THE FENTY IMPACT: WHAT BEAUTY MARKETING CAN LEARN FROM RIHANNA
Barbadian superstar Rihanna’s eponymous cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty has been at the forefront of the cosmetics industry since its launch in September of 2017. The cruelty-free, vegan line of products burst into the beauty scene with immense popularity, and was sold out of partnering stores Sephora and Harvey Nichols, as well as the brand’s official website, within hours.
Research company Slice has announced the company is on track to outsell competitors Kylie Cosmetics, KKW Beauty, and high-performing Sephora brand Kat Von D. Considering Kylie Cosmetics has revealed their performance to be $420 million in sales, and Kat Von D owner LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton has singled out the brand to be one of their highest performing, it’s inevitable that Fenty’s success, within a 6 month time period, is of massive proportions.
A simple question comes to mind — how?
Built upon a “beauty for all” perspective, Fenty’s promise of inclusivity to customers of all skin tones was met with open arms. The brand’s trademark product, Pro Filt’r, a soft-matte long-wear foundation, was made in a boundary-breaking range of 40 shades — reflecting their recognition of the beauty industry’s disregard to cater to customers of all races and ethnicities. The line expanded rapidly, seeing the holiday-season launch of Fenty’s “Galaxy Collection” featuring the brand’s first eye-shadow palette, and the Boxing Day launch of 14 shades of “Mattemoiselle” lipsticks.
“I never could have anticipated the emotional connection that women are having with the products and the brand as a whole,” Rihanna told Time, “Some are finding their shade of foundation for the first time, getting emotional at the counter. That’s something I will never get over.”
Called a “Wake-Up Call For The Retail Industry” by Ad Age, Here are 3 Things Brands engaged in Beauty Marketing can learn from Fenty Beauty by Rihanna.
1. Put your customers at the center of your brand. ALL of your customers.
The beauty industry has a history of a lack of inclusive representation. In its two-year R&D process, Fenty Beauty observed this gap, assessed it, and provided a targeted solution — beauty for all. With a clear mission demonstrated both through their products and their marketing efforts, Fenty developed products solve their consumers painpoints, and simultaneously set them apart from other beauty brands who’d yet to innovate similarly.
Naturally upon Fenty’s successful launch, many beauty brands began to similarly announce their offerings for people of color. Popular companies even began to slowly reinvent their Instagram feeds in order to showcase their commitment to diversity, trying to catch up to Fenty’s impact.
The lesson, however, is clear — if you don’t cater to your customers’ needs first, someone else will.
2. Timing is critical.
Fenty’s explosive launch took place during a period of time unquestionably important to the makeup and fashion industry — New York Fashion Week. When the eyes of the world were searching for what’s next in style, Fenty capitalized on this focus and outpour of related content to execute one of the biggest launches in cosmetics history. Rihanna continued the trend by going on a European launch tour, making appearances in brand launches in the fashionable cities of Madrid, Paris, and London that catapulted the brand on social media.
Fenty continued their explosive momentum through strategically-timed product launches — the Galaxy collection, a futuristic series of lip and eye products, made their appearance just in time for holiday seasons, and fans all over the world posted photos of them receiving their products as gifts from family and friends. Boxing Day saw the launch of Mattemoiselle, a well-placed treat on the shelves for shoppers already at their local Sephora stores during their ritual December 26th shopping trips.
3. Make authenticity your advertising focus.
This takeaway doesn’t only apply to those engaged in beauty marketing — but is rather a universal truth. Customers in the digital age have the ability to recognize a brand’s genuine efforts in their advertising, be it through the use of online engagement, brand evangelists, or the use of advertising and creative efforts. Customers want to feel a real connection, a personable one that they can identify with.
Not shying away from leveraging her fame as an asset to social media strategy, Rihanna’s bolstering of the brand on her personal channels was an impressive start to Fenty’s success. Within four days, the Fenty Beauty Instagram account had already amassed 1.4 million followers. Yet what made it special was its blend of content — reviews and testimonies from some of the beauty industry’s most respected influencers (many of women of colour, Fenty’s targeted audience), gorgeous shots of the products to display their inclusive range, and reposts from customers wearing and using the product on themselves.
Not only did Fenty preach for inclusivity through their product line, but they practiced it in their advertising and social media engagement — especially visible in their Twitter and Instagram growth strategies.
Fenty’s unique combination of using makeup experts, diverse models, and real people from all orientations and ethnicities as their product evangelists resulted in a never-before seen buzz in the beauty industry.
The numbers don’t lie. While most beauty brands have a 1% fan engagement on average, Fenty Beauty’s Instagram account was able to reach 10.41%, and generated almost 80K influential posts within the first month. According to Newsweek, Fenty Beauty YouTube tutorials garnered over 132 million viewers, and its 2017. Read more about Fenty’s digital performance here.
Perhaps the most interesting observation since Fenty’s launch one can note is the potential impact an innovative idea can make when it resonates with a large community of people, all while using digital as a medium to accelerate the strategy — is this the new generation of beauty?
