Zillow is doing it, and so is Zulily. Now, Julep — the Seattle-based online cosmetics company — is jumping into the mix with a new TV advertising campaign that will begin airing today.
At this point, Julep is starting out with a modest investment in TV advertising, in the low six figures. But CEO Jane Park, who raised $15 million in venture funding earlier this year from Andreessen Horowitz, Maveron and others, said there are good opportunities to expand the company’s presence via TV advertising.
“We see a trend in online companies like Zulily, Zillow, Fab, and recently AirBnB engaging in TV advertising to reach new consumers – especially since 62 percent of TV viewers are concurrently using a computer or a laptop,” said Park, whose business spans both online and brick-and-mortar retail. “We have an advantage in leveraging ‘old school media’ to drive online engagement – consumers can react immediately instead of having to wait until the next time they are in a mall or grocery store.”
It’s also not lost on us that Spencer Rascoff, who is in the midst of a huge marketing push at Zillow, sits on the board of Julep. (And Zulily).
Park tells GeekWire that she’s hopeful that the TV ad campaign will accelerate growth. Julep is undergoing a serious growth spurt already, with revenues quadrupling in the first half of 2013.
“We are experiencing tremendous traction in the marketplace with our social innovation model,” says Park, whose company has launched 101 Julep-branded makeup, nail polishes and skincare products this year.
Julep worked with the creative agency World Famous on the new campaign, which you can see below. Here’s a look at the first ad from the company.
