BlissOut Catalog’s Perfect Marketing Makeup

Goops and scrubs, loofahs and lipsticks. All presented in bright colorful layouts. Seductive copy (“it’s more than treats the eye”) makes you want to buy this stuff so you, too, can feel good. And then there’s BlissGirl. She may not be perfect, but this illustrated character sure has fun living the spa life and trying out all the latest products the beauty world has to offer.

Founded just four years ago, BlissOut catalog has come a long way in such a short time, due in large part to the vision of Bliss spa founder, Marcia Kilgore, and the know-how and enthusiasm of the catalog’s driving force, senior catalog director, Claudia Ossa.

Since New York City-based Bliss spa’s inception in 1996, the business has grown to a reported $30 million empire. According to Ossa, Kilgore still does facials for a few select and loyal longtime clients, as well as some celebrities. Stars spotted at Bliss include Madonna and Jennifer Lopez.

The strategic challenge for the catalog, as Ossa explains it, was this: “There are people out there who are flying all over the country and the world who would love our products but don’t have the time to get to our spas.”

When Ossa came on board in April 1999, the catalog was a small part of the business. Started in response to spa customers’ requests, the catalog was launched as an entrepreneurial venture. Ossa says the catalog “was founded on the [same] culture of everything at the company: a real can-do attitude.”

“We decided to give it a shot and just see what happens,” Ossa explains. “The staff had little experience with mailing lists, printing issues and analysis. They mailed 30,000 catalogs to start, and we’re now at over 6 million a year.”

BlissOut has achieved over 400-percent growth in the past year alone. Ossa attributes this to growth in the beauty segment and the fact that Bliss is a start-up within an entrepreneurial organization.

Ossa tells how she came to this job about 18 months ago.

It all started with a facial: I was a customer at Bliss spa, and Marcia was doing my facial when we got to talking about the catalog business. She wanted somebody to come in and run the [catalog] business from the direct mail and catalog strategic standpoint.

Ossa’s first job had been in the beauty industry. “I worked my way through school working at the Clinique counters in department stores,” she recalls. At the time of Kilgore’s offer, Ossa was working at Shasho Jones Direct, a catalog marketing agency. “The bulk of my experience came from the agency side,” Ossa says, noting that her agency work, which included several catalog clients, gave her a unique perspective for working in a catalog operation. Ossa is a firm believer in the fact that “... creative is driven by strategic and marketing goals—not just creative for creative’s sake,” she says.

Big Strategic Goals

About one year ago, BlissOut implemented its first strategic plan ever. As part of the three-year plan, Ossa had two primary goals for her first year: to attain new names for prospecting and to improve sales by taking the Bliss brand to its maximum potential for the catalog.

“We were talking to beauty editors in the industry and getting lots of press. Then the customers came to us,” Ossa recalls. Within a day, catalog requests go to the lettershop and requesters have their catalogs in less than four days. “But we realized that to grow we also needed to take a close look at our core customers to be able to know who they are and then go out and actively find more like them.”

Looking for Lists

Having worked with Clifford and Wills and other catalogs extensively during her five years at Shasho Jones Direct, Ossa thought she had a good sense of who BlissOut catalog’s buyers would be. “I thought, oh sure, these are 44-plus-year-olds. Good economic bracket. A safe bet. Let’s test it out. We were nicely surprised.” While Ossa thought there might have been two different customers—those from the spa being younger and those from the catalog being older—in reality, she found, “We had a 22-year-old, very savvy customer all the way up to a 55-and-over, affluent woman [as potential catalog buyers]. Sure, they were using some different brands and products [from within the catalog’s offerings], but both were good customers for the catalog.”

Now BlissOut is cautiously experimenting with new list tests, says Ossa. Ray Slyper, a circulation consultant, has been working with the catalog to refine its list selection.

“One thing I’ve learned is never say never,” Ossa says. “Prior to walking in here, I would have said subscription lists wouldn’t work; now I know that’s not true.” To work, a magazine list must fit the catalog’s demographic profile. Ossa says she now realizes there’s a much deeper pool of names if you know and seek the right niche.

