TBC’s Streaming Pink Portal™ Brings Female Consumers in Nation’s #1 Beauty Market to Executive’s Desktops

Portal Allows Brand Managers to Participate in Product Test Groups Virtually and in Real-Time 

February 17, 2010—Washington, DC:   Move over New York City and Los Angeles; Washington, DC has taken the reins as the #1 US metro area for average spending per household on beauty and personal care products, according to a new industry report.  The study showed that women in the DC metro area spend on average $402 per year on beauty and personal care products, trumping spending in other major US metropolitan areas.  To enable beauty manufacturers to tap into the mindset of Washington, DC’s rich and diverse female beauty buyer, The Benchmarking Company (TBC), the beauty industry’s most innovative consultancy, has created the Streaming Pink Portal™, unique and intimate DC-based focus groups that are streamed to the desktops of beauty brand CEOs.

TBC has been based in Washington, DC since the company’s inception.  Its clients include dozens of large and small beauty product manufacturers, including 13 of the top 15 global beauty companies.

“We’re excited that Washington, DC has been recognized as the nation’s #1 beauty capital,” said Alisa Marie Beyer, founder of TBC.  “At TBC, we have access to the most diverse consumer demographic of any metropolitan area, including the widest range of mass and prestige-buying consumers of all ages and ethnicities, and the widest range of household income levels.  Our Streaming Pink Portal is a natural evolution of our focus group offering—allowing access to Washington, DC area women from anywhere.”

TBC holds its focus groups in its own Pink Sessions™ product testing facility, a decidedly female-centric leap from the sterility of traditional focus groups.   Targeted recruitment using rigorous screeners brings the right female consumers into a specially-designed living room that acts as an inviting atmosphere where she feels comfortable to share, to talk and to reveal her feelings about beauty brands.   TBC’s Streaming Pink Portal lets beauty makers fully participate in the groups virtually, using state-of-the-art high-speed streaming video and in-house recording services.  Those watching the focus groups can use TBC’s advanced 360 degree camera technology to capture still shots and audio, manage interaction, pan, tilt and zoom the video stream on-demand.

“Our clients have the advantage of being the proverbial ‘fly on the wall’ during these sessions without costly travel expenses,” explained Beyer.  “They also experience a new and unprecedented level of control and insight they’ve never had before at typical focus groups.  This gives them the confidence they need to make decisions and take action that will help grow their companies.”  

For more information about TBC and its Streaming Pink Portal focus group sessions, please call 877-568-4822.