This week’s digital panel focused on ‘The Future of Beauty Marketing,’ with a stellar line-up of panelists: Amber Fillerup Clark, founder of Barefoot Blonde and DAE, Nyakio Grieco, founder of Nyakio Beauty, Natasha Hulme, strategy director of Seen Group, Christa Capati, Purple’s Vice President, Beauty and Kayla Greaves, senior beauty editor of InStyle. We dove deep into the beauty industry’s pandemic prompted changes, how it’s been able to adapt, trends we’re seeing now and expect to see more of in the future.

The takeaways:

• Today's beauty conversation is largely centered around self-care, investing in your personal beauty and skincare routine
• It has been a time of recalibration for brands and businesses. Brands have pivoted their content to create a more DIY feel (think: photoshoots from home with casual, fun and authentic tones from models and influencers)
• When shifting marketing strategies, ask: “How can we create positive messages that inspire people to move forward? How are we supporting our brands during this time? What are we doing in the social spaces to create educational content? How are we conversing with consumers?”
• This can still be a year of optimism! People are looking for experiences that will bring joy into the room through the lens of beauty
• Beauty is about community. The current slowdown gives brands the chance to remind consumers they are here to connect with and serve them. Now that we are conversing via video screens, brands can build their communities beyond geography lines

On trends:

• Currently trending beauty products include: exfoliants, serums, face mists and anything that helps treat ‘mascne’
• People are paying more attention to the source stories and looking for clean, ethical and sustainable practices
• Consumers want content that captures everyday moments in authentic ways. They want brands to offer up ways they can have a better day
• PR's job is more than helping sell products, it's also about keeping brands in check (i.e. read the cultural room)

On pitching:

• The most important tone in a pitch is being cognizant of what is going on in the world and offering solution-based pitches
• Find influencers who are already using your products and give them more trust and free reign to create authentic content for you (versus prescriptive instructions that read like scripts)
• Instead of asking “What should we launch next?” Ask: “How deep are we going and how authentic are we being with what is in front of us today?”

On diversity and inclusion in the beauty industry:

• Nothing will change unless there is a full range of people on every spectrum making decisions. It is about putting diverse voices in the room and empowering them to be the decision makers
• It isn't only about giving Black-owned beauty brands the shelf space, it’s about supporting them and helping them succeed once they're there