🤳 Reddit for beauty brands, quick $1k grant, college campus marketing

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👇 Today we're covering

• 🎟 Launch Lab week 4: join the free workshop

• 🔗 Resource roundup

• 🗞️ Skim the headlines

• 🎓 College campus marketing tips from Glossier, Julie and Bubble

• 🎧 Rachel Liverman, founder of Glowbar, is on the podcast!

This week in LAUNCH LAB presented by TikTok, we’re learning how founders can show up on video as the face of your business. Jera Foster-Fell, the TikTok-famous social media coach with over 1.5 million followers, will be leading this free workshop at 6pm ET Tuesday, 3 October. Don’t miss it.

We’re halfway done with the free six-part LAUNCH LAB 🚀 workshop series and besties… it’s been so good. Here’s some of your feedback:

💬 Launch Lab was fireeeee. Thank you for bringing this to the community! Midnight here in the UK but so worth staying up for.

💬 Absolutely loved EVERY second of it!!

💬 I mean wow!!! So much valuable information all in one sitting

💬 So so good. Excited for next week

Join the video calls every Tuesday for six weeks (running until 17 October) to learn straight from a curated lineup of experts and operators building the buzziest brands right now.

Missed the first few? No worries! Recordings are available for Business Bestie subscribers.

You know what to do.👇

• Reddit might just be the most underrated marketing channel, particularly for beauty brands. Laneige is tapping Reddit's promoted posts and video ads, and it's working—Kira Mackenzie breaks down how to crack Reddit in this video. 🔗 Tell me more

• Looking to break into retail? The 15 Percent Pledge and Macy’s are hosting a vendor accelerator program for BIPOC brands. 🔗 Tell me more

• This is how much your competitors are paying TikTok creators. 🔗 Tell me more

• Copy and paste this outreach strategy when pitching investors. 🔗 Tell me more

• Win a cool $5,000 to $25,000 for sharing your business goals in this pitch comp. 🔗 Tell me more

• This tool helps you find the right investors and data for your fundraise. 🔗 Tell me more

• The cofounder of multimillion dollar swimwear brand, Triangl, just dropped her memoir. It’s a must-read for founders. 🔗 Tell me more

• Need a quick $1,000? Apply for this grant before it closes today. 🔗 Tell me more

• 100 investors rejected Rachel Liverman’s pitch for Glowbar. Today, she has 10 locations, 150 staff, and is going to double the biz in 2024—learn how in this quick IG case study. 🔗 Tell me more

• 🔒 Want to learn how to turn on a hype-building machine within your business, but missed the first few weeks of our LAUNCH LAB presented by TikTok marketing workshop series? Recordings are available to paid Business Bestie members now. 🔗 Tell me more

MONEY: Untold Capital is a new venture capital firm with $300M to invest in consumer brands.(Umm, hi! 😍) They’ve backed brands like Beekeeper’s Naturals and Live Tinted, so add ‘em to your outreach list.

SEPHORA: For the first time ever, Sephora North America has a woman in charge. Their global chief merchandising officer, Artemis Patrick has stepped into a new gig as President.

EQUALITY: Are you following this BS with Fearless Fund? Right now their grant program for women of color founders is being sued by a conservative activist, and they’re temporarily blocked from considering only WOC for the program. Support Fearless Fund by signing the Fearless Freedom petition here.

FASHION: You know Erin Deering as the co-founder of Triangl swimwear, and now she’s launching her next business: a fashion brand. Makes sense, this woman’s got style. Erin told Harper’s Bazaar “...Part of me knows that my journey as a founder is not done. Because that’s who I am. It’s in my blood. I love it. I realised this year that really, I want to go again.”

CAMPAIGNS TO WATCH:

• Kic went viral on TikTok for a super fun campaign that shows off their office culture and team. Take notes!

• Cult-loved Hotel Lobby Candle has started selling in hotel mini bars.

• Mac did a campaign with Tube Girl. The devil works hard, but social media marketing girlies work harder.

LAUNCHES TO KNOW:

• Bala launched in over 1300 Target stores across the US.

• Chillhouse dropped a collab with Clueless, three perfect sets to channel the ‘90s movie.

• Harry Styles’ Pleasing is launching three fragrances next month.

• Pepper launched a new wireless “lift up” bra for the IBTC (IYKYK).

• Juliet announced a new orange wine and it’s sure to be a sellout.

• In an interesting pivot, apparel brand Sporty & Rich just launched a new skincare line. 

• Former Glossier-girl and makeup artist to stars like Hailey Beiber, Katie Huges, launched her own makeup line (and her announcement post was super cute, too)

• Better-for-you candy brand Behave just re-launched with yummier-than-ever candy that also happens to be healthy.

• In a brilliant co-branded move, Arrae and The Skinny Confidential are collabing on de-puffing drops.

It’s back to school season, besties! Let’s take a peek at some of 2023’s best campus programs.

🧴 Glossier’s hitting the road on their first-ever campus tour. Their “You Look Good” tour is hitting up six colleges from coast to coast with a “carnival on wheels”, where attendees can win free swag, try food from local vendors, and obviously immerse themselves into the Glossier world.

Why it works: Glossier’s already got massive reach and brand awareness, but they need to stay relevant with Gen Z.

How to copy and paste: See if there are any on-campus events that your brand can sponsor or be a part of—even dropping samples in gift bags at college campus events can get the word spreading.

💗 Julie, the contraceptive brand launched by Starface founders, are also on a college campus tour. They’ll be hosting a ton of on-campus events, partnering with student groups, and launching a ton of out-of-home (OOH) marketing activities, like wrapping a fleet of Lyft cars in Julie branding.

Why it works: The old adage of “it takes seven interactions with your brand to lead to purchase” is at play here. Julie is showing up in multiple unique ways, so by the fifth time a student has seen the brand on their way to Bio100, it’s already way on their radar.

How your brand can use this strategy: We love the idea of good ol’ fashioned guerrilla marketing. Leave branded stickers in bathrooms. Put up wild-posting posters in the dining hall. See if you can collaborate with campus clubs and share free samples with their members to expand your own community.

🛁 Bubble absolutely nailed their college ambassador program. Their program has “brand-directed missions” like going to a Walmart and taking pictures with Bubble products on the shelf. The ambassadors also have total trust from Bubble to use their monthly stipend to host events that they, the ambassador, thinks will resonate with their peers.

Why it works: The aim for any program, as Kira Mackenzie shared in an awesome TikTok, is having any campus program feel very peer-to-peer, like friends sharing brands they love, instead of anything overly corporate. The key here is trust from both sides.

How your brand can use this strategy: Bring on a few campus ambassadors in your top region(s) and set up ways for them to be incentivized.

Home From College makes setting something like this up a breeze.

🎧 New podcast episode: 100 Investors Rejected Her Pitch. Now She Has 10 Spas and Will Double Next Year