Optimizing Beauty Brand ROAS for Holiday Season 2024

Beauty brands must start planning early for the 2024 holiday season to maximize returns during Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM).  

The increasingly digital and competitive landscape demands data-driven strategies and innovative marketing approaches to stand out. 

The early bird gets the worm

Getting a jumpstart on holiday planning as early as July can give beauty brands the edge needed to meticulously prepare their campaigns and effectively scale their marketing efforts.  

Many brands invest more in high-performing channels to prepare for key selling periods like BFCM. This strategy requires careful analysis of channel performance to optimize budget allocation. 

According to the latest stats from a Fospha report, TikTok and Snapchat are channels to watch, delivering the highest ROAS among top spend and growth channels respectively. 

Additionally, scaling spend in the week leading up to Black Friday has proven to be particularly effective, resulting in an 83% increase in ROAS for the studied group (October vs. November of that year).   

These insights highlight the importance of strategic channel selection in holiday marketing. Beauty brands should consider allocating significant portions of their budget to these high-performing platforms. 

Capitalizing on upper funnel opportunities

While many brands focus heavily on conversion-driven activities during BFCM, there's a significant opportunity in upper funnel marketing. Investing in top-of-the-funnel activities can create a sustainable flow of new customers in the long term.  

Interestingly, during peak periods like BFCM, competition is often lower for upper funnel activities as most brands concentrate on conversion-focused campaigns. 

This presents an opportunity for beauty brands to gain a competitive edge. By investing in awareness and consideration, brands can build a pipeline of potential customers that extends beyond the holiday season.  

According to Numerator, beauty sales growth was the fastest among consumer sectors, increasing by 15.8% year-over-year as of December 31, 2023. This growth was driven by increased consumption and by premiumization, indicating that consumers are willing to invest in quality beauty products. 

Similarly, Outbrain's study shows that 91% of beauty product shoppers prefer to explore and purchase through social platforms, emphasizing the need for a strong social media presence in top-of-funnel activities. 

E.l.f. Cosmetics’ TikTok Success

E.l.f. Cosmetics exemplifies successful upper funnel marketing during the holiday season. The brand leveraged TikTok to drive engagement and sales, resulting in a significant increase in brand searches and in-store sales.  

Their "Makeup Trending on TikTok" campaign doubled sales among TikTok users in 2023 compared to 2022, demonstrating the platform's potential for driving holiday sales. 

This success story illustrates how engaging, platform-specific content can yield substantial results. It also highlights the importance of adapting to emerging platforms and trends, particularly those favored by younger demographics like Gen Z and Millennials. 

Overcoming performance measurement challenges

Accurate performance measurement poses one of the biggest challenges in implementing an effective full-funnel strategy.  

As noted by Sam Carter, CEO of Fospha, "B2C marketers struggle to accurately measure performance. This creates a barrier for scaling at an acceptable profit margin. Proper measurement is crucial - particularly during peak when it matters most." 

Click-based measurement often undervalue the impact of upper funnel activities, leading to underinvestment in these crucial areas. Beauty brands should consider adopting full-funnel measurement approaches that enable better decision-making and resource allocation. 

It’s never too early to prepare

As beauty brands gear up for the 2024 holiday season, the winning strategy is a balanced, data-driven approach. By leveraging high-ROAS channels like TikTok and Snapchat, adopting a full-funnel marketing strategy, and not overlooking upper funnel activities, brands can set themselves up for success not just during BFCM, but well into the future. 

Early planning, starting this month, allows for thorough preparation and effective scaling of campaigns. By combining these strategies with accurate full-funnel performance measurement, beauty brands can handle the tough holiday market and achieve sustainable growth in the dynamic beauty industry.