(1) The document outlines a case study for developing an advertising campaign for Mary Kay Cosmetics with a limited budget of $3 million. (2) It discusses critical factors to consider like target markets, messaging, and media vehicles. It analyzes alternatives for the target market, including recruiting consultants, existing customers, non-users, and men. (3) The recommendation is to target non-users with a regional advertising campaign promoting Mary Kay's product mix. This would allow for exponential growth through new sales and consultants, while enabling clear measurements of the campaign's effectiveness.

1. Rachel Rainville
Professor Stipe
CAP 310
Mary Kay Case Study
Objective: Developing an advertising program that will make the best of the limited budget
while not only having an immediate impact but also demonstrate that the company’s dollars
can be profitably allocated to consumer-oriented programs, along with the extensive sales
force incentives already in place.
Critical Factors:
(1) Target Markets: Who are they trying to capture in launching an advertising campaign?
(2) Message: What direction do they want to take the campaign in? The message is the
beginning of the advertising strategy. What exactly is being advertised.
(3) Marketing Strategy Support: How will the advertising strategy support the consultants?
What will consultants have to do to support the advertising strategy, if any?
(4) Limited Budget: The budget is only $3 million. How will the budget be best used in the
advertising campaign? If the marketing team can show the upper management the
successful measures of the campaign, the next year it could be possibly doubled. It is
crucial that the limited budget is allocated properly. The budget covers production costs
and media expenses.
(5) Media Vehicles: Choosing the way in which the message is delivered to the target
market. Mass media could be extremely effective, however it could be expensive.
Alternatives:
Target Markets: Who and what is Mary Kay trying to obtain through starting an advertising
campaign.
(1) Recruiting consultants. Mary Kay can choose to aim their advertising efforts to recruiting
consultants for the company however it is stated multiple times throughout the
company background that most of the consultants start off as loyal users. It would be
difficult to market to average people who are not aware of all of the products and skin
care measures that Mary Kay has to offer. But by aiming advertising efforts towards
recruiting consultants there would be exponential growth for the company. More
consultants mean a wider customer base which means larger profits.
(2) Creating a stronger demand in present users. Present Mary Kay users are already loyal.
To stimulate customers that are already buying and using the product could be

2. redundant and ineffective. The company states the different beauty products is provides
and the percentages of sales they bring in. By effectively selling the less popular
products alongside the popular ones could spike sales.
(3) Changing the attitudes and actions of the nonusers of Mary Kay. Most users of Mary Kay
are very happy, loyal customers; some even become consultants. Mary Kay stated that
many nonusers find the company and the sales force to be outdated. Advertising efforts
would be aimed at encouraging these potential customers to give Mary Kay a try.
(4) Men or other. There is a Mary Kay men’s line does quite well against the competition in
the market. It brings in 5% of Mary Kays sales, which compared to the industry is about
20%. Men could be a stronger source of revenue if they are targeted correctly.
Message: The message strongly depends on who the target market is, however they can be
interchangeable.
(1) Product Mix. There are an abundance of products that Mary Kay sells. If Advertising
efforts are based on trying to sell products it depends on the target market. It would be
extremely effective to mention that most of Mary Kay’s products are refillable and 100%
money back guaranteed if not fully satisfied.
(2) Distribution. Mary Kay sells there products through independent contractors. These are
consultants. In prior ads they have had, they have a phone number set up for potential
customers to call to be set up with a consultant. These ads proved to be effective but
could be altered to be more impactful. The message would be ensuring the way Mary
Kay’s products are distributed is effective and easy.
(3) Pricing. Mary Kay’s prices are substantially lower than many of their competitors. This is
a major product benefit.
Limited Budget: The $3 million could be used for a national or a regional campaign. The national
campaign would reach a larger audience and hit more of the target market. Measuring the
effectiveness of the campaign would be substantially harder to do though. Also, the budget
allocated for advertising would be stretched thin so that the advertising might not be as
effective. A regional test would reach fewer people but in a more condensed fashion. A region
would be easier to measure because it has other regions to compare the current sales with. A
regional test would be most effective in terms of time, measurement, and properly making a
budget for a strong advertising campaign.
Recommendation:
I strongly suggest making an advertising campaign targeting nonusers by promoting the product
mix in a regional test. By targeting nonusers there is the most room for exponential growth not
only in sales but also in recruitment. The nonusers are not as interested in the marketing

3. strategies as they would be in actual products. Promoting the product mix would be essential in
gaining attention in potential customers which then could lead to possibly attaining
consultants. The campaign should be done regionally for the clear measurements to present to
upper management.