Fenty Beauty Marketing Strategy- Lessons From the Beauty Giant

A pink compact mirror and black makeup brush on a white desk in front of a window pane with rain drops.

When Rihanna announced that she would be launching her beauty brand Fenty in 2017, most people felt it would just be another celebrity-backed brand. You know the type – the ones that are popular with folks like the Kardashians, Gwyneth Paltrow, and several other famous faces adding their names to brands to boost growth and revenue. 

However, instead of just adding her name to a brand to ensure it sold, her focus was on producing popular products that put customers first. Fenty has been at the forefront of the cosmetic industry since its launch. It is a cruelty-free, vegan line of products that’s quite popular and sells out within hours of release. It’s no surprise, therefore, that most people want to know what the Fenty Beauty marketing strategy is and why it works so well.

Slice’s research company shared that Fenty Beauty was well on its way to outsell Kylie Cosmetics, Kat Von D, and several other high-performing brands. Fenty’s success is, however, quite clear, with the brand generating $100 million within the first 40 days of its launch. 

The question becomes: how did Fenty’s PR and marketing strategies contribute to its explosive success?

Using a combination of superior products, celebrity endorsements, social media influencers, impeccably-timed launches, and brand awareness, Fenty has skyrocketed to success. 

In this article, we’ll explore Fenty’s history to explore the lessons the beauty industry can learn from the brand and how they continue to increase brand awareness. Let’s dive right into it. 

Lessons to Learn from Fenty Beauty Marketing Strategy

Rihanna’s makeup line has blown the cobwebs off what we once assumed was an over-saturated industry. Although all makeup brands can’t be Fenty, below are some lessons from the beauty giant.

Fenty Beauty Marketing Strategy: Your Customers Are the Center of Your Brand

The beauty industry has a long history of not offering inclusive representation for everyone. However, Fenty observed and assessed this gap to provide a targeted solution to the problem by offering things like wider ranges of foundation tones to be more inclusive of people of color.

Today, Fenty Beauty’s marketing strategy is to provide beauty for all. This clear mission is demonstrated not just in their assortment of products but also in their marketing efforts. Fenty’s products focus on solving their customers’ pain points. This strategy successfully sets them apart from other beauty brands that are yet to practice this innovation.

Naturally, several other brands took the initiative after Fenty’s successful launch and offered similar products for people of color. Most beauty companies began to also reinvent their Instagram feed to showcase diversity. The goal of most top companies was to catch up with Fenty’s impact. However, the lesson in this Fenty beauty marketing strategy is clear; when you don’t cater to your customers’ needs first, someone else will.

Fenty Beauty Marketing Strategy: Timing is Crucial

Fenty’s launch was explosive because it took place during a critical time in the makeup and fashion industry: New York Fashion Week. This was the period when the eyes of the world were on the lookout for what was next in style. Fenty capitalized on this focus to achieve one of the biggest launches in the beauty industry. 

Rihanna kept up with this trend by making appearances at brand launches in various fashionable cities like London, Madrid, and Paris. The artist also went on a European launch tour, and all of this worked together to catapult this brand on social media.

Nonetheless, Fenty continued this explosive strategy through perfectly-timed product launches. An example is the Galaxy collection – a futuristic series of lip and eye products. Having made an appearance right before the holiday season, many fans received products from this collection as gifts from their family and friends and shared posts about it online. 

Additionally, Mattemoiselle was launched on boxing day and was an ideal shopping treat for shoppers who were already in their favorite stores for their ritual December 26th shopping trips.

Fenty Beauty Marketing Strategy: Be Sincere About Diversity

The recent years have been exciting for diversity in the beauty industry. Additionally, Fenty displayed a diverse range of models from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and styles in their campaign launch video. 

This makeup brand launched a vast range of 40 foundation shades, which is unusual for a mainstream brand. Normally a launch does not include the entire range of colors. The fear is that the products released may not be a good match for the various skin tones. 

Among Fenty’s competitors, the most extensive foundation ranges top off at around 33 shades, and historically, consumers with darker skin tones had to wait long periods for their shades of products. 

Many top brands immediately expanded their range after the Fenty launch, and it belittled earlier claims that it was too difficult to achieve this. Meanwhile, Fenty always managed to include and celebrate all their consumers, regardless of their ethnicity. It made it clear who their consumers were. 

The range was celebrated for also including those with albinism. Within a few hours, the darker colors immediately sold out, which served as a wake-up call for the fashion industry.

This Fenty Beauty marketing strategy helped other makeup brands acknowledge that they did not rigidly define their customers as they thought. It was a lesson to the beauty industry that there was a need for inclusivity in their product lines. 

Although brands once struggled with the best way to approach the diversity issue, Fenty showed that brands have a responsibility to tackle them head-on. The beauty giant provided the cosmetic industry with a template to borrow from.

Fenty Beauty Marketing Strategy: Innovations and Aesthetics Goes Hand in Hand

Without a good product, diversity and timing would be unimportant. 

