There was a time when company culture was of no consequence to the consumers who patronize the brands they loved. Today, however, people want to know who these companies are. They want to know if the employees are nice, if the person/people fronting the brand is a role model, and if the company is doing this right by their customers.
There are many questions that people want answers to and companies are getting on board by letting people peek into their world without being asked. Camp Glossier (#campglossier), namely the company’s employee retreat, is a thing. Welcome to the digital age of transparency.
Glossier social stats
Facebook 118,769 followers
Twitter 34.9K followers
Instagram 567K followers
YouTube 65K followers
Beauty, business, and culture combined
Glossier and Into The Gloss are prime examples of a brand name that’s gone all out on cultural expression. Their social feeds show evidence of a loyal crowd of fans, celebrities included, as well as a huge number of subscribers and followers.
CEO Emily Weiss is a former New York Teen Vogue intern and has worked at W Magazine. Weiss considers the label to be the ‘first socially driven beauty brand‘.
Glossier is a beauty brand that sells makeup and skin care products. The brand started out as a beauty blog called Into The Gloss. The blog features beauty routines of people (from celebrities, industry people and every day individuals) sharing well kept skin secrets and their favourite products. Their ‘Top Shelf‘ features reach 1.5 million readers monthly. At present, Into the Gloss is still a leading beauty blog, and the company has pivoted some of their articles and features towards the Glossier brand. Weiss estimates that they owe a good 90% of their revenue to fans, and that most of the line’s exposure comes from word of mouth as opposed to paid marketing.
Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow are featured on Into The Gloss
How do they do it?
Glossier is pretty much a ‘people’s brand‘. They know their target market, and many have been there since the beginning. The blog was launched in 2010 and has built enough credibility and trust, allowing them to target their products to the same large, dedicated audience who already love what the brand’s about.
For a startup, the challenges were no small feat, however, Glossier maximized what they’d already built with Into The Gloss to their advantage. They could have launched Glossier in a big way on the blog but opted for a relatable and personal approach- a gradual roll out showing readers what’s going on behind the scenes and inspiring anticipation on what fans can expect. Weiss and team created anticipation so strong on social media- on Instagram, in particular- that readers could barely contain their excitement for the launch of Glossier and signed up for months-long waiting lists even before they ever tested any of the products.
Glossier and Into The Gloss are dedicated to women looking for tried-and-true skin and make up essentials
A year into the launch of Glossier saw revenues rise to the ‘multiple millions’. In the midst of it all, branding plays an essential role. Glossier would not have been as successful if they marketed the product differently from Into The Gloss and broke away from the well loved brand name. If you look closely, you will see that Glossier consistently keeps to that dreamy, clean aesthetic Into The Gloss is known for. An ethereal, glowy, pink or pastel palette is a main feature for the label and can be seen in their packaging. Glossier customers receive their products in understated, quirky packaging with a couple of colourful stickers thrown in.
A fresh take
This is where the Glossier company culture becomes an asset. The company now employs over 50 employees, most of whom act as models for the company, as you can see on their website and in their ads. Glossier employees also post updates about the goings-on inside Glossier, previews of product development, even their design process. Not surprisingly, most of the posts that revolve around this theme are the most liked and most commented on. The brand is cultivated via word of mouth and content sharing on social media.
The Into The Gloss and Glossier packaging and theme revolve around dreamy, pastel colours
At Into The Gloss, the same employees conduct interviews on each other about their beauty routine, their product tests, and other information regarding Glossier products. One of the best examples of insider information they produce is a full breakdown of new product releases, formulas, and how-to articles that readers and product buyers love to sink their teeth into.
Other than that, Glossier uses their social media accounts to share mood boards such as images and themes of what inspires them and their branding.
What’s Glossier up to now?
Currently, the company’s released one of its most popular products, the Invisible Shield. Staying true to their branding approach, engagement was high during the pre-launch and post-launch phase. At present Glossier has a 51.9% engagement rate on Instagram.
You can purchase Glossier products online for the moment although the label will soon be available in the UK. The company also has plans to turn their penthouse office into a store. There are over 20 Glossier products thus far created to cover the daily essentials for the busy individual. Best selling items include Boy Brow and Milky Jelly Cleanser.
Photos used are stock images and product images are not related to Glossier and Into The Gloss brands
