Cosmetic product marketing, third edition:interview with Antonio Argentieri
By Enrico Giubertoni
Trusted by
Worldline
Alba Leasing
L'Erbolario
3M
What does cosmetic product marketing require when the market changes faster than the manuals? Antonio Argentieri answers in this interview, where he presents the third edition of his book Il Marketing Operativo dei Prodotti Cosmetici (“Operational Marketing of Cosmetic Products”, Aras Editore, 2020). The book is published in Italian.
The new edition arrives a little more than four years after the previous one, and it responds to a clear need of the cosmetics sector.
In the new edition Argentieri underlines that in the last four years the changes in cosmetics marketing were more disruptive than in the entire previous decade.
This is the reason for the new edition: to give an analytical answer to the changes in operational cosmetics marketing.
Cosmetic product marketing: what is new in the third edition
In the interview Antonio Argentieri makes one point clear. The book is a new edition, distinct from a reprint, and it analyses the most recent paradigms of cosmetics marketing, up to situations of economic and social emergency.
The interview is in Italian. Each question below links to the exact minute of the answer in the video.
Topics covered
Why did you decide to write a third edition of your book? [go to the answer]
Are we really facing a “new marketing”, as some people claim? [go to the answer]
Can you give us some evidence of these changes? [go to the answer]
Is the multichannel model disrupting the positioning of the product and of the sales channel? [go to the answer]
How do you see the development of digital in cosmetics marketing? [go to the answer]
In the book you dedicate a chapter to the parallels between traditional and digital marketing: can you tell us about it? [go to the answer]
The role of Antonio Argentieri in Italian and international cosmetics
Antonio Argentieri has more than forty years of operational experience in the cosmetics and toiletries sector, with senior roles at national and international level.
He is an international speaker, a member of the Council of Cosmetica Italia (the Italian association of cosmetics companies) with association roles, and a lecturer in the second-level Master in Cosmetic Science and Technology at the University of Siena.
Among his many management roles, he was also a member of the Control Committee of the Istituto di Autodisciplina Pubblicitaria (the Italian advertising self-regulation body) and president of Cosmetics Europe.
Why the book matters for brands and retail networks
The questions of the interview follow the path of a manager who must decide. First the reason for a new edition, then the evidence of change, then the effect of the multichannel model on the positioning of product and sales channel, and finally the place of digital next to traditional marketing.
The multichannel question is the most concrete for a cosmetics brand today. When the same product is sold in pharmacies, herbalist’s shops, franchised stores and online, every channel must keep the same promise, and the brand must train the people who sell it. The case of L’Erbolario, in the article on retail marketing examples, shows how a company did it with independent stores. The value that this coherence builds over time is the subject of the guide on how to build brand equity.
From the book to the work with sales networks
I wanted this interview because Argentieri brings forty years of experience inside the companies and associations of the sector to cosmetics marketing, and it is rare to hear him in an open conversation. His view of operational marketing is the same starting point I use when I work with cosmetics brands.
For this reason my consulting for cosmetics companies and retail networks starts from operational marketing, that is, from the product, channel and price decisions that actually reach the shelf, and only then from communication.
If you lead marketing or sales for a cosmetics brand and want to understand where to act first, write to me and describe your situation.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Antonio Argentieri publish a third edition of his book on cosmetic product marketing?
According to Argentieri, in the last four years the changes in cosmetics marketing were more disruptive than in the entire previous decade. The new edition (Aras Editore, 2020) was written to give an analytical answer to these changes in operational cosmetics marketing.
Is the third edition of Il Marketing Operativo dei Prodotti Cosmetici a reprint?
Argentieri states that it is a new edition. It analyses the most recent paradigms of cosmetics marketing up to situations of economic and social emergency, and includes a chapter on the parallels between traditional and digital marketing.
Who is Antonio Argentieri?
Antonio Argentieri has more than forty years of operational experience in the cosmetics and toiletries sector. He is an international speaker, a member of the Council of Cosmetica Italia with association roles, and a lecturer in the second-level Master in Cosmetic Science and Technology at the University of Siena. He was president of Cosmetics Europe.
