Millennial Pink Takes a Stance
How are you feeling?
Enraged? Upset? Thoughtful? Ready to learn? Ready to change?
This question has been asked a lot this past week- by friends, family and co-workers. On a personal level, the last few weeks have filled me with a ton of emotions, specifically the ones above. On a consumer level, it’s left me wanting to know more about the brands that I support with my money. As a brand, what does diversity look like in your company? What is your stance on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement? How will you be working to change the future of racial inequality?
The protests have caused consumers, like me, to hold brands accountable and there has been no better place to do that than on social media. Brands learned very quickly a simple statement or even donation was just not enough. Consumers are demanding more- challenging brands to show the diversity of their staff, to use more POC in their advertising campaigns, and to pledge how they will support POC moving forward, long after the protests stop.
One brand that has done a great job, in my opinion, of reacting to the recent Black Lives Matter movement is Glossier, the skincare and makeup company known for its millennial pink branding and “cool factor”.
Why? They have done two things on social media that I think differentiates them from other brands out there:
- They have actually limited the amount they have posted about the BLM movement.
- They have committed to actionable change that will supersede the protests and current news coverage…. aka their discussions on what they are doing is not just performative.
Let me explain why I think these two points have set them apart in the beauty industry* from other brands.
Most brands at this point have posted about the BLM movement in some shape or form. Many have posted about places where you can donate, brands that you can shop, or how they are committed to change within their organization. Glossier has actually limited the amount they have posted, making sure that what they have posted is actionable and informative. Really, they are posting “meat” instead of “fluff” like some other brands. Their feed only features two posts, the first a statement made on May 30th in which they donated half a million dollars to various organizations combating racial injustice, as well as promising an additional half a million dollars in grants to black-owned beauty businesses. The second, posted on June 11th, went into further detail on these grants. Aside from these two posts, they have shared only select information on their Instagram stories. They have had a handful of stories on petitions to sign and accounts to follow. They also participated in #pulluporshutup, giving consumers insight into what percentage of their employees are female and People of Color.
By keeping the conversation limited, but tight on information, they have shown that they are taking a thoughtful approach and not just putting out fluff information to satisfy people. As a consumer, this makes me think that they truly are committed to helping.
The second reason why I think they have done a good job is that they have not just chosen to donate. Many beauty brands have donated to various organizations, which is incredible and important but is often a one-time action. Glossier has committed to providing grants to black-owned beauty businesses at various stages of their company life. On top of this, they have promised these businesses advisory support and amplification on Glossier’s social channels. They are committed to helping grow black-owned businesses, despite these businesses technically having the potential to be competition. To me, doing more than just a one-time donation really shows me as a consumer that you want to make long-lasting change.
Glossier has a long-standing history of using digital to help further the advancement of the company- after all, the brand started as a blog (Into the Gloss) and regularly uses the platform to ask consumers what they want to see next from the brand. They’ve done a good job of putting their stance on the BLM movement out to their consumers on Instagram- and the response from consumers has been significantly more positive than some other brands I have seen. It’s because Glossier has done it in an authentic way- and consumers have noticed. It definitely helps that Glossier has always featured POC on their social channels and in advertising campaigns. It makes their current stance seem integrated with the brand and like it has always been apart of the company’s belief system. I truly think because Glossier was so authentic about it, and has always been, that consumers will only love the brand more. Consumers will certainly be watching to see if the brand lives up to what it has claimed to do, but their current actions so far have proven to be in the right direction.
*I work in the industry so I have paid close attention to what different beauty brands are doing.
