Week 06 Assignment 01.edited

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University of Nairobi *

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Marketing

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Nov 24, 2024

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1 Week 06 Assignment 01: Deconstructing a Public Relations Case – Part 2 Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Course Instructor’s Name Due Date

2 Week 06 Assignment 01: Deconstructing a Public Relations Case – Part 2 i. Communication Goals  The main communication aim for Ulta’s “Beauty&” campaign was to position the brand as an organization that celebrates and promotes inclusivity and diversity. Ulta’s comprehensive campaign reflected the various ways to celebrate individuality, strength, and resilience and the beautiful possibilities within each individual. The brand recognizes the existing traditions in the beauty industry that have inherently led to self-esteem issues; hence this campaign was used to demonstrate that Beauty is more than "skin- deep" and to encourage all consumers to feel comfortable in their appearances.  The other communication goal was to strengthen the brand image among the target audience. By pushing beyond traditional beauty topics and expanding the lens of Beauty in unexpected spaces and places, Ulta positioned itself as a forward-moving brand that cares about the growing diversity and the need for inclusivity. The ideology reflected in the campaign demonstrates that the brand aimed to generate a positive image of its products and generate brand loyalty. ii. Communication Objectives  To improve brand perception by shifting consumer sentiments towards Ulta Beauty products and brands. Diversity has become an integral part of modern society; people aim to build and support places that demonstrate an effort to be inclusive. Therefore, by showing commitment to diversity, the campaign's main objective was to enhance the perception among the target audience.  To increase brand awareness by expanding its reach to a specific target segment. By branding Ulta Beauty as a company that celebrates inclusivity, the brand sought to

3 bring in consumers traditionally excluded by marginalizing beauty notions. The ideology reflected in the campaign helped Ulta achieve this objective.  To drive consumer engagement by structuring a comprehensive campaign with activities in which customers could participate. The “Beauty&” campaign included limited edition merchandise and a podcast; all these allowed the consumers to be part of the campaign and spark conversations with the brand’s representatives. iii. Target Audience According to O’Brien (2022), Beauty& campaign targeted the technologically savvy Gen Z. This population has been branded as key facilitators of significant cultural dialogues as they have dedicated themselves to calling out brands and people demonstrating anti-inclusivity behavior. Even though Gen X and Millennial earners are still the top drivers of beauty product sales, Gen Z is the current trendsetter, making them a beneficial audience to brands. However, Gen Z openly demonstrates skepticism towards celebrities and brands with the notion that they do not want to be "sold to," making them the most difficult group to reach (Wilkinson, 2022). An effective way to reach this cohort is, therefore, through an authentic marketing approach highlighting issues of significance to them. Research shows that Gen Z values progressive brand values, a major determining factor in their purchasing choices (Statista, 2022). Looking specifically at beauty brands, Gen Z is committed to challenging the existing beauty norms that uphold narrow standards. Gen Z is rebranding beauty standards by going beyond norms with their appearances and supporting self-confidence. Therefore, Ulta’s ‘Beauty&’ campaign aimed to tap into Gen Z interests by sparking exciting and constructive conversations about mental health, gender fluidity, fatphobia, and transgender identity((Wilkinson, 2021). The podcast provided the audience with a space where people could

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4 come out and openly discuss their lived experiences regarding the issue of inclusivity. This marketing approach did not only help Ulta enhance its brand image but also helped in fostering a deeper connection with the brand’s target audience. The authentic approach of speaking about issues that interest Gen Z helped the campaign reach its target audience by highlighting issues they psychologically and mentally connect with. iv. Current Audience and Brand Perception  Ulta Beauty has a diverse audience and an overall positive brand image. According to ( O’Brien, 2022), Ulta Beauty's diverse product line provides the brand with a diverse consumer base, mainly encompassing women from 16 to 25 years old. v. Desired Audience Brand Perception  Ulta’s Beauty & campaign desired to capture the younger and minority population as their target audience for the campaign. The company desires to create a positive perception around celebrating and fostering inclusive measures. vi. Key Message Mapping  Beauty is a unique and diverse concept. This message aimed to encourage communities excluded from beauty standards to see the Beauty within themselves and find their individual ways to express the unique aspect of Beauty.  Beauty brands and products can be inclusive enough to cater to the specific individual needs of various communities. Beauty& campaign empowered raising identity-based communities such as gender-fluid individuals to empower their choices of personal expressions and inspire Gen Z to express themselves authentically freely. vii. Strategies

