In a deal-defining moment in the realm of celebrity-fronted beauty brands, Hailey Bieber has demonstrated the metaphorical and literal power of a “glazed donut.” E.l.f. Beauty’s acquisition of Bieber’s, Rhode, “a line of curated skincare essentials” founded in 2022, provides the former the opportunity to diversify from mass market to the prestige category, and the latter to foray into brick-and-mortar from its carefully protected direct-to-consumer model. With its USD 600 million cash payment, USD 200 million in e.l.f. Beauty stock and a further USD 200 million earnout contingent on company performance, Rhode’s valuation is indicative of the confidence in the disruptor’s potential given its nascent track record. Hailey will uphold her role as founder and will serve as Rhode’s Chief Creative Officer and Head of Innovation. Moreover, Bieber’s recent appointment as Strategic Advisor for both Rhode and e.l.f. Beauty begs for a dissection of several of the billion dollar-worthy strategies that were instrumental to the cult beauty brand’s success.
Mastering the Art of Scarcity & Exclusivity
As a proponent of drop culture, Rhode has successfully reaped the rewards of making people wait – because scarcity sells. The artful endeavour of securing one of the brand’s highly coveted lip treatment bearing phone cases also carries an emblem of exclusivity associated with said feat. Although limited edition and minimal stock releases reinforce a sense of desirability and urgency for a given product, it is the brand’s ability to build and sustain anticipation for its line that is most impressive.
An arsenal of demand-incentivising tactics including waitlist marketing, posting images of products with censored labels, an unreleased product tease in Hailey’s own skincare/makeup routine or a personal reassurance of an imminent restock from the founder, all culminate in a highly engaged audience that is sent into frenzy at a whiff of a peptide enrobed product drop.
Creating “Rhode World” through Aesthetic Continuity and Affordable Luxury
In the dichotomy between the promises of beauty vs. skincare and their associated fortes, few have succeeded in dominating the intersection between the two – until the advent of Glossier. The “skin first, makeup second,” promoting brand was a trailblazer for its time in its push to amplify “natural beauty” through it products, inadvertently paving the way for the likes of Rhode to thrive off what has become commonly referred to as, the “clean girl aesthetic.” Its defining minimalist, natural and polished visual appeal has been translated into Rhode’s digital and physical assets. For example, the brand uses soft-focus imagery and negative space for a non-cluttered feel, and employs a muted palette and satisfyingly crisp magnetic closures in its products.
Such, conceptually focused and “fuss-free” appeal is also translated in the brand’s product formulas which are marketed as multifunctional, targeted and effective. Rhode’s star ingredient namely peptides (which promote the look of youthful skin through the production of elastin and collagen) deliver just that. Peptides are however traditionally found in legacy beauty brands’ ingredient lists at a high price point. Bieber’s price differentiation strategy places premium ingredients at a relatively affordable price tag. The product range is positioned as “aspirational” with its lux and expert-backed selling point, and as “accessible” with its reasonable price entry point that lies below incumbent luxury brands while sitting comfortably above mass market brands.
Dominating Sensory Marketing
“Think buttery, glazed donut skin,” may have been Hailey’s very own words capturing beauty’s zeitgeist and obsession with dewy, uber hydrated skin while simultaneously acting as the manifesto underpinning every emblematic and physical contact point with Rhode. The brand’s fixation on sharp high-contrast product photography which favours hyper realistic shots, transcends the traditional effect of visuals to convey beauty and skincare’s tactile experience through image and ASMR-video format.
At a mere thumb scroll, the brand’s dedicated following gain in-person access to the feel and wear of a given product range prior to testing the product in-person. Through the depiction of velvety emulsions and textured swatches of serums, Rhode has arguably revolutionised consumers’ product discovery time and process (and perhaps the rate of guaranteed a sale).
Leveraging Edible Beauty’s Appeal
Perhaps most notable, is Rhode’s use of food association to exacerbate pre-purchase experience. The brand’s sensory inducing product naming surpasses the conventional practice of flavouring of products à la Lip Smacker. Sensory inducing product naming, for example “Glazing Milk” and “Barrier Butter,” is only at the surface of its strategy. Collaborations including that of Krispy Kreme’s reincarnation of their Strawberry Glaze flavour for the launch of Rhode’s Lip Treatment by the same name, as well as releasing the Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie in conjunction with Erewhon featuring collagen peptides (mirroring the ingredients used in their products) act as a tangible extension of the brand. Furthermore, the choice of food connotation mimics consumers’ psychological reward associated with dessert with the purchase of a Rhode product.
The trend has also permeated the strategies of fashion marketing vanguards, from Jacquemus’ branded bread and butter show invites to the viral “Loewe tomato” purse. Both internet-breaking instances have successfully cut through the digital noise, by providing an accessible feel (through food) while retaining a sense of exclusivity (through context in the case of Jacquemus and price-point in the case of Loewe).
Building a Community through User Generated Content
Amongst Rhode’s strong suits is its ability to avoid the “hard sell” strategy through its organic influx of unofficial brand ambassadors that are quick to showcase Bieber’s products authentically. Whether exhibiting their engagement at Coachella’s most sought-after activation of the year, the Rhode photobooth, and its free lip tints or seamlessly integrating the brand’s products into their daily skincare/makeup routine, every mention or promotion of Rhode feels earned as opposed to being bought. Consequently, a sense of trust and intimacy is cultivated between community members who are aligned in their appreciation of the brand’s clean, edited and effortless feel.
Its lean marketing strategy may have also birthed the genius that is Rhode’s aforementioned silicone case. A functional fashion staple with a three-fold objective; accommodating one’s lip treatment (making it a go-to product by default), a medium by which to increase brand visibility and the ultimate badge of honour having coveted the accessory making other Peptide Lip Treatment lovers immediately recognisable and connected to each other.
Conclusion
Rhode’s successful billion-dollar acquisition is a litmus test for the potential of celebrity fronted brands in the beauty industry. A page of Bieber’s playbook suggests that a strategy that places a multi-sensory experience of brand collaterals, product scarcity and anticipation reinforcement, visual consistency, differentiated pricing as well as community building at its forefront, might just guarantee the next Gen Z approved beauty brand (and confectionary treat’s virality).
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