Australian skincare company Mirenesse Cosmetiques named SendTec, Orlando, FL, to handle a direct response television campaign for its U.S. expansion.
The effort will highlight the Mirenesse Secret Weapon mascara currently sold in Australia and elsewhere, as well as on the U.S.-based Home Shopping Network.
“They've not had any representation in the U.S. other than home shopping, and they chose us because of our cosmetic category experience and DRTV [background],” said Paul Soltoff, CEO of SendTec.
The Mirenesse announcement comes as Cosmetique, a Vernon Hills, IL, national direct marketing beauty club, names SendTec as its DM agency of record on consumer advertising. The agency started work on the account in October 2002.
With Mirenesse, SendTec is responsible for strategic and marketing development; media buying, tracking and reporting; Web site design, hosting and e-commerce; and DRTV production of 60- and 120-second spots using the agency's iFactz technology. The shop also will handle fulfillment, telemarketing and merchant transaction issues.
SendTec's Creative South unit will run the creative part of the campaign. Its iFactz tool, which measures online response to offline media, will gauge the effort's effectiveness.
DRTV is crucial for Mirenesse, both in the test phase and rollout. Executions will include demonstrations, before-and-after comparisons and testimonials by women. Animation will show the formulation, micro-sleeve technology and how the diamond-shaped brush works.
The campaign test breaks March 31, offering a risk-free trial of the $19.95 product with a gift worth $25 and upsells via telephone and Web site. Shipping and handling are extra.
The ads will address several challenges, Soltoff said, such as showing the effectiveness of Mirenesse's mascara compared with others on the market.
“Selling mascara on DRTV at price, which costs more than retail drugstore mascara, is another challenge,” Soltoff said. “Then there is demonstration of value proposition and technology, including how the product produces sexy, long and thick lashes and doesn't flake or clump.”
