For the month of January, Tribe Dynamics saw prestige start the year on a high note maintaining its significant lead over mass with $85,875,316 versus $28,879,153, or an approximate 197% difference in earned media performance for the month. This month saw some of the more developed Instagram influencer programs come to fruition, with brands such as Anastasia Beverly Hills achieving incredible rates of recurring engagement. For the first time, Anastasia stole the lead at $23M EMV with a record $19M EMV due to content creation on Instagram alone. The brand’s investment in an influencer-focused digital strategy has led to what can only be described as an explosion of consumer awareness among influential bloggers and the larger beauty community.
1. Anastasia Beverly Hills$23,085,296
2. MAC Cosmetics $22,987,175
3. NYX Cosmetics $10,199,690
4. L’Oréal Paris$10,199,690
5. NARS $10,038,801
6. Too Faced $9,736,450
7. Maybelline $8,541,269
8. Urban Decay $8,038,911
9. Kat Von D $6,094,821
10. Bobbi Brown $5,893,863
Top Brands By Social Media Channel
Blog: MAC
YouTube: MAC
Twitter: Urban Decay
Facebook: L’Oreal Paris
Instagram: Anastasia Beverly Hills
Pinterest: NARS
ANALYSIS:
For both Anastasia and MAC, their success is tied to earned media created on one or two channels in particular. Anastasia’s $19M EMV on Instagram came from a collection of popular Instagram influencers, each of whom posts content tagging the brand sometimes as often as three times a day. The majority of these posts share the same form: glamour shots of finished makeup looks tagging the specific brands and products used. By examining the brand’s January media, the dramatic expansion of the small circle of influencers creating the most valuable content about the brand becomes increasingly apparent. Whereas in past months we saw three to four individuals creating a significant amount of content with these high-engagement rates, the producers of this content has now more than tripled. Both brands’ earned media performances were directly tied to their respective brands’ association with one of the most prevalent rends to captivate beauty: contouring.
Top terms and trends, by brand:
Anastasia: brow, browwiz, mac
MAC: foundation, glam, anastasiabeverlyhills
Too Faced: melted, chocolate, semi sweet
Top brands using key word “contour”:
Contour: Anastasia, MAC, Kat Von D, Bobbi Brown, L’Oréal
ANALYSIS:
Anastasia and MAC produced by far the greatest EMV in relation to the contour trend, approximately $7.3M together in January alone. This content ranged from influencer-based Kim Kardashian makeup YouTube tutorials and Instagram glamour shots to posts from industry authorities such as Sephora, highlighting specific products to help create the contoured look. Whether intentional or not, these brands have become closely linked in the minds of influencers in association with the trend. A majority of this Instagram earned media showed Anastasia products alongside MAC’s, being used together for the desired look. It’s not by coincidence that of all the earned media collected for Anastasia over the month, approximately $5M EMV worth of content also mentioned MAC.
Urban Decay’s trailing performance in association with this trend was surprising in light of the brand’s significant push into face cosmetics with the recent launch of its “NAKED Skin” collection. In the past, the brand has enjoyed steady success in earned media performance thanks to the residual popularity of its NAKED eyeshadow palettes. These palettes allowed Urban Decay to establish itself as an icon among top beauty influencers drawn to a specific aesthetic characterized by more dramatic makeup and exaggerated features. However, growing awareness for new players such as Anastasia Beverly Hills and Too Faced has since lessened the brand’s stronghold over this same influencer community looking to new arrivals for inspiration and products tied to contouring. It will be interesting to see whether Urban Decay’s association with the trend improves the longer the NAKED Skin collection has been on the market.
To read Tribe’s full report on January Cosmetics Brands, please click here.
