HOW E.L.F. COSMETICS BECAME THE #7 MARKETER OF THE YEAR
2020 has been quite the unexpected year. Despite the pandemic and government issued shutdowns, e.l.f. Cosmetics has continued to grow in popularity, making headlines for their innovative and digital-first marketing campaigns.
The latest headline? Our client, e.l.f. Cosmetics, was named the #7 Marketer of Year by AdAge, sitting alongside large, well-known brands including McDonalds, Lowe’s, Lego, Adobe and State Farm, among others. Out of all the amazing marketers and companies in the world, how did a relatively small cosmetics brand earn a spot in the Top 10, alongside massive marketing powerhouses?!
Over the past 18 months, e.l.f. has jumped from #6 to #2 favorite teen beauty brand*. Moreover, its stock price has tripled!
e.l.f.’s Rocket Ship Journey
In Spring of 2019, e.l.f. launched a brand recharge, going back to its digital disruptor roots. As part of the initiative, e.l.f. sought to engage its consumers with renewed cultural relevance and “cool factor.” This led them to become an early-adopter of TikTok, launching the well-known #EyesLipsFace TikTok challenge at a time when few brands had even considered TikTok. When shutdown first hit in March 2020, e.l.f. wanted to spread health awareness and remixed this viral music sensation into a newly viral PSA: Eyes. Lips. Face. Safe.
Following these viral sensations, e.l.f. continued to innovate as a pioneer on TikTok. As the platform exploded in growth, so did the desire for people to become TikTok famous influencers. So, we combined this insight with e.l.f.’s mission to empower its community, and we developed Eyes. Lips. Famous. The first-ever TikTok reality show aimed to help e.l.f.’s community level up their TikTok game and reach their dreams faster.
e.l.f. has disrupted across social, activated on Spotify, built a best-in-class TikTok brand channel, ventured into gaming, and even became the first beauty brand to launch on Triller.
Powered by “a philosophy that anything is elfing possible”, their game-changing work has led to some incredible results. Billions of press impressions later, it’s no wonder they were named AdAge’s #7 Marketer of the Year, and we couldn’t be more happy for them!
Read the full AdAge feature here
*According to Piper Sandler’s Taking Stock with Teens Fall 2020 survey
