For years, we’ve stressed the importance of maintaining your marketing strategy in the face of economic uncertainty. However, many of the examples we’ve had to reference were decades old and came from another era of marketing. It left us wondering how the advice would play out for brands in the age of digital-first marketing.

Now, following a pandemic-induced slow economy, we finally have some modern examples of brands who used strategic marketing to grow their business. Despite the unfriendly market and decreases in consumer spending, several savvy brands utilized innovative marketing techniques to generate higher-than-expected returns. Follow along as we analyze three businesses who have successfully used marketing to produce strong results in the 2020s and explain how you can apply their strategies to your own company.

E.l.f. Beauty
Growing Net Sales by Appealing to Young Consumers

E.l.f. beauty is one of the newer beauty brands on the market, founded only 20 years ago in 2004, and only recently exploded in popularity. About five years ago, E.l.f. started investing more heavily in their marketing presence in hopes of increasing their market share. They were especially interested in targeting younger, more price-conscious demographics that their products most appeal to. Since 2019, E.l.f. has increased their total spend on marketing from 7% of net sales to nearly 25%, according to brand executives.

To reach their target audience, E.l.f. has focused on several key marketing tactics. The brand focuses heavily on video in their social media strategy, utilizing TikTok and Instagram Reels to build awareness. They’ve earned billions of views by running branded hashtag contests, investing in paid ad campaigns, and frequently collaborating with popular makeup influencers to promote their products. At the end of 2023, the brand also launched its first Roblox experience to further engage with young audiences on the Gen Alpha-favorite platform. As a result, Piper Sandler research indicates that E.l.f. is the favorite cosmetics brand for teenagers.

In addition to their digital marketing initiatives, E.l.f. has also placed an emphasis on partnering with other “disruptive” brands. Their 2021 collection of Chipotle-inspired makeup products sold out in minutes, and their limited-edition collaboration with beverage brand Liquid Death tripled the traffic to E.l.f.’s website. These collaborations worked particularly well because they helped E.l.f. reach new segments of their ideal audience without jeopardizing sales to a competitor. By utilizing digital platforms and connecting with other brands that resonate with their target customers, E.l.f. has been able to grow their total net sales by 77% year-over-year last year, according to the brand’s reports.

Smaller brands can replicate E.l.f.’s success by using similar tactics. Use customer surveys and recent consumer data (like this report from the Pew Research Center) to find out which social media platforms your target audience prefers. Then post video content on those sites regularly to consistency keep your brand in front of your target customers. If your audience skews toward millennial and Gen Z consumers, partnering with micro-influencers to promote your brand can be an effective and more budget-friendly way to reach engaged audiences.

It’s also key to identify businesses in other industries that also cater to your target audience. Smaller companies often find success partnering with other businesses in adjacent industries within their community. You might advertise on each other’s storefronts, add links to your websites in email newsletters, or ask them to jointly organize an event with you to bring your audiences together.

“Barbie”
Using Partnerships & Social Buzz to Create a Blockbuster

Despite the Barbie brand’s reputation as a toy for little girls, WarnerBrothers and Barbie’s marketing team were able to turn the 2023 “Barbie” film into the biggest blockbuster in years. To achieve this feat, the team behind “Barbie” marketed the movie heavily for months, steadily building buzz in the leadup to the theatrical release. In fact, the studio actually spent more money marketing the movie than they did producing it.

“Barbie” launched its marketing efforts for the film on social media with a campaign depicting each Barbie character with their assigned role in Barbieland. They then created a filter that allowed users to generate their own Barbie selfie and label, making the promotion more personal and shareable. The effort helped fans feel connected and immersed in the world of Barbie before they ever saw the film. The official “Barbie” social media accounts also regularly shared teasers and trailers for the movie, highlighting some of the film’s funniest, most captivating, and most visually appealing moments.

The other most notable aspect of the “Barbie” campaign was their lengthy list of partnerships with a variety of different businesses. In the months leading up to the movie’s release, we saw an Airbnb Barbie Dreamhouse, a Barbie Wrangler jacket, Barbie-inspired Ruggable rugs, and Barbie pink Béis luggage, just to name a few. In total, there were dozens of brands that collaborated with “Barbie.” The variety of partners helped the movie reach all kinds of audiences – even those beyond the typical Barbie consumer, which contributed to the film’s universal appeal.

At the end of its theatrical run, “Barbie” earned nearly $1.5 billion in box office revenue, becoming the highest-grossing movie of 2023 and 14^th highest-grossing movie of all time. Those statistics are especially eye-popping when you consider that since 2020, attendance at movie theaters has fallen by about 50 percent, according to IndieWire. Even the typical blockbuster films, such as new Pixar movies and the latest Mission: Impossible, saw modest ticket sales compared to their predecessors. By investing heavily in marketing, “Barbie” was able to defy trends and find massive success, even in a slower economy.

While the success of the “Barbie” movie may seem unattainable for smaller businesses, the marketing tactics their team used still hold valuable lessons for any business. If you’ve been marketing to the same audience for years, think outside the box and consider how your brand may be unexpectedly relevant for other consumers. Try talking with consumers who don’t fit your typical profile about their needs and problems, or provide a survey after purchase to find out why customers are purchasing your product or service. Targeting different groups can provide new perspectives on your product or service while also opening new sales avenues. To build more buzz around your brand, hype up the launch of a new product, service, or business update by announcing the news in advance, and continually message about the offering in the following weeks or months.

Xcel Wetsuits
Investing in User Experience to Increase Conversions

Xcel Wetsuits is a perfect example of a more niche brand that used strategic marketing investments to build brand equity and generate rapid growth during poor market conditions. In 2023, Xcel Wetsuits set out to improve the user experience on their website, which is where most consumers purchased their products. Knowing that consumers were tightening their wallets and becoming more mindful of each dollar they spent, the surf brand wanted to help users who were researching their wetsuits and remove barriers to checkout.

To simplify their customers’ website experience, Xcel Wetsuits invested marketing dollars into optimizing the webpages showcasing their products and capturing engaging photographs of each item, which helped consumers feel more confident about the quality of the products. They focused their new website content on answering the questions they received most often from potential customers, and they even created a Wetsuit Guide to help consumers decide which wetsuit is the best fit for their needs. The brand also removed any redundant steps during checkout to limit customers’ opportunities to drop out of the process. Xcel Wetsuits’ strategic changes to their digital user experience increased overall website traffic by 28% and boosted their conversion rate by 27%.

In addition to improving their website experience, Xcel Wetsuits also set out to refine their Google Ads content. Instead of focusing on broadly increasing awareness, the brand prioritized campaigns that would help generate more traffic. They also created Google Shopping ads to simplify searchers’ path to checkout. Xcel Wetsuits’ strategic changes to their Google ads campaigns increased the channel’s attributable revenue by 57% and conversion rates by 29%. These results helped the brand defy expectations of declining sales for premium brands and nonessential consumer goods during a period of high inflation and slowing demand.

Optimizing website performance is a critical step for any brand hoping to boost their conversion rates and online sales. As you review your own company’s website, take Xcel Wetsuits’ approach and consider if there are extra, unnecessary steps between your visitors’ arrival on the site and completing their purchase. Make sure your web content answers the questions you hear the most from customers and use nice photographs of your products to show visitors the quality they can expect from your brand. Once you’ve streamlined your website experience, be sure to A/B test your paid ads to ensure you’re investing in the messages that resonate strongest with your target audience and are most likely to drive conversions.