The Groundbreakers: The executives behind key changes at influential companies
Kleo Mack
VP of Brand, Glossier
When Kleo Mack joined Glossier in April 2021, she entered a newly created position of vp of brand.
Mack, who moved over from L’Oréal where she was vp of corporate strategic marketing, has since spearheaded initiatives like Glossier’s Shoppable Shorts Challenge on YouTube in June 2022, a first of its kind. Mack has also overseen partnerships with the WNBA and singer Olivia Rodrigo, and driven brand storytelling within Sephora and Glossier’s own storefronts. Glossier joins 600 Sephora doors in early 2023 and opened five of its own stores, including Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Brooklyn, New York in 2022.
What are you most proud of this past year?
“I’m proud of getting back to our core DNA of being a beauty brand that is looking to transform how the world sees beauty. We’re doing that through authentic partnerships, and leaning into community and online-offline experiences to generate excitement. YouTube Shoppable Shorts was derived from listening to our community that wanted to see more of us on YouTube. If we weren’t deeply devoted to the consumer and on Reddit all the time and listening to what they’re saying, that would have been a missed opportunity.
We’ve had some incredible partnerships, like Olivia Rodrigo and the WNBA. Olivia Rodrigo has been able to bring a different point of view and perspective to Gen Z through Glossier, which has in the past been known as a millennial brand. Our WNBA partnership, which kicked off in 2020, has continued to drive important social impact initiatives for us, as well. We had a campaign around voter registration, where we partnered with some WNBA players on voter registration-themed content on our social channels and registered people to vote at our retail stores.”
What results did you see from YouTube’s Shoppable Shorts challenge?
“Over the long term, that Shoppable Shorts strategy has increased our share of voice and presence on YouTube. We are accelerating our YouTube strategy on our own channels, and using shoppable Shorts as a tool to launch products and talk about our superhero products over time.”
How do you evolve the brand while adhering to its DNA?
“It’s about continuing to lean into community, and also finding where people are having conversations [about beauty] and being at the forefront of those conversations. One [example] is the partnership we have with [coffee shop] Alfred. People in our L.A. community meet up at Alfred at Glossier Alley [behind our store] to have a drink, and [it allows us to] merge our online and offline communities. What sets us apart, and what we’ll continue to focus on in the future, is finding authentic, interesting stories to tell around people’s relationship with beauty and beauty in real life.”
On what other channels will Glossier story-tell, moving forward?
“We’re finding ways to test live shopping and bring authentic storytelling to our social channels like Instagram and TikTok, and engage with our community on Reddit. 2023 will be about continuing some of the groundwork we laid in 2022. We are closely monitoring Reddit and have been in contact with the [platform’s] moderators regarding how we can use that channel to establish a two-way conversation. We think it’s a great opportunity, as we [prioritize remaining] community driven, and there’s a natural community there. We have the second largest beauty Reddit community, so there’s a ton of opportunity for insights.”
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