Yahoo Finance E.l.f. Cosmetics Gets Real on BeReal
While social strategists and experts weigh the opportunity of BeReal, the new photo-sharing network that’s captivating Gen Z, E.l.f. Cosmetics is jumping into the fray: On Friday, the Oakland, California-based company announced its entry on the platform, along with a promotional offer for the first wave of responses to its new account at @elfyeah.
Those in the know understand the hook with this platform: Notifications are timed and go out to all followers at once, tasking them to snap and share an unfiltered pic within two minutes. Blow the deadline, and those shares will be slapped with a decidedly uncool flag noting that it took more time, a signal that it was likely edited. The feature literally makes BeReal the “of-the-moment” social trend.
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Though it doesn’t court advertisers, at least not yet, experts have been watching the network, wondering when an influx of brands will descend upon it.
E.l.f. Cosmetics apparently broke the seal, at least for big beauty, although it’s not the first major brand. Chipotle beat it to the punch with promotions for free food.
The beauty company seems to have taken a page from the Tex-Mex food joint’s playbook with its “holy grail” offer, set to go out on Friday. The first 150 followers of E.l.f.’s BeReal account will get a limited-time promo code good for a free five-piece skin care kit from E.l.f. Skin’s Holy Hydration line. As for reasons to stick around, the company promises exclusive access to behind-the-scenes content and sneak previews of product drops.
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The connection between this network and the brand makes sense, given that the skin care division has marketed “get-real” prices, with the line “Real skin. Real results. Real as E.l.f.”
It’s all in service to authenticity, according to a statement that will drop at any moment now from Laurie Lam, chief brand officer at E.l.f. Beauty: “In the age of authenticity, followers of @elfyeah can expect to see a mix of unfiltered, unretouched moments at E.l.f. headquarters and in-the-moment messages to connect with our superfans.”
For Movers + Shakers, the agency behind the BeReal campaign, it’s about tapping E.l.f.’s strong connection with its target consumers. “Gen Z wants to know what is really happening in each other’s lives,” said Evan Horowitz, the firm’s cofounder and chief executive officer.
“They’re tired of fake, overly planned and edited content on other social apps. BeReal allows people to share their unfiltered, real lives, and now brands can offer fans the same level of transparency.”
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