Revlon makes the most of a powerful brand identity

Drug Store News, July 20, 1998 by Andrea M. Grossman

And that's exactly what Revlon executives explained in an interview at the company's New York headquarters earlier this month: "We're going to bring ColorStay technology to hair care" said Vince Colonna, senior vice president of sales, Revlon beauty care, USA.

That is, in a new line of shampoo and conditioners, the ColorStay brand will penetrate yet another segment in beauty care.

Color with "oomph"

The six new SKUs, which start shipping Sept. 1, are intended to offer colored heads some insurance between dye jobs. The line, called ColorStay HairCare, includes three shade-specific shampoos and conditioners that intend to provide color-fade resistance to dyed hair. Though the formulas do not contain any hair color, Revlon executives believe blonde, brunette and red locks can expect a bit of an "oomph'' until it's time to dye again.

"Almost 25 percent of color is lost between hair colorings," explained Steve Krawzcyk, executive vice president and general manager, Revlon beauty care group, USA.

And since salon-style fade-resistant formulas (with $15 price points) currently crowd windows of hair boutiques and salons, Revlon saw an opportunity to grab a market that had yet to be tapped in the mass sector.

"Our objective with ColorStay hair color was to bring new people in to home coloring. We were pretty successful with that. Now we think that offering fade resistance will be a pretty powerful concept," Krawzcyk said.

Technology from the ColorStay hair color product, which was introduced in June 1997, will also be used in the shampoos and conditioners. Vitamins, nutrients and botanicals are aimed to help the condition of the colored hair, as a UV filter will "protect hair from everyday elements," said Donna Shapiro of Revlon's public relations office.

Responding to customers

Consumer response to ColorStay hair color products also drove certain technology decisions in the new formulas.

"We used the same base for the [hair care] conditioner as the conditioner in the ColorStay packet," Krawzcyk said, since consumers said their hair was especially soft immediately after coloring.

The shampoos and conditioners are housed in shiny black bottles that sport embossed gold lettering and a photo-swatch of a lock of either blonde, brunette or red hair. Depending on the bottle's contents, the words "Stay Blonde," "Stay Brunette" or "Stay Red" appear on the front. Each 10-ounce bottle will retail for approximately $3.79, the highest price point Revlon has yet to affix to a hair care product. Its Outrageous shampoo currently retails for $3.49.

Advertising for the new line will be "as supportive as in the past," Krawzcyk said, but he would not elaborate. He did say that an FSI, television and print ads are in the works, as are in-store promotions.

The ColorStay brand, which was introduced in 1995 as a lipstick, now includes face makeup, powders and mascara, and is the only cross-category franchise that plays off the same name.