differences were visible in the fact that Non-Asians
chose print media such as female magazines and TV advertisements,
whereas Asians preferred friends/family, blogs and YouTube tutorials.
0 5 10 15 20
I regularly use them
Prefer independent social
networks/reviews
I have not used them, but would
like to
I have never heard of them
CompanyLaunched SocialNetworks
Non-Asian
Asian

42
Therefore, as L’Oréal already demonstrated in the first quarter of this year, it
would be beneficial for firms to increase magazine adverts and have their
products included on beauty editor’s favorites lists in western countries.
Furthermore, as TV adverts were also a preferred medium for non-Asians,
firms should continue their TV advertising strategy and possibly consider
replacing some of those with YouTube adverts, as they showed double the
recalling power and are significantly cheaper to run frequently.
For Asian countries, firms should consider to increase their sponsorship and
endorsement of bloggers. L’Oréal employed the most subscribed beauty
YouTuber Michelle Phan in 2010 to be their first official video makeup artist
and to have her endorse some of their products in her online tutorials (L’Oréal
USA 2010). 3 years later, she was able to create her own cosmetics line
based on all the online feedback she had gotten from her subscribers
throughout the years (Buck 2013). Even though this lead to a slight loss of
authenticity, Phan still has over 4 million subscribers she can reach out to.
Firms could adapt the same approach as L’Oréal, however, in order to
maintain credibility, it might be worth considering providing free products to
bloggers to review. This way, the blogger is under no contractual obligation to
review favourably and will be regarded as a credible and authentic source by
her readers/viewers. Also, if there should be any negative feedback regarding
the products, firms can react quickly to improve their products.
Moreover, firms should definitely consider introducing more e-word of mouth
into the Asian markets. Asians did not have a negative attitude towards these
company launched social networks, but the majority was unaware of their
existence. Given that recommendations from friends, family and bloggers was
appealing to them, firms should try establishing networks of such nature to
increase buzz. The qualitative questions have also revealed that Asians would
like to have access to more free samples; the WOM networks would therefore
be an ideal way to build a mutual relationship with consumers.
The second objective was to examine the level of trust and confidence
respondent had in different media vehicles. Non-Asian showed a strong bias
to company advertising, and did not have an interest whatsoever in using the
company WOM social networks. However, it was discovered that Non-Asians
also perform a more vigorous pre-purchase research than Asians. Non-Asians

43
therefore seek for intentional exposure to information. Hence, firms operating
in western countries should provide an excellent customer service and
provide an abundance of reliable product information on their websites. The
latter will be very beneficial as all respondents wished for more transparency
and integrity from cosmetic companies. Firms need to provide a user-friendly
interface for consumers, especially for complaints and feedback. Consumer
dissatisfaction will spread negative WOM, whereas a well-handled complaint
could lead to increased customer loyalty (Solomon 2010).
Asians on the other hand felt largely indifferent towards company advertising
and expressed an interest in using the WOM networks. As previously
mentioned, firms should advertise the existence and benefits of those
networks in order to gain a larger consumer base in the Asian markets.
The third objective was to determine the factors they find most influential on
their purchasing decision. Asians were most likely to purchase a product after
relying on online reviews and blogs as well as on friends and family
recommendations. Companies should closely monitor the buzz created on the
Internet and provide popular bloggers with coupon codes, which viewers and
readers can use to get a discount off their initial purchase. This should
increase and incentivize the desire to purchase.
Non-Asians, besides also relying on friends and family, felt that sales staff in
stores would influence their purchase intention the most. Westerners prefer
more rational and factual advertisements with expert endorsements, where
sales staff are also considered to be product experts (Nakanishi 2002). Firms
might therefore contemplate improved staff training, as well as an
implementation of best practice sharing. They should make their in-store
services more competitive in order to differentiate from other market players.
The last objective of this report was to explore the desire of respondents to
actively or passively engage with social media in beauty terms.
This research has resulted in the fact that only the minority actively engages
in using social media for beauty products. The majority of Non-Asians do not
use social media at all for product reviews and tutorials. Asians on the other
hand have demonstrated being keen on consuming social media content

