It’s estimated that the cosmetics market racked up $62.46 billion in 2016, this includes everything from prestige brand perfumes to drugstore foundations.

Regardless of the price point, should you wish to capture the attention of the highly sought-after millennial demographic it’s important that you give them the opportunity to recognize the objective quality of your product.

In a survey taken by 1000 women it was found that 38% of those polled considered the quality of the product to be their top consideration when it came to brand loyalty. More importantly, over two-thirds of women were willing to recommend their favorite brands to friends based on how they felt toward them. In other words, finding a permanent place in a millennial’s makeup bag can lead to a positive knock-on effect, as they gift their friends their new find and spread the word through their Social Media channels.

Although many cite Baby-Boomer and Gen X shoppers as having the most dispensable income, through sheer force of numbers millennials are fast becoming the demographic with the biggest spending power. Born between 1990 and the early 2000s, these young people have grown to maturity through the information age. Their spending habits have been moulded by their habitual use of smart phones and social media, making them sceptical of traditional forms of advertising and more likely to take recommendations from friends or social media influencers.

Many of these millennials are now at college and whilst they may spend a significant amount of time on their electronic devices, this generation (more than any before it) also crave real-life experiences that allow them to get hands-on with new products in a spontaneous and fun way. These kinds of activities can range from the simplest act of receiving samples to more complex, tailored events that are extravagant, but much more memorable.

Take our ‘Love Is On Campus Tour’, developed in conjunction with Revlon and Cosmopolitan Magazine; we turned the students unions and sorority houses of twenty-five major universities into intimate salons, offering students a chance to enjoy a makeover, drinks and hors d’oeuvres. This experience gave students a chance to gain familiarity with the products whilst offering them many opportunities to share their experiences through social media.

It should be noted that 59% of millennials make product recommendations to others to share highly positive (or highly negative) experiences, and 40% make recommendations in order to help others find the right product. It’s the immediacy and enjoyment of these experiences that gives the participants ample inspiration to create their own content and share their posts, which organically find their way to thousands more people.

Despite brands making impacts with their own Social Media Channels it’s becoming more apparent that, in order to grab the attention of the college millennial, a greater ROI can be gained if you present the consumer with a chance to engage directly with the product in a context outside of the typical department store environment.

We’ve been fortunate to have worked with some of the biggest beauty brands in the industry to bring fresh, interactive on-campus promotional activities on campuses across the country. These unique experiences are designed to give brands intimate engagement with the millennial women while offering product trial and meaningful engagement with products while encouraging college students to share their new finds with their wide social network.

To find out more about how you can market to college students and reach the millennial audience you can give us a call on (212) 386-7617 or send us an email.

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