Extension Strategies

Is the beauty market just an extension of the fashion market?

Makeup is put with clothes to make you feel like you have to buy other products to go side by side with. This also happens with accessories. For example, you buy an outfit to go for a meal in, you buy matching eyeshadow, bag and shoes.

Extending a product could include a new feature, new USP, new scent etc. A good example of this is the Apple iPhone, a new one is made every year or so and consumers with the previous phone feel like they need to buy the newest version in order to keep up and stay on trend.

An example of extending a brand could be Virgin Media and how they have extended themselves into records, trains, airplanes, VFest, fashion and much more. Extending a brand gives it many areas to succeed in and if a consumer likes one area, they may become interested in another.

However, by extending the brand a company may seem desperate, losing the value and consumers.

Extension Strategy is a medium to long term plan for lengthen a products lifecycle. It is usually brought in during the maturity/decline stage of the products life cycle. Strategies include, redesigning a product, adding extra features, changing the packaging to appeal to new audiences or providing a USP.