44
passively. If companies are keen on increasing the engagement activity on
social media platforms, they need to provide incentives. Kelly (2007) believes
that conversational marketing is the key to succeed as a marketer in this
generation. She quotes “Traditional marketing and communications do not
help people talk. Advertising and direct marketing promote, web sites and
public relations inform. Vision, mission and values statements are directional.
Messaging documents are too often written to be read, not said.” Firms need
to accept that this type of marketing is difficult to control and be in charge of,
however, it has become a necessity since consumers are marketing savvy
and have less trust in companies and also struggle to make sense out of so
many choices and vast amounts of accessible information. Therefore, firms
need to eliminate worthless buzz and create dynamic stories along with their
products to get consumers genuinely talking (Kelly 2007).
6. Limitations
This study will have its limitations due to numerous factors. Firstly, the Internet
and especially the social media market is a constantly developing
phenomenon. It is problematic to conduct a research if the examined
variables are changing fast. Also, the number of participants in the primary
research might not be enough to give a completely accurate picture, as this
field is strongly influenced by personal preference.
Due to the fact that the participants’ employment statuses were
inhomogeneous, it deteriorated the results when spending and category of
cosmetics were asked for. It was evident that employed participants had a
much higher interest in prestige skincare and makeup, whereas most students
spent less on an average and stuck to drugstore products. The study would
have shown clearer result if the participants were all from the same income
group i.e. had the same amount of money to spend on cosmetics.
Given the time constraints and limited access, it was not possible to focus on
two contrasting nationalities only. Therefore, different cultural backgrounds on
both the Asian and Non-Asian group might have deteriorated the results
further.

45
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7. Appendix

54
8/25/13 Cosmetics and Social Media
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xMexHRwMnR8rqRbsNVpx5mUAchZd0DkpMub7KHumI74/viewform 1/6
Cosmetics and Social Media
Dear participant, thank you so much for taking part in my survey! I am investigating the correlation
between your cultural background and how media influences your cosmetic purchasing process.
Cosmetics include Makeup and Skin care (Face and Body), but not haircare and personal care
goods such as toothpaste and deodorant. I am not recording your Westminster ID, name nor e-mail,
so this survey will be completely anonymous.Your feedback is invaluable to my dissertation and I
am very grateful for your contribution.
* Required

55
What age group are you in? *
18-24
25-30
31-40
41-50
50+
What is your educational background? *
Highschool
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Other:
What is your employment status? *
Student
Part-time employed
Full-time employed
Self-employed
Unemployed
Other:
What is your ethnicity? *
PLEASE SPECIFY YOUR NATIONALITY IN "OTHER"
Asian
Caucasian
Mixed
Black
Latin
Middle Eastern
Other:
Where did you grow up? *
Please specify the country you spent most of your time in:
How frequently do you purchase cosmetic products? *
Weekly
Twice a month
Monthly
Occasionally
Other:
How much are your average monthly spendings on cosmetics? *
£0 - £25

56
£25 - £50
£50 - £100
£100 - £200
£200+
How did you get interested in cosmetics? *
Friends
Family
Acne
Problematic/Sensitive Skin
Social and Cultural Influence/Pressure
Celebrities
Other:
How important are cosmetics to you?
1 2 3 4 5
Very Important Not Important at all
What type of cosmetics do you typically purchase? *
Makeup - Drugstore
Makeup - Prestige
Skincare - Drugstore
Skincare - Prestige
Other:
How well researched are your purchases typically? *
Impulsive
Moderately researched
Always well researched
Depends on price --> more expensive = better researched
Other:
How do you learn about new/existing beauty products? *
Print Media ( Magazines, News Papers etc.)
TV Advertisement
Informercial Channels
Cosmetic Company's Social Media (e.g. L'oreal's Facebook page)
Bloggers (Social Media)
Youtube Tutorials (Social Media)
Friends/Family
Beauty Box Subscription ( Glossybox, Birchbox, etc.)
E-Mail Newsletters

57
In your opinion, how far does your cultural background influence your desire use cosmetics?
*
How trustworthy are beauty company advertisements for you? *
1 2 3 4 5
Very Trustworthy, Unbiased Not Trustworthy at all, Strong bias
How do you feel about company-launched social networking sites? Are you using any of
them? *
For example, Procter & Gamble has launched their own social networking site called vocalpoint,
where users can interact and share their tips and tricks to increase word-of-mouth.
I regularly use them
Prefer independent social networks/reviews
I have not used them, but would like to
I have never heard of them
Other:
In your opinion, what could cosmetic companies improve to be more interesting for you? *
Thank you so much for your time!

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