“All ages, All races, All sexes.”
MAC Cosmetics’ motto has always represented their deep commitment to celebrating individuality and diversity, setting the company’s cultural tone as inclusive and unique.
If you’ve ever wondered what helped launch this cosmetics giant, look no further. We’ve researched everything about the company’s history from its humble beginnings to present day and have compiled this case study so you can perhaps gain inspiration and insight on what goes into making or breaking a brand.
Since 1994, MAC Cosmetics has been part of its parent company Estée Lauder Companies – who also owns many other top brands including Clinique and La Mer. MAC’s founding began over a decade prior to this, and every step of its history and brand strategy has led to its booming success.
So what drives this billion-dollar cosmetics brand?
How has MAC been able to keep up with the competition and become one of the leading brands in the industry?
In this case study, we’ll be exploring MAC Cosmetics’ history and marketing strategies to gain insight into its success.
MAC Cosmetics History
The Founders Who Started it All
Founded in the 1980s, the cosmetics brand was born from a partnership between Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo. At the time, existing makeup products lacked the versatility to be both practical and appear aesthetically in print.
Frustrated by how this was affecting their business, Toskan, a Canadian photographer, wanted cosmetic products that didn’t just look good on their models but also photographed well. Taking his concern to his friend Angelo, a makeup artist, they started brainstorming. This was how MAC Cosmetics got its start.
The quality of the product was just one aspect that made this brand unique. In the 1980s the cosmetics industry largely excluded the LGBTQA+ community. As a part of this vibrant community themselves, the founders wanted to create a beauty line that was inclusive to all demographics while allowing ample opportunities for makeup artists to have fun with their products.
Toskan and Angelo established MAC – short for Makeup Art Cosmetics – to develop a beauty line that met their professional needs while responding to the lack of representation in the industry.
They created the first MAC products while centering quality, fun, and creativity as the core driving force of their business.
It All Started with Kitchen Experiments
It was a bright pink Crayola crayon that inspired MAC’s first product: pigmented lipstick. In the early days, product development for the brand took place in the two Franks’ kitchens.
Initially, their creations were only intended for Toskan to use on the models he worked with. However, the word quickly spread. Soon, they were developing a full line of bright shades.
The founders started selling their products at Angelo’s salon, mostly to friends and family. In 1984, MAC Cosmetics officially entered the beauty market, and word-of-mouth provided a large number of their early sales. They started from a Toronto department store counter with the tagline “All Races, All Ages, All Sexes.”
Since they were far ahead of the rest of the world in inclusion, these two founders made enormous strides for the LGBTQA+ community. Many were inspired by their message, which piqued people’s interest and led to increased commercial success for the company. Their efforts helped the LGBTQA+ movement blossom and evolve into the thriving community it’s become today.
The Brand’s Big Break: Madonna’s Effect on MAC Growth
MAC Cosmetics’ history wouldn’t be complete without the mention of Madonna.
The brand enjoyed its first huge success when Madonna wore one of its signature lipsticks in a modeling ad back in the late 80s. She fell in love with the brand, and together, they created a signature lipstick for her Blonde Ambition tour in 1990.
The founders created a shade called Russian Red for Madonna, which helped them gain massive brand recognition. Their newfound popularity led to high demand for the unique and now trendy Russian Red.
A year later, MAC Cosmetics opened its first American store in New York City. Many would argue that the location and timing of this launch contributed to their success and brand recognition.
Launched during the AIDS epidemic on Gay Street in New York, the store soon became a hub for individuals and artists.
It was clear that people from all walks of life were welcome at MAC. The company’s outwardly accepting nature drew people in from all backgrounds. Creative artists, bold personalities, and drag queens were intrigued by the brand’s freshness in the beauty industry.
Approaching Cosmetics in a Unique Way
Because of the brand’s identity, the founders knew their packaging had to be as unique as the products themselves. Although they started out selling MAC products in black containers rather than the standard compacts, it was clear their products stood out in the industry. Beneath their chic packaging, you would find quite bold and beautiful products. Stage makeup in those days could not compete.
Even early on, it was easy to see that MAC Cosmetics was not your typical beauty brand. They didn’t claim to provide natural aesthetics and didn’t start as a skincare brand. The brand became the color authority of the beauty industry back in the 1990s, and it continued to grow in this direction.
Their fashion-forward trends catapulted makeup from simply being an art form for the creatively employed to an art form for anyone who felt compelled to indulge in it.
MAC Cosmetics provided several statement options that resonated with top figures in pop culture. Their products also impressed industry professionals and daily customers who were searching for something different. By creating more and more products and color options, MAC securely claimed its spot as a major player in the industry.
Individuality paired with impeccable quality is what MAC Cosmetics offered and continues to deliver today.
