Overview

Nars Cosmetics is a luxury makeup and skincare brand renowned for cult-favorite, luxury-tier products like the Radiant Creamy Concealer and Orgasm Blush. Despite this strong reputation, there is a disconnect between the brand and its customers, causing a huge drop-off at the conversion stage. The overall goal is to increase brand loyalty and engagement among Gen Z and Millennial customers through a seamless omnichannel experience. By leveraging creator partnerships on social media alongside automated, personalized email workflows and targeted website keywords, we will drive high-quality lead generation and improve brand scalability over the long term.

Problem

NARS is a prestige beauty brand celebrated for its iconic cheek colors, long-lasting complexion products, and bold lipsticks. Founded by makeup artist François Nars, it revolutionized the industry with its trend-setting shades, sleek packaging, and inclusive foundation lines. Despite this strong foundation, NARS faces a growing disconnect with Gen Z and Millennial consumers whose expectations around authenticity, digital engagement, and brand values are rapidly shifting.

Key Insights

To clarify NARS’ target audience and current customer perception, we spoke with Sephora’s customers and makeup artists. We gathered feedback from 20 individuals to better understand their needs, routines, and drivers.

The research revealed that NARS’ customers desire makeup that fits into their routine, helps them feel confident and empowered, and lets them project a desired image, such as professionalism, creativity, and elegance.

Furthermore, customer perception is shaped not only by what the brand projects, but also by the people they see around them, the trends they follow, and the platforms they use. TikTok and other social media platforms play an important role, as customers often don't interact directly with NARS’ own platforms but instead see others who look like them engaging with the brand, using its products, or discovering them in-store.

This suggests that customer perception of NARS is shaped not only by the brand’s messaging, but also by social influence, trends, and the experiences of people they relate to.

Solutions

Considering NARS’ current perception and how customers view and use makeup, we developed a campaign, The Return of the NARSissist (Unapologetically Bold. Glamorous. Powerful.), to shift NARS' perception from negative to positive while highlighting products that match the functionality customers want.

The goal of The Return of the NARSissist campaign is to build brand awareness and trust, bringing the brand back to customers' top of mind for both older and newer-generation customers.

The digital strategy includes Social Media, Email, and Search Marketing.

Social Media Marketing builds awareness, trust, and engagement through partnered content. Moreover, partnering with nano to mega influencers to post on personal accounts reaches their audience organically and teases partnerships with BTS, launch countdowns, or livestream events.

An example of an influencer NARS can collaborate with for this campaign appears below, showcasing the different lifestyles that customers may identify with or aspire to.

Email Marketing to nurture and re-engage visitors and drive repeat actions through exclusive drops, quizzes, and polls that capture customer expectations and desires.

Search Marketing, specifically SEO, to capture organic traffic from posts, press releases, and landing pages optimized for influencer & campaign keywords such as Emma Chamberlain x NARS, Demi Moore Skincare Routine & NARS x Emma Chamberlain x Red Lipstick.

For younger consumers, primarily Gen Z and younger Millennials, the campaign aims to attract them with affordable NARS bundle sets featuring minis and travel sizes that match how they use makeup and fit seamlessly into their routines.

You can see examples of the bundles below. (AI-generated images - reference only)