There are few beauty brands performing as well as Charlotte Tilbury on socials. The brand is beloved by celebrities and influencers alike – not to mention, its products regularly go viral on TikTok – and 2023 is positioned to be its best year yet. The makeup company recently unveiled model and trendsetter Bella Hadid as its new muse – its most brilliant marketing move yet.
Why? TikTok – particularly Gen Z users – love Hadid. The brand’s video of Tilbury and Hadid has 9.5 million views and the official announcement has more than 6.3 million views. The response? Commentators called the partnership “genius”, “incredible marketing” and “the only right choice”.
Hadid is the It girl at the moment. As CORQ has noted, there’s a “Bella Effect” – where anything Hadid promotes will lead to skyrocketing sales. According to Karla Otto, when Hadid walks in a fashion show, she generates an average of 29% of its total earned media value. When she modelled Coperni’s spray-on dress during its spring/summer 2023 show, it accumulated $26.3 million (£22.1 million) in media impact value. Not just anyone can do that – it’s a direct result of the Bella Effect.
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Charlotte Tilbury is clearly capitalising on her star power and it seems to be working. After all, searches for the beauty brand spiked on 5 March, a few days after Hadid was unveiled as the new face of the brand.
Hadid has an undeniable appeal that will attract new customers, but she’s also a strong fit. She has worked with Charlotte Tilbury before, having her makeup done by makeup artist Sofia Schwarzkopf-Tilbury (Charlotte’s niece) in September 2022. Hadid noted that her Hollywood Flawless Filter and Lip Cheat liner never leave her purse.
Outside of Hadid being a genuine fan, she’s also helped the brand go viral in previous years. TikToker Rachel OCool’s tutorial for achieving Hadid’s jaw highlight used Charlotte Tilbury’s sold-out Beauty Light Wand and went viral – her video has more than 1.8 million views.
In an oversaturated market, Charlotte Tilbury regularly stands out. Spate found the brand receives one million searches per month and has seen 29.3% year-on-year growth. Not to mention, #CharlotteTilbury has more than 2.5 billion TikTok views – its product Hollywood Flawless Filter alone has surpassed 166.6 million views under the tag on TikTok after it went viral in 2022.
Does Charlotte Tilbury need Hadid as the face of the brand to succeed? No – the brand would continue to have its products go viral even without Hadid’s influence. But with powerful female-founded beauty brands like Fenty, Rare Beauty and Pat McGrath making strong moves, Hadid will cement Charlotte Tilbury as the beauty brand for the TikTok generation.
By Caroline Edwards, CORQ news and features writer. Picture credit: Bella Hadid via Instagram
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