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It’s a tough time to vie for the attention of Gen Z, a notoriously fickle demographic whose shopping habits are often swayed by whatever brand gets a lucky break on TikTok.
So, Neutrogena, which is a cool 95 years old, is trying some new strategies.
At the start of the month, the brand announced 21-year-old pop star Tate McRae as its latest global brand ambassador. Now, Neutrogena is revealing phase two of its plan, which includes the announcement of its sponsorship of McRae’s “Miss Possessive” global tour — a first for the company. McRae is primarily promoting the brand’s popular Hydro Boost franchise, which turns 10 years old this year.
“We [were] looking for a really culturally relevant person we could use not just for a 15-second TV commercial, but also to really engage and create and help us build community around that, so that — in a very authentic way — we [can recruit] the younger consumer,” said Andrew Stanleick, who in November joined Kenvue, Neutrogena’s parent company, as its president of skin health and beauty in North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Neutrogena and McRae have a multi-year contract, Stanleick said. And while there is, in fact, a TVC, Neutrogena is planning a 360-degree campaign that encompasses much more.
“I wanted to try and embed Neutrogena into Tate McRae’s world, because she’s got this incredible, authentic community and edge,” Stanleick said. “By going on tour with her, on her journey, it helps the brand show up in a culturally relevant way.”
He added, “Ultimately, our success will be measured by how deeply we connect and inspire Gen Z consumers, who are the Holy Grail. They’re very difficult to reach these days; there’s a lot of competition.” He called McRae’s community, which includes 5.8 million Instagram followers and 11.6 million TikTok followers, “the way forward” for Neutrogena.
Mary Tomaschko, U.S. marketing director for Neutrogena, said the brand took a data-driven approach to choosing McRae as its partner. “We saw that over 90% of Tate’s following was, in fact, Gen Z. And, when we compared her to [similar talents], she was growing her following at a super rapid pace,” she said. “In the prior six months, she had nearly doubled her her following on TikTok.”
“As I’m about to kick off a global tour and drop my third album, I couldn’t be more hyped to have my Neutrogena fam with me. I’ve been using this brand since I was younger, so it’s really special to have them along for the ride. … Getting to bring Neutrogena on tour — so my fans can experience it, too — means everything to me,” said McRae, in an email to Glossy.
McRae is not the brand’s first bet to regain relevance with Gen Z. Last August, it announced 28-year-old singer and actor Hailee Steinfeld as the ambassador for its newest franchise, Collagen Bank. According to Stanleick, the collection targets “pre-aging” skin. “It’s not super young, nor is it retinol,” he said.
“[The two initiatives are] actually very similar,” Tomaschko told Glossy. “Both focus on driving relevancy with the Gen-Z audience. … Similar to Tate, [Steinfeld] has a tremendous following and is beloved by her followers.” For her part, Steinfeld has 20.4 million Instagram followers and 3.9 million TikTok followers. Neutrogena has a long history of working with celebrity ambassadors — Jennifer Garner has been one for 18 years.
A number of activations with McRae have already taken place.
Prior to the February 4 announcement, Neutrogena began seeding Hydro Boost products to influencers, noting that a “juicy secret” would soon be revealed. “A large number of creators received a box that said, ‘Do not open until 2.4.’ The juicy secret inside was a picture of Tate,” Tomaschko said, noting that there was paid support for the creators involved. They included Katie Fang (6.2 million TikTok followers), Clarke Peoples (773,000 TikTok followers) and Brett Chody (76,000 Instagram followers). The seeding generated 245 million impressions from creator content alone.
On February 20, McRae held an album release event in the parking lot of Los Angeles’s Kia Forum, where Neutrogena passed out over 7,000 samples of Hydro Boost products. It also set up two branded photo booths and added its branding to various other touch points throughout the event. Neutrogena invited select creators to attend, including Elnaz Golrokh (8.5 million Instagram followers), Leslie Hernandez (146,000 TikTok followers) and Abelyn Salazar (226,000 TikTok followers). The guests, who were not paid to attend the show, generated over 30 million impressions on social. The brand also partnered with TikTok to livestream the show and promoted products via McRae’s TikTok Shop and its own.
Shortly after the Kia Forum event, McRae dropped her new music video for the song “Revolving Door.” Within the first two seconds of the video, viewers see McRae walking down a corridor, where the walls are plastered with the key visual from her Neutrogena ad. It is not the first beauty brand to use product placement in a music video — Sabrina Carpenter used Supergoop in the 2024 “Espresso” video, for example.
“Something about her has always captivated me in a really crazy way,” Mattie Mac Kay, 20, a journalism student at Rowan University and McRae superfan, said of the artist. He’s been listening to her music for five years, has seen her perform seven times and feels like he’s growing up alongside her, he said. “I think this is a good move for Neutrogena. Neutrogena has kind of fallen off, especially when it comes to other [mass] brands like Cerave and Cetaphil and even La Roche-Posay. … People really only use their makeup wipes now,” he said. Hydro Boost ranks second in sales, following the brand’s best-selling makeup wipes, Tomaschko said.
