E.l.f. Beauty, Gap and Wendy's are moving into original music and entertainment production, betting that cultural moments drive purchasing behavior more effectively than traditional advertising.
E.l.f. Beauty released "Mirror Mix," an original album featuring seven rising artists including a WNBA player and Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter. The album streams on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and Roblox. It marks the company's second album after 2024's "Get Ready With Music, The Album," and follows a 2019 viral hit, the song "eyes.lips.face," that introduced consumers to the brand's name. Chief Integrated Marketing Officer Patrick O'Keefe told CNBC that music helps E.l.f. connect with customers through emotional resonance. "When you put community at the center of everything and build music which evokes emotion, it changes the conversation," O'Keefe said. CEO Tarang Amin called the company "an entertainment company that happens to sell beauty products."
E.l.f. has also launched a TikTok reality show and opened a Twitch channel with live shopping. The company spent more than 20% of net sales on marketing and digital in its most recent quarter and expects that percentage to rise. E.l.f.'s unaided brand awareness rose to 45% from 13% over five years. Profits doubled in the most recent quarter, marking the 30th consecutive quarter of growth.
Gap created a "fashiontainment" platform and announced a multiyear partnership with boy band Just Your Type. The deal includes a multi-episode dociseries, national mall tour and clothing collection. Gap appointed a chief entertainment officer to oversee the initiative. CEO Richard Dickson said in January that traditional advertising "just is not cutting it anymore" and that "today's customers aren't just buying apparel, they're buying into brands that tell compelling stories."
Wendy's released "Songs to Listen to in a Wendy's Parking Lot," an emo album with humorous songs including "She Said She Didn't Want Fries" and "The Best Combo Meal on the Worst Night of My Life." The lead song generated more than 450,000 streams on Spotify.
A June report from United Talent Agency found that Gen Z consumers who view brands as culturally relevant are more likely to buy from them. Sixty-eight percent of Gen Z who perceive a brand as culturally relevant ultimately purchase from it, compared to 90% who notice it and 87% who think favorably of it.