Dr. Miracle’s is using direct response print, television, the Web and unconventional advertising wisdom to make a name for itself. And it seems to be working: The Brooklyn, NY company, which markets hair-care products to the African-American community, has grown from $1 million two years ago to $10 million for the just-ended fiscal year.
Dr. Miracle’s offers 20 products, mostly through retailers. Its Web site (www.drmiracles.com) is used essentially for promotion, getting feedback on products and selling to customers in remote locations. But president Brian Marks says the company eventually may do more selling on the site.
It all began in 2004, when the company launched a DR print campaign in beauty magazines showing women of African descent having a “bad hair day” before they used the company’s products and the results afterward. Marks, who started Dr. Miracle’s after selling off his former company African Pride Products to Revlon in 1998, notes this before-and-after approach is not tried often in the ethnic hair-care market.
Following the print effort, last August the company conducted an 11-city “bad hair day” tour, which invited women to show off their hairstyles in front of audiences in local malls to win a chance to be the next “everyday woman” in future print ads, which Dr. Miracle’s promoted on its site.
To further broaden its reach, the company is running DRTV spots on BET (Black Entertainment Television). The ads began in June and will continue until the end of this month.
Marks hopes Dr. Miracle’s current success will bring the company up to revenue of $35 million a year.
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