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How Glossier Connects to their Gen-Z Audience

  • Writer: Rain Hashimoto
    Rain Hashimoto
  • Sep 30, 2024
  • 6 min read

September 30th 2024


Hello to my readers! Thank you for waiting and sorry for the delay in this new article, things have been quite hectic for me. However, I'm really excited to be writing about one of my favorite beauty and skincare brands, Glossier. Today we're going to be talking about how Glossier became one of the most successful beauty brands and how their marketing strategy resonates with their Gen-Z audience.

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Glossier was founded in 2014 by Emily Weiss, initially starting out as an online blog called "Into The Gloss", which shared beauty information and tips with people. Weiss had a realization that beauty should be built by the consumer, giving birth to Glossier's philosophy, "Skin First. Makeup Second". Glossier became one of the first direct-to-consumer beauty brands when first launched in 2014, now globally expanding in 2024, with their products found in Sephora's and physical retail stores across the globe.


Glossier's approach to makeup is simple and clean beauty, prioritizing healthy skin and self love with their consumers. Utilizing simple packaging and font, their minimalistic pink aesthetic reflects this approach. This is one of the factors that make Glossier so successful, the brand's dedication to their aesthetic, allows them to further emphasize their brand message. Products like their blush, titled "Cloud Paint" is packaged in a bottle reminiscent of a paint tube. Glossier is conveying to their consumer that their face is like a canvas and they're the artist, making beauty something of an art form, not just something superficial.

Their packaging is only one aspect of their strategic brand approach, with their marketing campaigns gaining recognition to propel their brand into stardom. Glossier focuses their marketing on inclusivity and showcasing "real people" of all ages, skin tones, and genders. Their brand wants their consumer to feel like the best version of themselves, rather than trying to aspire to be someone else.


Glossier "You Look Good" Campaign


This is one of my favorite videos that Glossier released on their Youtube channel. In the video, the brand doesn't choose unattainably attractive supermodels or actors to showcase, but rather everyday people that you can meet on the street. Glossier brings in people of all ages, disabilities, orientations, and walks of life to star in this campaign. Using minimal makeup, a film camera filter, and dressing them in regular clothing, Glossier emphasizes this candid and down to earth vibe that's synonymous with their brand. They aren't blatantly advertising their products either, with only a few quick shots showcasing their product.


The message of the campaign is "You Look Good" which is a common phrase that Glossier uses in many advertisements. Seemingly, without a script, the people in the video state what makes them feel good in life. Glossier uses this to make a point that you look good, whether it's doing something you love or feeling confident in your body. When Glossier launched in 2014, they came into an era of the 2010s where heavy makeup and bold colors was the dominant style. The 2010s saw trends like the Kylie Lip Kit, which had everyone trying to enlarge their lips, and neon/bold eyeshadow designs that were more editorial than everyday. Glossier was a refreshing palette cleanser to the beauty industry at the time, their emphasis on minimal beauty and makeup was something that was new and exciting.


Makeup Trends in the 2010s (Above) & 2024 (Below)


Fast forward to the 2020s, the "Clean Girl Aesthetic" has become more and more popular, causing Glossier to become bigger than ever. The 2020's saw the 2016 blocky Instagram eyebrows turn into soap brows, and heavy contour and concealer being replaced with faux freckles and blush. The trend now is all about glowy skin, natural beauty, and good skincare. This works hugely in Glossier's favor, as this is entirely what their brand is about. Glossier took advantage of this and has launched products like the "Boy Brow" which is a grooming eyebrow wand, perfect for people who are looking to get that soap brow look.


Glossier has also managed to switch their focus from Millennials to Gen-Z with the changing target market. While still managing to keep their brand philosophy and message, Glossier has revamped certain aspects of their company. Below are some of my favorite moves Glossier is taking to stay popular with their Gen-Z audience.

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You Look Good: Olivia Rodrigo


Olivia Rodrigo Campaign


It's no doubt that Olivia Rodrigo is one of the biggest pop stars among Gen-Z. Her rise to fame began in 2021, with the release of her hit song, "Drivers License" and her "Sour" album. Only 18 years old, Rodrigo became massively successful, winning "Best Pop Vocal Album" at the Grammys in 2022. Her aesthetic, music style, and fashion has become iconic with her Gen-Z listeners and has allowed her to gain numerous opportunities in the industry.


In 2022, Glossier recruited Olivia Rodrigo to partner with them, making it their first celebrity partnership since its founding in 2014. Glossier's iconic pink packaging is rotated out for lavender purple, Rodrigo's iconic color used in her "Sour" album. Glossier released a limited edition lipstick, eyeshadow palette, and makeup bag in the collaboration. This decision received praise and popularity with their target market, with many Gen-Zrs raving about this collaboration. Many people who weren't customers of the brand originally, started talking about Glossier online and became interested in them after seeing the collaboration.



Baby Pink to Vibrant Hues

Glossier Instagram from 2024 (Left) & 2017 (Right)


Glossier's millennial-pink was one of their most prominent and distinguishable aesthetics since their launch in 2014. However, with the changing trend of Gen-Z brands embracing vibrant color, Glossier can feel a bit stale. Their pink color has allowed their brand to have a strong brand image, but on the flip side can feel a bit outdated. Glossier has addressed this issue and has incorporated more color in their packaging and on their Instagram. Looking at the image above, Glossier utilizes mainly pink for their account in 2017, with everything having the same shade and theme. In 2024, there's a mixture of different colors and hues, mixing in a lot more deep tones with the pink.


Even products like the body butter is a bright shade of red, different from their normal pink packaging. Sometimes when changing or shifting brand aesthetics, brands can stray too far from their brand image, sometimes not far enough. With Glossier, their team was able to perfectly balance keeping up with the trends of Gen-Z, while still sticking to their core brand aesthetic. By listening to their target market, Glossier was able to make the necessary changes and stay relevant in the competitive beauty industry.


Shopping Experience


With more and more Gen-Z consumers preferring to shop online, Glossier is revamping their store experience to get more people to shop in person. Glossier has physical store locations in 11 cities in America, all of them in big metropolitan areas. Unlike a Sephora, which can feel overwhelming to shop at, Glossier creates a calm and minimalistic atmosphere in their store, similar to their brand image.


I got the chance to visit their store in Los Angeles and there were several aspects I really enjoyed about my shopping experience there. The first is that there are sinks and tables at different sections in the store, allowing you to try different products they have. They also only have one product out of everything, which means to purchase something you need to speak to a sales associate. This allows you to have a personal shopping experience and communicate with the person who's helping you. All of the staff who worked at the location were really friendly and had a lot of knowledge about the products.


I also appreciate the aesthetic and design of the store. The minimalistic pink colors and spacious interior make the displayed products stand out on the tables. The high ceilings and modern furniture give the store an elegant but futuristic look. Their store also has a full body mirror with the print, "You Look Good", the company's famous slogan. Many people who visit can take photos with it and tag the company. This is extremely popular with Gen-Z and gives Glossier a way to interact with their consumers and advertise their store.


Glossier brings an elevated shopping experience to their consumers and popularizes in person buying with a generation where online shopping is becoming more and more popular.



Glossier is absolutely one of my favorite brands, I use their Cloud Paint religiously and have been to their physical store more times than I can count. I hope their brand continues to emphasize clean beauty and skincare and I'm excited to see where they continue their marketing in the future.


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Thank you to my readers who waited a bit longer for this one! I appreciate all of your support. Please let me know your thoughts on today's article!


☆Rain☆



 
 
 

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