HBA Expo

Yesterday I spoke at the HBA Expo, a conference for Health and Beauty Aids industry professionals (hair care, skin care, makeup, etc). I was on a panel with two other speakers and we each gave a presentation and then we answered questions from the audience.

The theme was consumer loyalty, so I spoke about how building a compelling brand experience can in fact generate the ultimate in loyalty. Hope I'm not sounding like a broken record, but I think it's true. The more meaningful and consistent the experience, the more consumers will come back for me. And tell their friends.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hROp4Qc_JA8&NR=1

I've been to a bunch of conferences, but I have to say that this one was very different. My two panel members were die hard makeup people. Die hards. Eve Pearl was one of them -- she is the makeup artist for The Today Show, The View, and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Quite a character. She filmed the whole presentation so I'll post that when she puts it on YouTube. I felt like I needed some blush.

Right before my session there was another great panel with my new friend and colleague Alisa Beyer who spoke about "what women want." I wouldn't even dare to be on that panel, but it was data rich and pretty enlightening. I felt like I needed a push up.

The HBA Expo was a beauty extravaganza. More lip gloss than you can possibly imagine, but also an highly successful group of big brand experts and industry entrepreneurs who have made very successful careers. It was fascinating to meet so many of them. I felt like I needed a caffeine jolt!

What's your experience? Jim.