And, to Mac Kay, the partnership is enough to influence a purchase. “It’s going to bring people [to the brand]; it’s really gonna push Gen-Z consumers to buy it,” he said. “I am broke as a joke, and I’m always looking more affordable options. And if Neutrogena is that, and they’re gonna use my favorite celebrity to promote it, then hell yeah, I’m gonna buy it.”
Much more is to come from the Neutrogena-McRae partnership. “We’re taking a lot of learnings from [the Kia Forum release concert] and shaping what the total tour experience is going to be like,” said Jenni Évora, Neutrogena’s communications lead. “As the official sponsor of the global tour, there’s a lot of opportunity for what that will actually look like.” Possible activations include inviting creators to one of McRae’s soundchecks for a personal experience, investing in OOH wild postings with the intention of driving conversion at top retailers and offering concert-goers samples of the brand’s makeup remover wipes as they exit the tour.
Tomaschko hinted at forthcoming launches in the Hydro Boost franchise and noted that the brand plans to mark the 10th anniversary of its iconic product suite in a big way throughout the year. That may include hosting IRL activations in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Nashville and Dallas in August and September, which coincides with both the end of McRae’s tour and the pivotal back-to-school season.
Overall, Neutrogena has ambitious goals for winning over Gen Z.
“Throughout 2024, we were analyzing what it would take to be No. 1 on social — the No. 1 face-care brand, the No. 1 sun-care brand. We know we have the right to be No. 1 in social among [creators], and with the help of Collagen Bank and the pre-seeding of Hydro Boost, we actually took over No. 1 on social in Q4, according to Traackr. So we’re making headway,” Tomaschko said. Traackr is an influencer marketing software company that leverages a proprietary metric called the Brand Vitality Score.
Launch of the week: Buzzy brand Heaven Mayhem expands into eyewear
“Eyewear is an accessory I never leave home without — it’s the perfect finishing touch to any and every look, which felt like a natural extension to our ‘accessories as the new finishing touches’ philosophy,” Heaven Mayhem founder Pia Mance told Glossy of her brand’s latest expansion.
The brand is just over two years old, but it has already gone from making vintage-inspired earrings ubiquitous — thanks, in part, to placements on “it” girls like Hailey Bieber — to adding watches, laptop cases, notebooks, jewelry boxes and brooches to its assortment. The new collection, which debuted on Thursday, includes three pairs of sunglasses and one pair of clear-lensed frames ranging in price from $180-$200.
“With all of our accessories, we aim to give customers an affordable price point without compromising the expensive feel, high quality and luxury experience,” Mance said.
She noted that the glasses’ triple-barrel hinges were essential to ensure they felt sturdy and durable. She anticipates the “Sloane” style, which comes in clear and sunglass form, will be a fast bestseller.
Collabs of the week
437 x Manana Arakelyan
Buzzy activewear brand 437 has partnered with influencer Manana Arakelyan (464,000 TikTok followers) on an 11-piece capsule collection that brings back a set Arakelyan sent viral in July 2024. In the viral post, her boyfriend is heard praising her 437 longline bra and matching flared leggings, saying she needs the set in every color because it looks so good on her. The set subsequently sold out.
“Rather than simply restocking, we saw an opportunity to turn this organic moment into something special, working with Manana to create an expanded capsule collection inspired by that very request,” 437 founder Hyla Nayeri said. “The engagement on Manana’s video was proof that our community was craving this set’s return. … Plus, Manana embodies the effortless, feminine and confident energy our brand is built on.”
Along with relaunching the viral V Tank and Essential Pant in the popular Forest shade, the brand has introduced the pieces in two new colorways: Galaxy and Black. It’s also launched its best-selling Micro Bra and Essential Leggings in all three hues and its Shorts Onesie in the Galaxy shade.
Some of the items have already sold out again, but the brand is planning another restock in a couple of months. Shop it here.
Rom&nd x Hannah Bahng
K-Beauty cosmetics brand Rom&nd has tapped musician and creator Hannah Bahng as its first-ever global ambassador. Together, the two have introduced an exclusive set that includes a limited-edition eyeshadow palette and two of the brand’s hero products: its Glasting Melting Balm and The Juicy Lasting Tint.
“I’ve wanted to partner with Rom&nd ever since I fell in love with their lip tints in high school,” Bahng told Glossy. “From there, I started using their eyeshadows, balms, mascara and eyeliner. I was basically a walking sponsorship already. … To be able to contribute and direct creatively was so awesome.”
Of the decision to work with Bahng, Alice Shin, Rom&nd’s global team manager, said, “We value communication and building relationships with consumers, and we were really impressed by the strong bond between Hannah and her fans. We also saw how much she genuinely enjoys using our products, which made us confident that collaborating with her would lead to authentic and meaningful results.”
She added, “We plan to work closely with her through all stages of the [product launch] process, from development to marketing, promotion and sales.”
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