Is Selena Gomez Redefining the Beauty Industry?
An analysis of Rare Beauty’s Public Relations Strategies.
According to Rebecca Poynter, a public relations professor at the University of North Texas, Public Relations is "positive, proactive strategic public relations actions by an organization which builds goodwill with audiences, support the brand and maintain a positive reputation." One company that I believe that is doing an incredibly good job at this is Rare Beauty. I was additionally drawn to Rare Beauty because growing up I always loved Selena Gomez. I always admired the way she carried herself from her quirky witty personality to the music that she released, and the acting roles she would play on T.V. It is safe to say that Gomez was an it-girl. When she first announced she was starting a cosmetics company I was extremely intrigued by the idea contrary to others first initial reaction, many people thought it was just going to be another celebrity makeup company that wouldn’t be able to resonate with consumers on a wide scale. However, in Gomez’s case, Rare Beauty has become a massive hit in the beauty industry.
The Rare Impact Mental Health Campaign
The Rare Impact is one of Rare Beauty’s bigger campaigns. The campaign was launched in 2020 and is an ongoing project. The Rare Impact is a resource for people to use to become educated about topics about mental health. The campaign is aimed towards Gen Z and underserved communities as mental health tend to be a huge concern within both these communities. I found that this campaign was extremely uplifting, resourceful, and well-executed. It is nice to see a beauty company go to such lengths to create a whole campaign about mental health, especially since the beauty industry has a history of creating unrealistic beauty standards. The Rare Impact has also implemented an ambassador program and a council board of people throughout various industries to come together to advocate and talk about mental health awareness. The Rare Impact has also launched smaller-scale campaigns such as #MentalHealth101 which was a campaign that happened during Mental Health Awareness Month that focused on the impact of mental health within Gen Z as well as suicide prevention. The campaign provided tips, videos, and resources that would be posted on Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter, as well on the company’s blog.
Rare Beauty’s 2021 Social Impact Report
According to Rare Beauty’s 2021 social impact report, Rare Impact has been able to reach an audience of over 13 million people and has donated over 1.2 million dollars in grants to 8 organizations which will be used to help support young people in underserved communities who in the past typically have not had easy access to mental health resources. In 2021, the Rare impact also received 68,000 signatures surpassing
its goal of 25,000 and raising over half a million dollars in support. The Rare Impact has also put efforts into bettering supporting their own employees by providing better resources such as offering Mental Health First Aid training from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing which teaches participants how to notice and support an individual who may be struggling with their mental health in the workplace and how to better connect their employee resources. Rare Beauty has also committed to being a “NAMI Stigma Free” brand that prioritizes mental health in the workplace in order to help better support their employees by ending the stigma of topics that surround mental health struggles in the workplace. Rare Beauty has also come out with their first-ever product for the Rare Impact called “Lip Soufflé Matte Lip Cream in Kindness”. The product was a huge success and sold out within 8 days and with all proceeds going 100% toward the Rare Impact.
Cultivating an inclusive digital space
When it comes to Rare Beauty’s social media presence and how they present themselves I can say with certainty they have absolutely nailed it. When you examine Rare’s Beauty's social media platforms right off the bat you can see that it is consistent with the brand’s overall tone and message. Rare Beauty’s social media content not only focuses on the products that it sells but is aiming to cultivate a genuine community through the brand. When looking at their social media pages they post a wide variety of content from mental health resources, quotes, customer pictures, and makeup tutorials. It's also important to note that even the influencers they work with all align with the brand's core values. Their social media is more than just a PR and marketing tool but rather a tool to create a space that is educational, entertaining, and uplifting. They are very intentional with everything they post and are aiming to create an inclusive space for all. In this case, Rare Beauty clearly matches the definition of public relations that is being done correctly from creating campaigns surrounding mental health awareness to creating social impact within the industry and cultivating an inclusive digital space for consumers. Rare Beauty is not only building trust but creating an overall authentic genuine experience that not many beauty companies are not doing.
About The Author Katelan Hudson is a senior journalism major with a focus on public relations at the University of North Texas who will be graduating with her bachelor’s degree by May 2023. After graduation, she hopes to work in the entertainment industry as a PR and marketing professional for either a media company, tech, or startup.
Sources
https://www.rarebeauty.com/ https://www.rarebeauty.com/blogs/news/rare-beauty-social-impact-report-2021 https://www.rarebeauty.com/blogs/news/from-selena