URBAN DECAY
Giving the OG Indie Brand a Modern Makeover
Company
Virtue Worldwide
Year
2019
The Challenge
After 23 years on the market, the original OG indie brand remained grounded in it’s purpose but it’s brand began to fall flat and lose relevancy. As the cosmetics market flooded with new indie brands, Urban Decay came to us to refresh their identity and launch with an influencer-led, social first brand platform.
My Role
Account Director: Responsible for account success from brief to delivery, category and brand business acumen, client communication, and internal cross-functional leadership.
PRETTY DIFFERENT
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URBAN DECAY
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PRETTY DIFFERENT * URBAN DECAY *
The Strategy
Urban Decay has championed being different since it launched in 1996, declaring in its original press release that the products were “for the eyes, nails, lips and skin of girls and boys who want to rattle the notion of what beauty is and put their own stamp on it.” In the 23 years since the brand launch, Instagram tutorials of perfect artistry have replaced the department store standards of the ‘90s. The definition ‘sameness’ has changed, but the pressure to conform to beauty standards still persists.
The Approach
To develop a global brand platform that would help reinforce the brand’s mission to challenge the status quo, we developed the new brand positioning and accompanying awareness platform Pretty Different; reminding people that makeup is for anyone and everyone and should always be fun, untamed and unexpected. With the launch of Pretty Different, Urban Decay is rejecting the monotony that continues to run through the beauty industry in an anthem that embraces unapologetic individuality.
The social-first brand platform launched globally on paid social, digital video, out of home, in store marketing, and brand O&Os. The platform starred a new roster of international emerging talent that embodied the Pretty Different spirt, connecting with Gen Z consumers worldwide.
The Work
We developed socially optimized video in 2:3 and 16:9 to maximize engagement. From the hero film, five :06 bumpers were developed for YouTube and social ads.
A series of high impact portraits were captured to be used across channels, that we layered over product texture for in store key imagery. Individual key imagery gave global retail partners flexibility to choose versions most relevant to their demographic.
The Results
The Pretty Different campaign is the most effective campaign in brand history, building brand awareness and positive sentiment with existing and new customers.
