Elf backlash and sustainable growth: Your Marketing Week

Elf of an oversight

Over the past few years, it’s felt like Elf Cosmetics could do no wrong. Not only has it shaken up the beauty industry by offering quality products at an affordable price, it has taken a stand on issues including diversity, inclusivity and equality, things it says align closely with its core values.

This is demonstrated by the fact it boasts a board that is made up of 78% women and 48% diverse talent. Its communication has also been genuinely engaging, with its irreverent sense of humour and quick wit grabbing the attention – and dollars – of millions of consumers. So well has the brand been doing, it recorded its 26th consecutive quarter of growth earlier this month, no mean feat given the current climate.

It’s why its latest choice of brand ambassador is all the more jarring. The brand launched its ‘E.l.f.ino & Schmarnes’ campaign on Monday, starring drag queen Heidi N Closet alongside comedian Matt Rife. The same comedian who was embroiled in a scandal two years ago for joking about domestic violence, and when called out, rather than apologising used it as an opportunity to create more controversy. The same comedian who has also made jokes at the expense of the trans community.

As a business that champions women and has been working tirelessly to get more female representation onto boards, as a company that says it “proudly supports human rights and individual expression and freedom”, it feels wrong on many levels.

It seems highly unlikely that no one at any point in the planning process flagged Rife’s history as potentially problematic. The business is run by smart people, many of whom are women. It prides itself on being progressive and calling out when things are wrong. Yet it missed a glaring red flag.

One influencer I saw questioned whether it was a calculated choice to deliberately enrage people and cause a stir. Two months ago, I wouldn’t have believed it given the brand’s credentials and previous work, but I can’t help but wonder if that is the case.

Elf’s shares have dropped considerably since the beginning of the year, and fell another 13% the day after pulling its full-year forecast at the start of August, citing trade issues between the US and China.

The brand posted a statement on Instagram yesterday admitting the campaign had “missed the mark” with some audiences but stopped short of a full apology, instead using the platform to defend its decision to “humorously spotlight beauty injustice”. It also didn’t take the ad down.

Elf felt to me like a business that genuinely practiced what it preached. Having spoken to chief brand officer Laurie Lam previously, the impression I got was of a forward-thinking company that was striving to make a difference, not just to its bottom line but to society. This campaign, coupled with its reaction to the backlash, have painted it in a different light.

Elf will certainly have lost some loyal fans as a result of this campaign, whether it has a lasting impact remains to be seen, but any credibility it had as an inclusive, thoughtful, caring company have been wiped away like day-old mascara.

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Adapting with Gousto

Like many businesses that boomed during the pandemic, Gousto was in the right place at the right time with an offer that made sense.

Having a meal kit, with fresh, quality ingredients delivered straight to your door at a time when people were prohibited from leaving their home was a genuine lifeline for many.

The business grew exponentially, securing an average of 90% growth for several years. And it chased this growth relentlessly. But after a difficult period post-pandemic, which saw the brand record a loss of £8m in 2022, Gousto shifted its focus to profitability, realising that growth at all costs is not viable long term.

Having done the groundwork and given the customer “more of what they want”, it has again shifted its focus, returning growth to the top of the agenda, but this time “sustainable growth”.

Gousto is no longer talking to a captive audience; the choices for consumers are again many and varied. It’s also competing with a more crowded market. So it has reassessed every element of the marketing mix to ensure it is laser-focused on achieving long-term growth. As vice-president of marketing Anna Greene puts it, “pairing ambition with real marketing rigour and discipline”.

Gousto is one of the pandemic success stories. But while many brands that boomed have since gone bust, it has built on its success by relentlessly adapting, ensuring it makes sense for customers as the landscape changes, and staying relevant. It continues to find ways to insert itself into people’s lives in a way that makes sense. By broadening its appeal and taking on supermarkets and takeaways to become more relevant in more occasions and increase its “share of stomach”, it has the opportunity to build upon the solid foundations it has laid.

As Greene says: “It’s a cyclical effect that means we become a lot more disciplined at driving growth back into the product, ensuring that we’re expanding, evolving the proposition to make it stickier, increasing lifetime value, and then reinvesting at the right points.”

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The week ahead

We will be taking a closer look at the recruitment landscape to see how it is evolving, plus we will be exploring the opportunities arising in travel media.