When Rihanna excitedly announced that she would launch her inclusive beauty brand Fenty in 2017, most beauty-savvy folks rolled their eyes in frustration. After all, it would just be another celebrity-backed brand, right? Fast forward only a few years later, Fenty Beauty is worth a conservative $2.8 billion, Forbes has estimated.

In fact, the brand generated $100 million within the first 40 days of its launch. Rihanna, herself, has an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion — making her the wealthiest female musician in the world. So, what made Riri’s marketing strategy so darn successful? How did Rihanna’s PR and marketing strategies contribute to her brands’ unimaginable popularity? In fact, there’s a pretty easy-to-follow marketing alchemy that you can also incorporate into your own brand-building strategies.

What Can You Learn From Fenty Beauty's Marketing Strategy

Consistency

Marketers have been raving about the importance of consistency for quite a while. Brand consistency is what will lead to brand recognition. When customers recognize your brand (and have positive associations with it), they're more likely to make purchases and commit to your company for the long term. The content needs to carry a unique and identifiable voice, style, and pitch across all distribution channels. In simple words, brand consistency ensures that your brand is easily recognizable across all marketing channels and touchpoints

Creativity

Fenty has always tried to be very genuine and authentic. In 2023, customers are quick to realize who is actually making an effort and who hides behind sleaze “fakeness” to appear more relatable. They are constantly seeking an authentic connection t they can relate with, whether it be through an online interaction or the usage of creative activities.

Rihanna isn't afraid to leverage her and her marketing team’s creative ideas to show fresh, new ideas and products. That’s one of the main reasons why The Fenty Beauty Instagram account had over 1 million followers just a few days after the brand's debut.

Inclusiveness

Remember that your customers are the center of your brand. People have been very vocal –they demand inclusive representation and diversity. In Fenty Beauty’s case, this representation came in the form of a wider range of foundation tones to be more inclusive of people of color. In other words, it’s all about focusing on solving their customers’ pain points.

Be Yourself

If there’s one thing we can say with confidence about the ever-changing marketing trends is that authenticity is definitely in. Rihanna always manages to be unapologetically herself. Your brand's marketing and messaging align with the reality of its products, values, and actions. Authentic brands enjoy deeper connections, competitive advantage, and more revenue. Customers want to know the real person behind a company. People want to see and understand the reason that you made what you did. The ethos behind the product is as important as the product itself.

Trending Topics

Because the launch happened during New York Fashion Week, Fenty's debut was explosive, to say the least. In order to trend, Rihanna attended brand launches in a number of must-be locations, including Paris, London, and Madrid. This brand was propelled on social media as a result of Riri's participation in a European launch tour. From then onwards, Fenty Beauty continuous to keep up with the latest trending topics. This includes perfectly-timed product launches, posting videos that cover Rihanna’s involvement in developing beauty products and brand strategy, beauty tutorials, and more.

Accessibility

Granted, the importance of brand accessibility in the digital age is huge! Accessible branding is about giving customers the information they need in a consistent format, no matter where they find your brand. It’s about being responsive and reachable. For example, it’s important to give customers more than one avenue to chat with your team. Limited-time offers and giveaways are also a great way to upgrade your brand’s accessibility plan. Basically, just like Rihanna, you want to be in your customers’ social media feeds and inboxes.

Collaboration

It’s no secret that collaboration is a big part of every successful brand’s marketing strategy. One reason for collaboration is to open new, complementary markets and get your brand in front of potential customers. A collaboration will vastly increase your brand reach as you're talking to two sets of customers rather than one and gives a signal from one brand that the other brand can be trusted.

 So aside from the numerous testimonies and reviews from some of the most respected influencers in the beauty industry, Rihanna also started to collaborate with big industry names to increase brand awareness. For example, in 2020, she announced its collaboration with the popular Chinese tea shop HEYTEA. Fenty Beauty has also dropped a new interesting makeup collaboration with the art collective MSCHF. What you may not know is that Fenty Beauty was created in collaboration with LVMH’s Kendo Beauty division.

Customer Service

Last but definitely not least, customer service. Fenty Beauty has a reputation for providing excellent customer service – and so should you. Aside from encouraging customer loyalty and boosting sales, good customer service can also help you remain competitive in the marketplace.

Takeaway: Mogul Marketing... Rihanna Style!

Rihanna's ease of marketing and accessibility shows how she not only cares about her customers but has allowed her to achieve billionaire status and build multiple brands that the consumers love! From focusing on a wide range of traditionally hard-to-match skin tones to developing formulas that work for all skin types, and catering to her audience’s pinpoints, Rihanna has success is nothing less than inspirational. If you want to build a stronger, more sustainable marketing strategy, these lessons from the beauty mogul will help you along.