The rise of Celebrity Beauty Brands

If celebrity marketing has long been a popular communication tool for some brands (isn't it Georges?), one sector has gradually established it as a dominant strategy: it is of course the beauty.

Actresses and other celebrities have fronted perfume and make-up ads for decades.

However, at the turn of the 2000s, a milestone was crossed; The worldwide notoriety of a handful of stars, their image capital (both sexy and cool) allowed them to get never-seen before contracts for  the use of their faces and their names:

- First through the explosion of fees paid by major cosmetic brands to a handful of A-listers to become global advertising faces. The $ 4 million supposedly paid for Nicole Kidman in 2004 by Chanel was quickly overtaken by increasingly explosive deals: $ 5 million per year for Charlize Theron, $ 7 million for Brad Pitt, $ 12 million for three years for R Pattinson, 28 million dollars for a three-year deal with N. Portmann!

- But also via licensing agreements signed between these celebrities and large companies in the sector (Elizabeth Arden, Coty, Puig, Procter & Gamble, etc.). These agreements focused on the development of eponymous perfumes, “in their own right” ”for the benefit of stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and others (not to mention A. Banderas, D. Beckham or Justin Bieber) . This 2nd phenomenon was quickly given a specific term, the "celebrity perfume".

The celebrity perfumes

It is very difficult to precisely date the birth of this phenomenon. Some call to mind the perfume bottle designed in the 1930s for Schiaparelli, taking inspiration from Mae West's forms. We could also mention L’Interdit, created for Audrey Hepburn by Hubert de Givenchy. But it is White Diamonds, the perfume launched in 1991 by Liz Taylor (with Elizabeth Arden) which is considered as the real first "celebrity perfume" of the contemporary era: it is said that its turnover is over 1 billion dollars and that the income the actress drew from it would be greater than all her cumulative cinema fees!

Ten years after the launch of White Diamonds, these "celebrity perfumes" have therefore grown considerably; they boosted sales for the entire category throughout the first decade of the century. In 2012, there were no less than 85 celebrity fragrance launches!

The reasons for this boom

They are first and of course financial: we talk about "deals" combining fees (around amounts ranging from 3 to 5 million) with commissions of 5 to 10% on sales.

A dazzling success in the early 2000s

This segment quickly represented a significant market share (from 10 to 20% - 12% in 2012 - source Euromonitor) and its performance drew those of the entire market in the USA: in 2011, for example, the launch of "Someday" by Justin Bieber energized the entire category ($ 3 million in sales at Macy's in less than 3 weeks).

Britney Spears' "Curious" had reached CA 100 million in only 5 weeks and, in 2013, Beyoncé's “Heat” franchise - the then best-selling celebrity scent - had CA $ 400 million.

How to explain such a tidal wave?

Some success factors are:

- Some of these fragrances have benefited from the now famous "Teen Factor" (i.e. the buying behavior of adolescent "fans"),

- other powerful and original promotional methods (sampling Beyoncé's perfumes on her tours, Paris Hilton's tweet policy, etc.)

A sudden turnaround

However, the enthusiasm for these fragrances quickly wore off; due to the incessant launches, a chronic lack of loyalty / re-purchase leading to a saturated market ... all of this leading to a general loss of interest in these products.

Celebrity marketing supplanted by marketing influence

On the other hand, the development of social networks has created new expectations of “transparency and honesty”: celebrity marketing has found itself supplanted by marketing influence: The star is no longer the only lever influencing choice and purchasing, macro-infuencers (and micro, even nano) are the new holy grail allowing:

-to improve the visibility of a product, its image

- to develop relevant content to influence communities, via many formats (unboxing, tutorials, "Get ready with me", challenge, etc.)

- and above all to create commitment/engagement (from the influencer community)

In doing so, the influencer has a global power of recommendation in favor of the brand (advocacy) which turns him into a privileged tool in beauty marketing.

As a result, communication budgets have quickly and massively shifted towards digital and influence campaigns…. Chiara Ferragni, Taylor Hill, etc. : here are the new names of those who must post about your new product to make it a success!

Are Hollywood stars definitely has-been?

The majority of A-listers, however, were quick to adapt to this "new order", and convert their popularity into a community on major social networks. In doing so, they managed not to be supplanted by influencers and to become ones ...

This allows them to transform their fan base into potential customers by offering them this time not perfume but make-up or more….

FENTY BEAUTY 

Fenty Beauty, the make-up brand launched in 2017 by Rihanna, is probably the most emblematic example of this "New Deal". This is a hybrid model in which Rihanna owns a part of the brand -15% - and also receives royalties (as with a classic license). It is Rihanna herself who does much of the promotion / communication of the brand. 

Fenty is also and above all a story of innovation, the brand having based its success on a particularly wide range of foundations. Its FDT Pro Filt’R included 40 shades at launch (then 50); in doing so, the brand was instantly the one offering the widest choice of colors to its customers. All skin tones were able to find their happiness, and Fenty has become synonymous with inclusion and diversity ... In 15 months of operation, the brand would have generated an estimated income of 570 million USD (source nytimes) 

This “success story ” could not remain an isolated initiative. Celebrities quickly realized that there were new opportunities available to them, including: 

- the opportunity of playing in more attractive categories (larger size, level of margins, higher number of purchases, etc.) such as make-up and skin care, 

- the possibility of creating companies managing their brands (which then belong to them). 

We have therefore recently observed a growing number of launches, including that of Haus Laboratories in 2019 (Lady Gaga's brand) and that of Rare Beauty in 2020 by Selena Gomez.

A focus of 2 last initiatives, JLO & Pharrell Williams

Most recently, “JLO Beauty” was launched, a range with a catchy slogan (“Beauty has no expiration date”) and offering 7 products based on a common promise, glow (including a cream, several serums, makeup remover gel, etc.).

Let us also mention the launch last November of Humanrace, the gender-free range from Pharrell Williams, which offers to mix "simplicity and science" and revisits Clinique's famous 3-step routine (the Basic 3 Temps: 3 steps, 3 minutes, twice a day) by establishing a “Three-Minute Facial”.

The range is “cruelty-free” and vegan. The packaging includes braille information and offers an original, recyclable refill system. It is this commitment to preserving the planet and its resources that makes this range so attractive.

More generally, it is the values that celebrities will or will not inject into their brands that will allow the public to judge whether these brands “resemble” the stars (and the values they profess) or if there is none there.

At the start of the year, the industry is full of rumors about imminent launches concerning Kanye West, Hailey Bieber and Ariana Grande… The opportunity to see very soon if these stars will succeed in creating brands in their image or if they will be (only and classically) famous faces promoting a brand.

 It looks like the long history between beauty and celebrity continues and begins a whole new chapter….