Designing a Community-Driven Campaign for Glossier

Gen Z Brand Awareness

Focus: Audience insights, behavioral analysis, campaign concept development

Role: Research & Strategy

2021

  • Explore how Glossier could strengthen brand awareness with Generation Z consumers, particularly college-aged women navigating identity, confidence, and self-expression.

    The goal was to identify what motivates Gen Z to engage with beauty brands and design a campaign that reflects those behaviors.

  • Gen Z consumers are less influenced by traditional advertising and more influenced by community participation and creator culture.

    Key behavioral themes emerged:

    • Gen Z prefers brands that feel authentic and relatable

    • Social media serves as a primary channel for product discovery and validation

    • Beauty routines are tied closely to identity and self-expression

    • Peer influence and creator partnerships build trust faster than brand messaging

    These insights revealed that brand awareness for Gen Z must be participatory rather than promotional.

  • If Gen Z values authenticity and community-driven experiences, Glossier has an opportunity to strengthen engagement by creating a campaign that invites self-expression and participation.

    Rather than simply promoting products, the campaign should position Glossier as a brand that helps young women feel confident in their evolving identity.

A back-to-college campaign centered around self-expression, confidence, and personal identity.

The campaign encourages Gen Z consumers to share their beauty routines and experiences through social media and campus events.

Core message:
Glossier products support confidence and individuality during moments of personal transformation.

Campaign Concept:

Find Your Glow

Engagement Strategy - because this glow-up is PERSONAL

The campaign activates across three key channels

Social Participation

An Instagram sweepstakes encouraging users to share their routines using the hashtag #Glossierglow, increasing user-generated content and community visibility.

Four smartphones displaying Instagram posts related to Glossier beauty products. The first and second posts feature pink marketing materials and makeup sets. The third shows a person applying makeup with colorful eyeshadow, and the fourth has a close-up of a woman holding a bottle of Glossier skincare product.

Campus Experiences

Interactive campus events introduce students to Glossier products while reinforcing the message of confidence and self- expression.

  • Pop-up Beauty Tents Late-afternoon pop-up tents placed in high-traffic campus areas offer students quick, fresh makeup looks before heading into their weekend plans.

  • Student Creator Activation with on-campus brand representatives capture short-form social content with students by asking a simple prompt: “What makes you glow?”

These activations were designed around moments when students are already preparing for social experiences, creating low-pressure opportunities for discovery while reinforcing Glossier’s message of confidence and self-expression.

Pink promotional poster with minimalist line art illustrations of faces, promoting Glossier's 'Find Your Glow' campaign coming to campuses in August 2022, with details on participating colleges and dates.

Creator Partnerships

Collaboration with Gen Z influencer Emma Chamberlain to showcase authentic beauty routines and build trust with younger audiences.

A woman at a vanity mirror applying makeup, with beauty products on the table, in a bedroom.
A woman in a bathroom holding a bottle of skincare product, wearing a white tank top and a headband.
The logo features the word "Glossier" in bold, dark purple text on a light pink background, with a stylized letter "G" in a white and pink circle to the right.
Arrangement of skincare and makeup products from Glossier, including bottles of cleanser and moisturizer, with pictures of diverse women, quotes, and informational text about the brand and its values, set on a pink background. 
Why      Awareness as Relationship, Not Reach MatterS

Gen Z consumers respond most strongly to brands that invite them to participate in the narrative rather than simply consume it.

By centering the campaign around identity, community, and self-expression, Glossier can deepen emotional engagement while expanding brand awareness among emerging consumers.

Looking ahead, future iterations of this concept could test engagement metrics across social platforms, evaluate creator-driven influence, and explore additional opportunities for community-led brand experiences.