http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/business/media/cosmo-and-covergirl-unite-to-ring-in-2015.html 2014-12-07 22:36:37 Cosmo and CoverGirl Unite to Ring in 2015 The magazine and cosmetics company are paying more than $2 million to sponsor of the New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square. === A MAGAZINE and one of its biggest advertisers will sing “Auld Lang Syne” together, spending New Year’s Eve in Times Square in a sponsorship deal that speaks to the increasing importance of live events for marketers. Cosmopolitan magazine and the CoverGirl Cosmopolitan and CoverGirl are taking over the sponsorship from Nivea, the skin care brand owned by Beiersdorf that sponsored the event for the last four years. It is estimated that the pair is paying a bit more than $2 million for the sponsorship, which comes with perks that extend well beyond distributing colorful hats and balloons festooned with brand logos to the throngs gathered to usher in 2015. For instance, a live webcast of the celebration will be streamed on the Taking a sponsorship role in New Year’s Eve makes sense, executives at CoverGirl and Cosmopolitan said, because both brands have major plans for the new year. That led the magazine to propose the joint sponsorship to CoverGirl, which is introducing 36 moisturizing lipsticks under the Colorlicious moniker, in shades like Bombshell Pink and Delicious Plum. The introduction is the inspiration for a hashtag, #colorfulcountdown, that CoverGirl and Cosmopolitan will encourage consumers to use on social media platforms “We’re trying to build excitement across the month of December in anticipation of the launch of “What better time to do a lip-color launch than New Year’s Eve?” she asked. “It’s a time women will experiment with their look, and an easy way to experiment with your look is a new lip-color shade. Also, the most-anticipated moment of New Year’s Eve is the new year’s kiss.” (Another beauty giant, Revlon, has a similar idea, installing a digital billboard in Times Square last month as part of a campaign that carries the theme An additional draw is that the countdown is “a live event, televised and online,” Ms. Eggleston Bracey said, that with social media provides marketers “more opportunity to break through and create engagement.” “We like to call them high-impact events where beauty matters,” she added. “You will not be able to miss CoverGirl or Cosmo if you’re in Times Square, or if you’re watching at home.” And the countdown in Times Square is “a signature event” with worldwide appeal, Ms. Eggleston Bracey said, which benefits CoverGirl as “a global brand.” In addition to Cosmopolitan, CoverGirl is working on the event with content partners like E!, MTV and Cosmopolitan will be celebrating in 2015 the 50th anniversary of its first issue under the direction of Helen Gurley Brown, the editor who created the fun, fearless “Cosmopolitan girl” and remade what had for decades been a magazine known for the fiction it published like the stories that inspired the films “It’s a heck of a way to launch our 50th birthday year,” said Donna Kalajian Lagani, senior vice president, publisher and chief revenue officer of Cosmopolitan, part of Hearst Magazines, “and make the brand come to life for our consumers.” “I had looked with lust at what others have done on New Year’s Eve,” she added, “and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing if it became a sea of pink in Times Square?’ ” Asked why she sought out CoverGirl to share the sponsorship rather than other important beauty-brand advertisers, Ms. Lagani replied, “Because we knew they had a big launch of Colorlicious coming up,” then added with a laugh: “CoverGirl is a fantastic partner. So are so many other advertisers. Don’t get me in trouble now. We love Revlon. We love Lancôme.” Among other brands seeking to gain attention in Times Square on Dec. 31 will be Speaking of which, Mr. Rajamannar said MasterCard would announce on Monday that it had signed the singer Gwen Stefani as a “brand ambassador,” joining, among others, Beyoncé and Pharrell Williams.