Cosmoprof North America started out with a bang. My colleague Kristy Altenburg and I first hit TIGI’s “Candy Fixations” party where we enjoyed some yummy candy-inspired cocktails and left with goodie bags filled with TIGI’s latest sugarlicious launches (thanks TIGI!). We then headed over to the Professional Beauty Association (PBA)’s Get Together Party where everyone comes together to meet and greet.
Sunday morning the PBA Symposium kicked off with a keynote address by Stedman Graham. I was a bit star struck the day earlier when I bumped into Stedman (yes, Oprah’s man!) while checking in to the hotel.
Stedman had always stayed out of the spotlight when it comes to Oprah, so I was unsure what he would be talking about and how it would pertain to professional beauty. I was quite impressed by what was a very powerful talk. He outlined his nine-step plan to success, which is described in detail in his book. Along the way he described the various steps—know yourself, define your vision, understand your obstacles, build a cheer team—while adding in some personal experiences and tailoring the message to the beauty industry.
When Stedman got to the step on Information and Knowledge—it really struck a chord with me. He stressed the importance of being an expert in your field, understanding the dynamics that affect your business, and knowing what your competition is up to. It is this precise kind of knowledge and insights that we at Kline are always striving to provide to our clients.
The rest of the show was a stream of meetings and meals with various clients. This was my favorite part of the trip as it is always exciting to engage with our clients to find out what they are up to and how we can help them. We discussed Kline’s plans to begin delivering quarterly data in the coming year, which was well received by everyone.
I also enjoyed walking the floor for trend spotting purposes. I saw many exciting products and brands which I look forward to examining further in our next round of market research reports. I also got some ideas for new topics to start reporting on; I plan to announce details about these in the fall. Kristy and I also got our hair “blinged” with some sparkly strands and crystals.
I have no shortage of words to describe the show—uber stimulating, informative, exciting, exhausting, worthwhile—and am glad to have attended.
