Unapologetically You.

This year, the Beauty industry's CEOs and insiders want you to get comfortable being uncomfortable. The WWD 25th Beauty CEO Summit was a contrast in optimistic projections about the future of the business alongside predictions of disruption and radical transformation. It's complicated, but it also makes sense. People are complex, and we are certainly more than the many data points gathered about our behavior and shopping habits. We change and we grow and we're frequently contradictory ... and that's a good thing. It's what makes us human, and we need to lean into all the beautiful messiness.

"Gen Z whisperer" Ziad Ahmed , CEO, and Founder of JUV Consulting, stressed that creating an ecosystem of "perpetual advertisements" was a dead-end and that the Metaverse was "over-hyped." While Nina Mishkin , Head of Brand Strategy & Production at Snapchat, asserted that Gen Z would be the architects of their digital and VR experiences.

Feeling uncomfortable yet?

"Go left, when everyone goes right" is Rhode CEO Melanie Bender 's strategy. Rhode's founder, Hailey Rhode Bieber, obsessively crafted a collection of "must-have" essential beauty products. Achieving instant cult status and breaking sales records. The numbers don't lie. "We crossed the eight-figure [sales] threshold in just 11 days of selling," said Bender. The $29 peptide glazing fluid that hydrates and plumps the skin to leave a dewy finish was first introduced in June 2022 and sold 36 units every second in past restocks. Today there is a waitlist of over one million across Rhode's products, and Rhode Bieber said she's not in a rush to launch new products simply to increase revenue, despite the pressure to do so. Bender said, "In a world full of hares, we are happy to be the tortoise." Instead, they choose to focus on impact. The brand is not only concerned with creating a minimal footprint with an emphasis on clean, vegan ingredients with recyclable packaging made from recycled materials, but they are also ready to share their social and political values. Taking a stand on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the brand posted "We are committed to helping women direct their futures. We are making a donation to Plan C, the National Network of Abortion Funds, and the AFIYA Center." "Purpose is a commitment, not a convenience," said Bender, and as a brand, Rhode has a commitment to drive the conversation that Gen Z craves and expects.

Those were just a few of the topics covered in the first 2 hours of the two-day conference, held in New York City on May 9th and 10th. With an audience of close to 400 people, the topics of conversation, community and authenticity were consistent themes for beauty brands that ranged from the OG?Digital Disruptor, E.L.F., to titans?L'Oréal,?Coty and Estée Lauder.?Poet Laureate and Estée Lauder Global Changemaker, Amanda G. in conversation with Cori Murray , spoke more deeply about the need for authenticity. Authenticity of self, living with integrity, working for equity and challenging each person in the room to hold each other accountable. When asked where she saw herself in ten years (spoiler alert!) Gorman announced, "I see myself as President of the United States".

While many brands are trying to crack the code on what resonates with Gen Z audiences, there was also an emphasis on longevity, both in terms of brand building and yes, actual human longevity. With the reality that people are living and thriving much longer, there is a pivot into redefining Beauty as Wellness and expanding our idea of what constitutes self-care. Everything from little sensorial indulgences like prestige fragrance to experiential wellness luxury condos developed by Sarrah Hallock of The Well. One fundamental still applies for brand longevity: innovation. Ultimately, Beauty companies are in the R&D business. Finding new solutions and solving problems. Sue Nabi , Coty CEO, believes that "the moment of truth is in the middle of the bathroom, when you apply the cream" and that "Wellness is the new frontier ... that can give Beauty depth." Her strategy is to return to the brand's roots to grow relevance. Rather than redefine, Nabi calls it "undefining beauty", to discover the white spaces. Unafraid to be disruptive, she refuses to look at competitors, "you lose your distinctiveness, or worse, you do the marketing of others".

In a world of change, what got brands to today, won't get them to tomorrow. Customers are overloaded with content and experiences. Society, culture and values now evolve more rapidly than ever. Expectations for technology and experiences continue to be re-set.?What does this mean for the marketeers looking to crack the code on how to reach an aspirational yet unapologetically complex consumer? Paradoxically, the strategy is to keep it simple. Be authentically you.?

At Accenture Song , we deliver a “life-centric” approach to help businesses grow through relevance — fueled by powerful insights, brought to life through creativity and scaled through technology?and innovation.