038: Benefit Cosmetics Perfects Pop-Ups & Activations

Welcome to Will It Stick? podcast, where hosts Melissa and Alexis cover creative advertising campaigns, PR stunts, and marketing activations that brands of all shapes and sizes pull, and dive into the research and data to understand if it worked.

Benefit Cosmetics is an amazing brand – founded by twin sisters Jean and Jane Ford who were born in a small town in Indiana and built a multimillion-dollar global empire based on a coin toss. Seriously.

The twins graduated from Indiana University and modeled in print ads and Calgon TV commercials for two years. They were unmarried – unlike most of their friends at that time – and were urged by their mother, a radio talk show host in Toledo, Ohio, to “get a life.” So, the two moved to San Francisco in 1976 and decided to flip a coin on whether to open a casserole cafe or a beauty boutique. For any of you who don’t know what Benefit Cosmetics is, you may know some of their top-selling products like Bad Gal Lash, Hoola, and Benetint. Fun fact: Benetint was originally developed for an exotic dancer in need of nipple tint. WHO KNEW? Now, it’s the perfect product for lips and cheeks.

There is really distinct energy that comes with Benefit Cosmetics— consumers celebrate the brand for the fun and sassy vibe it brings with its bubblegum-pink aesthetic across its stores, counters, and packaging. In fact, the brand’s tagline is Laughter is the Best Cosmetic.

The growth of the brand is definitely due to its amazing marketing strategies, including earning three Guinness Book of World Records, and developing a slew of off-the-wall pop-up activations, and even playing in the virtual world.

Tune in for the full scoop!