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Estee Lauder, creator of the namesake cosmetic behemoth, died this past weekend at the age of 97. Obituaries abound, but I’ve found only one that addresses her genius for marketing to women. Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune opens her tribute with this teaser:
Do we mourn the passing of cosmetics magnate Estee Lauder because her success story personified the American dream?
Do we mourn the passing of Lauder – born Josephine Esther Mentzer in a working-class neighborhood in the New York borough of Queens – because she leaves behind a $5 billion corporation, a successful and socially prominent family and a history of philanthropic generosity?
No, we mourn the death of Lauder, who succumbed to cardiopulmonary arrest on Saturday at age 97, because she invented the three most beautiful words in the English language:
“Gift with purchase.”
Apparently Lauder was also saavy enough to stay on top of hip trends, buying up brands like Bobbi Brown and MAC in recent years.
As Maureen Ryan puts it, “…she didn’t do it by charging rock-bottom prices, like Sam Walton did, or by being ubiquitous, like McDonald’s. She did it by understanding that women don’t just want to feel pretty, they want to feel smart and special and wanted.”
Lauder Had Ability to Make Celebrities, Regular Women Feel Special
Michele Miller is a writer, speaker, and consultant on ways to capture the heart of the female customer. The co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth, she consults with businesses of all sizes across North America
Smart, special and wanted. I should have said that on my radio interview, Friday. Thank you for acknowledging the passing on of a woman who did so much for so many— and I say that meaning she paved a smoother path for the women who came behind her to enter into the business world with something more than a dollar and a dream. As I continue to explore the woman’s market, I learn so many interesting things, meet so many interesting people (virtually…digitally…through my broadband Internet connection), that I continue to be impressed by the Estee Lauder’s out there who go unrecognized. I will be doing my best to recognize them, over time. Wouldn’t she have wanted it that way?
She did it by understanding that women don’t just want to feel pretty, they want to feel smart and special and wanted.”
Guess what men want: They want to feel smart and special and wanted. Pretty is optional, maybe substitute heroic, but the other three aren’t.
Now, do women build circles while men build mountains, that is the question. Kirsten had that poll up but it’s gone. Here’s an answer, anyway.
So… women create the foundation, the circular base from which men build mountains. Mother Nature, the Goddess, the Giver of Life.
Sometimes the Goddess can create a mountain out of a molehill… does that count?
I agree with you completely…. we all want to feel smart… special… and wanted.
Isn’t it funny that so few marketers understand that? I deem it the “Big Duh.”
Michele
My husband owns rights to a name we feel would be perfect for an Estee fragrance. If you have any interest in discussing this please contact us at the e-mail address given. Thanks for your attention. And oh yes, Estee has made me feel very special over the years!
Estee has great products. When you find one, stay with it.