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  • January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
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Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

By: Jill Avery
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:26
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Abstract

Glossier’s proclaimed strategy was “born from content; fueled by community.” The digital-first, direct-to-consumer beauty brand had experienced rapid growth, with sales up 600% in 2017 and a customer portfolio that grew by threefold. But, its founder, Emily Weiss, was not complacent. Instead, she dreamed of creating the world’s first socially driven brand that inserted its community into the buying experience so that the company was merchandising people, their opinions, and their content, just as much as they were merchandising products. As her team debates marketing strategies for 2018, they recognize the opportunities and challenges associated with managing Glossier’s rapidly scaling brand community. While the community’s support had emerged organically in the past, the team was now debating whether the company’s next phase of growth would need to be fueled by a greater emphasis on paid peer-to-peer sales representatives, professional influencer marketing, paid media, and a physical market presence.

Keywords

Brands; Brand Management; Brand Communication; Retailing; DTC; Influencer; Startup; Internet Marketing; Big Data; Crowdsourcing; Growth and Development Strategy; Social Media; E-commerce; Internet and the Web; Digital Marketing; Consumer Products Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Retail Industry; United States; North America

Citation

Avery, Jill. "Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community." Harvard Business School Case 519-022, January 2019. (Revised October 2019.)
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About The Author

Jill J. Avery

Marketing
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Related Work

    • April 2020
    • Faculty Research

    Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

    By: Jill Avery
    • January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
    • Faculty Research

    Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community

    By: Jill Avery
Related Work
  • Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community By: Jill Avery
  • Glossier: Co-Creating a Cult Brand with a Digital Community By: Jill Avery
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