In addition, she adds, “Now that we have some customer history, we’re beginning to use some modeling. We’re just now at that stage where we’re working with Ray and the service bureau to get started.”

The catalog only does list exchanges at this time, although Ossa says she expects to eventually offer the list for rent.

Mailing the Customer File

Beyond prospecting for new customers, BlissOut mails catalogs to the existing corporate housefile in three ways.

First, it mails to the spa customer, for whom “the catalog is a convenience,” says Ossa. “It helps us build brand, it offers more SKUs than the stores, in case she wants to see what else is out there, and it enables us to build relationships through special messaging and inkjetting offers just for spa customers. Many then come in with their books already marked up with what they want to buy.”

The second way is with the Internet customers, a growing division. “Our Web shoppers are maybe a little bit younger, but most are shared customers [with the offline catalog],” and who simply use the web as another way to shop and get information, Ossa says. As it now stands, the site has a lot of nifty features that coordinate with the catalog stylistically, such as “Ask Miss Bliss,” a “Bliss News” newsletter, “Links We Love,” and even a Blissmiles frequent-shopper program.

Look for “an aggressive relaunch of the Web site in the first quarter of 2001,” Ossa portends. “The Internet is one piece of the multi-branding, multi-channel approach of Bliss,” she says.

In addition, BlissOut does solo mailings to its customers. For instance, it sends postcards to customers around their birthdays, makes monthly discount offers and gives event reminders, such as “Happy New Rear” for New Year’s and “Prepare to Pucker” for Valentine’s Day. Internet customers also get special direct mail promotions.

BlissGirl Leads the Creative

The cover of each BlissOut catalog features BlissGirl, a whimsical illustrated figure intended to connote the Bliss attitude. Ossa explains, “We wanted BlissGirl to epitomize the look of not too perfect but having lots of fun. That whole feeling has translated to the catalog—to the look, the feel, the copy.”

The first catalog was created by a high-end designer, not someone with a catalog background. “Approximately eight months ago, we used outside resources to create our catalogs,” says Ossa, who has since brought all creative in-house.

“The creative vision for the catalog comes from Marcia and is fine tuned by our creative staff. We have copy meetings to develop copy strategies. We bring in real people, who we know, with diverse backgrounds and ideas to participate in these meetings.”

Each book has a personality. The fall book’s theme is “BlissGirl Goes to the Olympics.” Winter 2000 featured BlissGirl on skis and the cover line read, “BlissGirl scopes the slopes for the Millennium’s new beauty code!”

Catalog as Beauty Editor

As far as merchandising goes, originally the products were organized by vendor. But Ossa turned that upside down. “From my experience, people shop by needs—like problem/solution. So we reorganized the book to give them information. We would act as the beauty editor. This is definitely how the customer shops. By being the beauty editor for them, we give them an organized pace through the catalog.”

According to Ossa, “There was a bit of concern from the vendors initially, about us putting product categories, not product brands, together. For example, we put categories such as Cellulite Busters together on one page, Hair Bests on another; and once vendors saw the sales, they were convinced. Along the same lines, we started to show the product, make it tactile and open it up so they [customers] can see the goop.”

Added creative tactics to keep shoppers interested include Imtek’s Tag-em’s, which let browsers mark pages in their catalogs, and punch-out, heavy-stock cardboard sunglasses to allow shoppers to “try on” different frames and colors before they buy.

One critical part in making the catalog a success is getting the colors right. Ossa says, “Optimum color was key, so we brought in top quality print vendors who were accustomed to dealing with high-end products.”

Unlike shooting ready-to-wear, Ossa explains, “you need to not show the color of the lipstick but the color the lipstick will appear on the lips. An educated eye is needed to almost cheat.” That way shoppers get a truer vision of what the product will look like on them, not on paper. Ossa worked closely with the color separator, International Color Services, and with the printer, Arandell Corp., to ensure a high-quality outcome.

For the future, Ossa stresses that any growth for BlissOut catalog must be integrated with other parts of the company. “Marcia is building different companies within the brand, the BlissOut catalog, spin-offs, new product development, the Internet.”

But Ossa’s not worried about avenues for future growth. “We’re expanding our categories—scales, sandals, anything with the spa feeling. The brand has endless potential,” she says.