Wet Seal Adding Funky Cosmetic Touches to Stores
Hyundai’s List Narrows to Five; Costa Mesa Pitches Visitor Discounts
Marketing & Media
by Jennifer Bellantonio
Foothill Ranch-based teen fashion retailer Wet Seal Inc. is hoping to pucker up to some new business with a new line of cosmetics this month.
The line, dubbed Seal Glamour, includes lip gloss, chunky eye pencils and nail polishes. It recently hit 180 Wet Seal stores. The products sell for $5 to $17.
Wet Seal said it’s hoping to put some more momentum behind its new brand, and make its stores a “destination” for beauty, fashion, music and entertainment.
“As a lifestyle brand, Wet Seal’s approach with the new cosmetics line, as it has been with apparel, is to provide the freshest, most contemporary looks in a fun and interactive manner,” said Steve Strickland, senior vice president of marketing and creative services, in a release.
Pink-and-white kiosks are set up in stores to promote make-up colors with names such as “Gossip,” “Dance” and “Laugh”,the same type of catchy words you’ve probably seen plastered on everything from bracelets to garden stones.
Starting in April, Wet Seal stores plan to host Saturday makeover parties with Seal make up artists, according to the company.
Hyundai’s Short List
Then there were five.
Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America has narrowed its search for a new national advertising agency to a handful of finalists. They are: FCB West (San Francisco and Irvine); Publicis West, Seattle; Publicis and Hal Riney, San Francisco; The Richards Group, Dallas; and incumbent, Bates West, Irvine.
The agencies have been asked to complete strategic and creative assignments. Work sessions are scheduled at Hyundai’s headquarters the week of March 25 with final presentations planned for mid-April. A decision is expected by the end of April.
Separately, L & M; Marketing in Costa Mesa is helping Hyundai target Hispanic customers through a variety of point-of-purchase displays featured in dealerships nationwide. Marketing materials promote Hyundai’s sponsorship of 2002 World Cup Soccer.
Business or Pleasure
For the past few years, the Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau has put together a marketing campaign to encourage business travelers to visit the city’s restaurants and stores.
The pitch this year takes on new significance, according to Dan Pittman president of Pittman & Associates, Newport Beach, which is handling the account for the bureau.
“This seems all important to us now,” he said. “Everybody has experienced the fact that there’s been some loss of business (after Sept. 11).”
Costa Mesa is hoping to get a shot in the arm with its gift certificate campaign. Area hotels are offering out-of-town travelers here on business a packet of discounts worth more than $250 that can be redeemed at area restaurants and stores.
“Hopefully they come away with a nice feeling for Costa Mesa,” Pittman said.
The city hopes to get people to stay longer after business meetings, Pittman said, and perhaps invite a relative or spouse to visit. In year’s past, he said, certificates were redeemed “frequently” but gave no specifics.
Bits and Pieces:
Newport Beach-based Lawrence & Ponder Ideaworks went with computer-generated dinosaurs to encourage kids in kindergarten to third grade to read in its latest round of commercials for the READ California public education campaign Mazda North American Operations, Irvine, turned to Walt Disney Co.’s ABC to plug its new 2002 MPV minivan. The automaker recently launched a new campaign that runs through April aimed at mothers with children ages 6 to 11. Commercials are set to air on various ABC stations, as well as Disney Online, Radio Disney and the Disney Store. The campaign, created by the Newport Beach office of W.B. Doner & Co., also features a Web site on Disney Online to promote test drives Newport Beach-based BLVDwest launched a Web site celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Southern California division of Boys Hope/Girls Hope, a non-profit organization Irvine-based El Pollo Loco launched a multimedia campaign for Hispanic and general markets promoting its new combo meals. The 15- and 30-second spots are set to air in select West Coast markets Huntington Beach-based Surf City Ad Co. is set to break some new radio spots for MintAsure (new from the makers of Breath Asure) next month that are slated to run in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, among other markets. The ad shop also is doing new campaign work (radio and print) for Sonnys on Fillmore, a small family jewelry store in Denver.