MAC Cosmetics and Industry Trends
A Pliable and Adaptable Brand
MAC Cosmetics’ history shows that the brand’s recognition grew, in part, due to celebrity endorsements over the years. Their philanthropic initiatives like creating the Viva Glam lipstick to raise awareness and funds to fight the raging AIDS pandemic also helped heighten brand awareness.
This new recognition paired with the brand’s commitment to high-quality makeup led to major success as it continued to expand. To back up their loud presence in the beauty industry, they had to keep providing unique and superior products to their customers.
Over the decades, the brand has stayed agile and predictive of upcoming trends while still adapting to the new era of retail. Impressively, MAC also showed adaptability in its many initiatives to be an ethically sound brand. While the brand stays committed to diversity and inclusion, they have also demonstrated their ability to address other sociocultural concerns.
A Socially and Environmentally Conscious Brand
Animal testing in the cosmetics industry started raising concerns in the early 2000s. Many organizations advocated for animal rights and claimed that cruelty was prevalent in beauty product production.
Although MAC Cosmetics had factories and distribution centers in countries where animal testing was legal, the cosmetics company stayed committed to never engaging in this practice. Additionally, the brand never made requests for animal testing from a third party.
When industry trends shifted towards the planet and towards the facilitation of clean beauty in the early 2020s, MAC was at the forefront, making efforts to remain relevant and thoughtful in the beauty industry. The company made product transparency a part of its mission. Additionally, it aimed to provide only health-conscious beauty products. They avoided widespread and harmful chemicals and only stuck to pure and clean ingredients in their products. The brand also considered the environmental impact of production when selecting ingredients.
In addition to these ethical practices in their production process, MAC Cosmetics also made eco-conscious practices available to customers. The company has shown a genuine interest in environmental health throughout MAC Cosmetics’ history, and their customers recognize this.
To limit the number of MAC plastic that evades recycling, MAC Cosmetics has a program that allows consumers to return up to six containers and get a free lipstick in return. This ‘Give Back’ initiative allows brands to gain goodwill while helping the planet. The company continues to search for sustainable products for its packaging.
How Creativity has Kept this Brand Ahead of the Curve
Although the company is socially conscious, environmentally conscious, and famous for their philanthropic actions, they owe a lot of their success to their creative innovations. Throughout MAC Cosmetics’ history, the brand has developed its product line and now offers more than 7000 products and over 100 eyeshadow shades to consumers. Each product offered by MAC has a unique flair and a specific purpose.
Beginning with their lipsticks, MAC created complex and stand-out collections with little competition in the early 2000s. At a point in MAC Cosmetics’ history, the brand expanded into eyeshadow pallets and foundation shades for varying skin tones. This collection was limited but contributed to the brand’s growth. However, the brand has not slowed down in its innovative product creations over the years.
Although themed makeup releases are now widespread, MAC began providing imaginative makeup collections. Each year, the brand had 52 launch collections, and this kept the MAC design team busy as they worked round the clock to produce creative, artistic, and original collections. Their limited-edition makeup collection is released through collaborator campaigns and partnerships with top brands like Disney. MAC’s fun and unique collections include the Cruella and Aladdin collections which caught the eye of nostalgic Millenials in particular.
Dedication to a Customer-Aligned Strategy
Throughout MAC Cosmetics’ history, the brand has provided customers with what they want. It is a brand focused on its customers, which has contributed to the making of this beauty giant.
Initially, MAC owed its success to word of mouth and celebrity endorsements from affluent people. However, over the years, they shifted their focus to target marketing. This brand took on a segmentation strategy and launched products to specific groups of people. By segmenting its products into physiographic, demographic, and geographic categories, the brand better understands their customers’ needs. This approach to understanding their target market has helped them develop the appropriate product for each group.
With social media fast becoming the top influencer tool today, MAC began utilizing the social media strategy. The brand was far ahead of its competitors because it already used social media to provide more value to its customers.
Since MAC understood most of their clients were artists, educators, and people who were passionate about makeup, they started providing tutorials. Audiences found their creative and educational content engaging.
The brand also created the Lover Loyalty Program that rewarded customers for continued brand purchases. This program provided tiers of rewards for different levels and added benefits to the money customers spent on the brand.
Final Thoughts
Throughout MAC Cosmetics’ history, the brand has experienced great success. It continues to stay current and relevant by evolving and developing appropriate positioning in its customer relationship and core values. Additionally, MAC has consistently delivered on the brand promise of “All Ages, All Races, All Sexes” over the years.
This beauty giant owes its success to its ability to study the beauty industry’s growth process and take advantage of trends to attain recognition and continued patronage.
Will MAC Cosmetics continue to be the color authority of the cosmetics industry? With this creative, sustainable, and health-conscious approach to customers, it is very likely.