Rihanna spent years developing her makeup range, and it paid up at the launch. Fenty’s makeup is superior quality and includes lip balm, blotters, and even primers that work for all skin tones. Additionally, Fenty also provides a practical function for their wide range of Match Stix. These magnetic tubes can clip together to fit in your bag. Fenty’s products aren’t only innovative, they also offer aesthetics. Fenty products look gorgeous when photographed, making them an excellent choice for your Instagram photos.

One thing cosmetic companies need to learn from this Fenty Beauty marketing strategy is thinking of Instagram-worthy products as a practical function. While people are looking for products that work, they also want makeup products that look good. 

The enticing role of products like this allows people to feel like they’re personalizing the visual story they create. In most cases, beautiful and clever packaging is usually smoke and mirrors for mediocre products. However, in Fenty’s case, the thought and care directed toward product development covered all areas. 

It is no coincidence that there’s also a focus on some performative elements like bright gold highlighters. Fenty’s products are made to be photographed and also photographed in. 

Fenty Beauty Marketing Strategy: Authenticity Should be Your Advertising Focus

Fenty has always strived to be nothing but authentic. Consumers these days can easily recognize a brand that puts in genuine efforts into its advertising. Whether it’s an online engagement or the use of creative endeavors, customers are always looking for a genuine connection that they can identify with. 

Rihanna doesn’t shy away from using her fame as an asset for the social media strategy. She bolsters the brand on her channel, and it is a top factor that contributes to the impressive start of Fenty’s success. Within the first few days of Fenty’s launch, the Fenty Beauty Instagram account already amassed over 1 million followers.

However, what is impressive is its blend of content which includes testimonies and reviews from some of the most respected influencers in the beauty industry. The Instagram feed also contains beautiful shots of the products to showcase their inclusive range. 

The brand also posts reports from customers wearing and using Fenty products on themselves. Fenty doesn’t just preach inclusivity in their product line; it is also apparent in its advertising and social media engagement. 

This beauty giant also utilizes makeup experts, different models, and real people from different ethnicities and orientations to promote its products. This has resulted in an unprecedented buzz in the beauty industry.

How Fenty Beauty Increases Brand Awareness

Rihanna, who is the brain behind Fenty, knows a thing or two about increasing brand awareness. From social media to influencer marketing, the brand has successfully spread the word about its products. 

This was made clear when in 2021, Rihanna announced that the Fenty clothing line was shutting down. In just two short years, she had made a name for herself and when the decision came to focus on other branches of the brand, they had already accumulated a large following. 

Apart from implementing Fenty Beauty’s marketing strategy, you could also learn from the practical ways Fenty has increased awareness and recognition of its brand.

Rihanna’s Social Media Accounts

Instagram users perfectly fit into Fenty’s ideal target audience. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to utilize this platform to reel in potential consumers. 

Rihanna’s posts usually showcase her using Fenty’s products authentically and playfully. She usually brings a level of fun to the beauty brand, making it attractive to its youthful audience. 

She also changed how she used her Twitter account to spread the word about Fenty. She changed her Twitter profile picture to herself at the Fenty Paris launch party in 2019. The singer’s Twitter also comprises promotional posts about Fenty. Even though not all of Rihanna’s social media followers purchase Fenty’s products, they’re well aware of the brand

Through Fenty’s Digital Platform

Fenty’s YouTube channel is also invaluable to Fenty Beauty’s marketing strategy. It provides a means to invite consumers behind the scenes of the brand. 

The YouTube videos cover Rihanna’s involvement in developing beauty products and brand strategy. It also includes valuable beauty tutorials and provides insight into new product releases. Just like the Instagram posts, the videos on the YouTube account show the authentic and casual sides of Fenty and Rihanna. 

These posts make it easy for viewers to relate to the products. Rihanna is well aware that this vibe will hit the right note with Fenty’s audience. The brand doesn’t rely solely on Rihanna’s profile as Fenty also has a dedicated Instagram page with over 10 million followers. 

Through Influencer Marketing

Fenty’s success on YouTube can also be attributed to the brand’s channel. The brand is also known for partnering with several social media influencers. This has been incredibly helpful in spreading awareness for the brand. 

Since the brand sells different shades and colors, diverse influencers from all backgrounds are able to film reviews of the product. Since the influencers are raising awareness of the products, the brand could reach potential customers in different locations.

Final Thoughts

Fenty doesn’t rely solely on marketing and branding to win over its target audience. Fenty Beauty developed products centered on customers’ experience, and they always put the consumers’ desires first. 

Customers are continually looking for diverse beauty products that promote inclusivity. Luckily, this is a top Fenty Beauty marketing strategy which is one of the reasons Fenty’s word-of-mouth marketing was off the charts. Fenty also offers top-quality products, and Rihanna continually focuses on maintaining her quality. The beauty industry continues to learn a thing or two with the many marketing strategies available. If you want to build a stronger, more sustainable brand, these lessons from the beauty giant will help you along.

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