5  The primary marketing strategy leveraged by Ulta in the Beauty & campaign was the use of influencers as cultural intermediaries and connectors to their target audience. To align with their objectives, Ulta partnered with influencers representing the communities the brand sought to speak to. In today's world, the influencers that brands select to represent their company and products speak volumes about the values they support. Therefore, Ulta chose to work with hosts such as David Lopez and Dylan Mulvaney in their campaign podcast; David is an inspirational figure and a Black gender fluid influencer who is known for encouraging Gen Z and millennials to express themselves, and Dylan is a Tiktok transgender star who recently gained fame after coming out with her transgender (Kenney, 2020).  Also, the brand incorporated social media as a reliable channel to connect with the targeted audience. Ulta aimed to reach Gen Z, whom majority of whom use social media platforms as their primary and regular means of communication. Therefore, by airing the campaign's content on Ulta’s social media pages, the brand was able to engage its target audience and drive its message across. viii. Tactics  In terms of paid media, the campaign used influencer partnerships, as highlighted above. The campaign launched a collaboration with influencers who aligned with their campaign's key message and brand value.  For earned media activity, Ulta leveraged media outreach through interviews with beauty influencers and minority community representatives. The interviews helped the brand generate positive buzz for the campaign and reach a wider audience.

6  The limited-edition T-shirts and the use of social media platforms such as Youtube and Instagram acted as shared media activity. The media presence allowed consumers to share the content and participate in the campaign’s progress.  Ulta also used owned media such as email marketing and their brand website to facilitate the Beauty & campaign. The email marketing helped the company send exclusive offers related to the Beauty & campaign to their consumer database. ix. Beauty& KPIs Some of the Key Performance Indicators used to evaluate the success of the Beauty& Ulta campaign include; consumer sentiments on social media platforms, engagement metrics, website traffic, and the number of new consumers gained during the campaign period. For one, the campaign did not receive an all-around positive outcome from the consumers. The customer engagement, especially on Instagram, was controversial as the company was trolled for "womanhood" sentiments by one of its campaign's interviewed guests, Dylan. Dylan, who is a well-known transgender woman, having gained fame recently from Tiktok, shared that she wants to become a mom and proceeded to add that "she can" and called her genitals "Barbie pouch" (Gordon, 2022). Most women, specifically feminists, were offended by these remarks as they were interpreted as "shaming womanhood ."Therefore, even though the campaign gained the beauty giant some consumers as some of the conversations were progressive, this particular conversation was controversial and led to some swearing never to purchase the brand's products. x. Timeline  With the "Beauty of" podcast still airing on the brand's YouTube channel, the Beauty & duration can be ruled ongoing. In the past 8month, the company has committed to

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7 delving into deeper conversations about various significant topics surrounding beauty dynamics, identity, and inclusivity. xi. Budget of the Campaign  According to Baar (2023), Ulta spends $ 25 million to facilitate its diversity-geared Beauty& campaign. Statista (2022) reports that, in total, Ulta Beauty spends $374 million on advertising. $200,000 of the $ 25 million dedicated to the Beauty& Company was donated to the JED foundation to assist the non-profit organization in providing teens and young adults with mental health and supporting themselves through life challenges.

8 References Baar, N. (2023). News: Ulta Beauty Puts Marketing Weight Behind Diversity and Inclusion. (2023). Www.brand-Innovators.com. https://www.brand-innovators.com/news/ulta- beauty-puts-marketing-weight-behind-diversity-and-inclusion Gordon, J. (2022, October 17). Ulta Beauty faces BOYCOTT after inviting a trans influencer onto the podcast. Mail Online. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11322215/Ulta- beauty-faces-BOYCOTT-inviting-controversial-trans-influencer-Dylan-Mulvaney- podcast.html KENNEY, Lisa. (2020). 'Companies Can't Ignore Shifting Gender Norms .'Harvard Business Review [online]. Available at: https://hbr.org/2020/04/companies-cant-ignore-shifting- gender-norms . O’Brien, S.(2022). A Blog by Sarah O’Brien.https://sarahobrienmedia.wordpress.com/. STATISTA. (2021). 'Ulta Beauty – Statistics & Facts .'Statista [online]. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/3791/ulta-beauty/#dossierKeyfigures . WILKINSON, Marylin. (2021). 'Brands Kick Off 2021 With Mental Health Campaigns'. Latina [online]. Available at: https://latana.com/post/brands-mental-health-campaigns/ .

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Week 06 Assignment 01.edited

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