Charlotte Tilbury Targets Gen Z With Amplified TikTok Strategy

Words by Romana Hai

Charlotte Tilbury Targets Gen Z With Amplified TikTok Strategy
Charlotte Tilbury Targets Gen Z With Amplified TikTok Strategy

Quite frankly, Charlotte Tilbury has always been in good company. Whether it be through a lipstick collaboration with Kim Kardashian or a tutorial on how to achieve Amal Clooney’s wedding day makeup look that Tilbury created herself, Charlotte Tilbury has always had a certain type of clout around her namesake brand.

This clout then enabled Charlotte Tilbury to recruit a healthy bridge millennial and millennial following.

But for a beauty brand that prides itself on being a digital-first company with an active presence across all channels — each serving a different type of audience — its next move seemed to be a no brainer.

That being said, since the acquisition of Charlotte Tilbury by Puig in June, the skin and beauty brand has refocused its strategy and is now looking to reach a new generation through a new channel — Gen Z, the generation of TikTokers.

In an effort to gain the likes of Gen Z, Charlotte Tilbury teamed up with TikTok influencer Abby Roberts, a 19-year-old self-taught makeup artist who has accumulated over 11.8 million TikTok followers with her elaborate transformations. Roberts produced a series of videos featuring three of Tilbury’s “10 Iconic Makeup Looks,” with each look utilizing only Charlotte Tilbury products, which consumers can shop. The video campaigns were then posted to both Charlotte Tilbury’s and Roberts’ TikTok accounts.

The looks created by Roberts are “Bella Sofia,” “Supermodel” and an exclusive “50s Hollywood Glam.”

Roberts agreed to the collaboration because she was able to decide what the content looked like from beginning to end while also staying true to her style and mission. When considering the collaboration, Roberts factored in what would work for both her, the Charlotte Tilbury brand as well as her audience.

“From what I found, the most successful [partnerships] are where I have full control. The influencer, 100%, knows their audience better than anyone else does,” said Roberts.

According to Roberts, while staying true to the influencer’s style is imperative, the ability for a brand to match that style and remain authentic is quintessential.

“Gen Z does not like being advertised to, whatsoever,” said Roberts. “A lot of times, we’ll find that a brand comes across and gives us a really specific brief, and it just doesn’t work. It’s not flexible enough — the audience knows that it’s an advert and doesn’t respond well to that.” 

Other brands Robert’s has worked with in the past have include Anastasia Beverly Hills, Morphe, ColourPop and Maybelline.

To help further the relationship with Gen Z, Tilbury has also enlisted her 26-year-old niece Sofia Tilbury as a Charlotte Tilbury brand ambassador.

“Sofia helps us to develop a closer connection to the Gen-Z audience and build new relationships. She’s always teaching me about the latest social trends, from Instagram Reels to TikTok,” said Tilbury.

Charlotte Tilbury joins a list of beauty brands that are making similar moves. Brands like Morpe and Ipsy have both made their debut on the TikTok platform and have made aggressive efforts through sponsored ads and influencer campaigns to engage potential customers. In fact, Charli D’Amelio, one of the most-followed TikTok creators, and Dixie D’Amelio, another TikTok influencer, both signed with Morphe in July.

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