Despite being reclusive when it comes to her life behind the spotlight, Beyonce has one of the strongest brand identities in modern pop culture history. In today’s social media era, where even some of the biggest celebrities have joined us “mere mortals” in the culture of oversharing, as a way to stay relevant and visible, the fact that Beyonce doesn’t need to do this to maintain relevance to her fanbase is a rare superpower.
The air of mystery that surrounds her, is perhaps; one the unique selling points of her personal brand. Because we don’t know much about her personality in actuality, we have come to connect with her through her art. In our minds, her songs about women’s empowerment, Black strength, self-confidence, healing, and love, have come to epitomize who she really is.
As a card-carrying member of the Beyhive, I love this about her. I mean look how she handled “Solange-gate,” the semi “Tiwa Savage Beef” during End Sars, and her desire to win “Album of the Year at the Grammy’s. In each of these situations, Solange, Tina Knowles, and Jay Z became her mouth piece respectively. We heard how she felt about each situation without ever hearing directly from her. I guess this strategy is to ensure she maintains her mass appeal and doesn’t ruffle any feathers, and I totally get that.
But as a PR and Marketing professional, I feel like there are pivotal periods that require a deeper and more direct connection with her target audience.
One of those periods is now. To ensure continued success and longevity of her newly launched haircare line, “Cecred,” Beyonce’s PR and Marketing strategy will require a bit more public vulnerability and authenticity than she is typically used to – especially given the oversaturated celebrity hair care/beauty space.
Mystery and mass appeal – Beyonce’s superpowers, may not work so well on her hairpreneur journey.
To begin with, I love the campaign’s brand storytelling strategy. Beyoncé talking about the roots of her love for hair care starting decades ago while working at her mom’s salon at her childhood home, is super awesome. It shows passion and credibility, as Tina Knowles was once a hairstylist who used to come up with her own DIY hair elixirs.
However, what’s missing from this strategy is relatable authenticity that will further boost credibility. Apart from her signature blonde hair extensions that we Beyhivers have come to love over the years, we actually don’t know what Beyonce’s real hair looks like. As part of the campaign, it would have been nice to see Beyonce using the products on her actual hair. Most of her celebrity counterparts with successful hair care products have used this strategy to successfully sell their products.
For instance, during the height of the pandemic, Taraji P. Henson would hop on Instagram Live, showing her audience DIY hair care tips, using products from her TPH line in real time. Fans who tuned in expressed that they were super excited about this, as they felt that Taraji could really relate to the challenges of haircare in a pandemic.
Similarly, when Tracee Ellis-Ross’ launched her haircare line, Pattern, not only did she demonstrate using her products on her own hair multiple times in real time on social media, she also went a step further to win Beauty Editors over. She invited top editors from top publications to a launch event where wore a swimsuit, and washed and conditioned her hair right in front of them, to show the efficacy of the products. Understandably though, Tracee is a no-holds-barred comedian. I wouldn’t expect someone as private as Beyonce to do this. However, the key takeaway in this instance, is relatability and authenticity.
Even Jennifer Aniston has adopted a similar strategy over the years with her award-winning Lolavie hair care line, connecting with fans on a personal level by showing them how to achieve the famous “Rachel Hair,” based on her character in hit show, F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
These celebrities all have top-selling brands in their category, and they all have one thing in common: The use of authenticity and relatability in their marketing strategy.
Another aspect of Cecred’s PR and Marketing campaign that could be better, is its brand positioning, as currently; it’s a bit confusing.
To begin with, she chose ESSENCE, a media platform with a predominantly African-American audience, to officially break the news about Cecred’s launch via an in-depth interview, so I automatically assumed it may be a brand specifically targeted towards this audience.
But then, during the interview, she mentions that Cecred is for women of all races, while emphasizing that ingredients were tested and formulated to ensure that products would be effective for Black hair. Perhaps African Americans are her primary target audience, and everyone else is secondary? We can only assume, as it’s not so clear.
Again, this is an area where some of her counterparts are getting it right. The brand positioning is quite clear for:
- Tracee’s “Pattern”: A haircare brand for natural hair designed for people with curly, coily, and tight-textured hair.
- Jennifer’s Lolavie: A minimalist Vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free haircare brand for the environmentally conscious
- Taraji’s TPH: A Black-centered brand for the scalp and hair, whether you choose to wear your hair natural, or with weaves, wigs, braids, etc. Taraji says that although TPH is created for black women predominantly (Primary Target Audience), it is also inclusive.
In a nutshell, no matter what, everything Beyonce touches seemingly turns to gold because of her loyal fan base. However, to keep the Cecred goldmine running for a long time, Beyonce will need to integrate more authenticity, relatability, and clearer brand positioning into her PR and Marketing Strategy.
