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Case Overview

Flush with cash from its Series C fundraise, cult beauty brand Glossier considers its next phase of growth, facing critical decisions on how to allocate its capital to support various marketing communications and distribution strategies. Glossier’s proclaimed strategy was “born from content, fueled by community”.

The digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand had experienced rapid growth, with sales up 600% in 2017 and a customer portfolio that grew by threefold. But, its founder, Emily Weiss, was not complacent. Instead, she dreamed of creating the world’s first socially-driven brand that inserted its community into the buying experience so that the company was merchandising people, their opinions, and their content, just as much as they were merchandising products.

As her team debates marketing strategies for 2018, they recognize the opportunities and challenges associated with managing Glossier’s rapidly scaling brand community. While the community’s support had emerged organically in the past, the team was now debating whether the company’s next phase of growth would need to be fueled by a greater emphasis on paid peer-to-peer sales representatives, professional influencer marketing, paid media, and a physical market presence.

 

Questions

1.) How should Glossier best deploy the $52 million infusion of capital it has just received from its Series C fundraise?

2.) Which of the four paid media programs (peer-to-peer sales representatives, influencer marketing, paid media, and customer loyalty program) should Glossier pursue? Why? How might each of these programs change its relationships with its customers?

3.) Assess Glossier’s distribution strategy options. Should the company open more showrooms? Should it do more pop-ups? Should it begin selling wholesale to retailers like Sephora? Why or why not? How might each of these decisions affect its relationships with its customers?

4.) Across the marketing mix, how can Glossier best utilize its brand community? How does your answer to this question change as the Glossier community exponentially scales?

5.) Assess the strength of the Glossier brand. From what does its strength derive? What weaknesses do you perceive? How sustainable are its brand-related competitive advantages? Why?