Matt Britton interviews Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. Beauty, on strategic decision-making and the Super Bowl marketing that transformed the brand.
In this strategically insightful episode of The Speed of Culture podcast, Matt Britton sits down with Kory Marchisotto, Chief Marketing Officer of e.l.f. Beauty, to explore how bold strategic decisions can redefine brands and capture cultural moments. This conversation reveals the thinking behind e.l.f. Beauty's Super Bowl advertising campaign and what it teaches us about marketing in the modern age.
e.l.f. Beauty's story is remarkable. Founded in 2004 as an affordable cosmetics brand, it started in a niche market serving budget-conscious consumers. Over two decades, the brand evolved to become a cultural force in beauty, particularly among younger consumers. The brand commands passionate loyalty not because it's the cheapest—plenty of brands are—but because it delivers value, quality, and cultural relevance.
Kory explains that this evolution required strategic choices. The company didn't compete by being cheapest. It competed by offering genuine quality at accessible prices. It built community through social media and influencer partnerships. It embraced boldness in marketing and brand voice. It took risks others wouldn't take.
Matt explores how this exemplifies strategic thinking in the speed of culture. Successful brands aren't passive followers of market trends. They actively shape culture through bold choices. They take risks that competitors won't. They build communities of loyal advocates. They understand that brand value comes not from lowest price but from genuine connection and authentic differentiation.
The e.l.f. Beauty Super Bowl campaign is particularly instructive. Super Bowl advertising represents the highest-stakes marketing decision companies make. A 30-second spot costs millions of dollars. Success amplifies brand awareness across the nation. Failure is equally amplified. Most companies play it safe with Super Bowl spots.
e.l.f. Beauty chose differently. Kory discusses how the company made the strategic calculation that Super Bowl visibility aligned with their target audience and growth trajectory. Gen Z consumers, while skewing digital-first, still watch the Super Bowl. Cultural moments matter. Major sporting events remain rare opportunities to reach broad audiences simultaneously.
But the real strategic decision wasn't about buying the ad slot—it was about what to advertise. e.l.f. Beauty created campaigns that resonated with their audience, that felt authentic to brand voice, and that generated conversation. The ads didn't just reach people watching the Super Bowl; they became cultural talking points, extending reach exponentially through social sharing and word-of-mouth.
This demonstrates what Kory calls strategic courage. Making major investments without guaranteed return requires conviction. Understanding your customer deeply enough to trust that your message will resonate. Having the confidence to be boldly authentic rather than playing it safe.
The conversation explores what underpins smart strategy: genuine understanding of customers. Who is e.l.f. Beauty's customer? What do they care about? What values drive their behavior? What media do they engage with? What frustrates them? What aspirations drive them?
Kory emphasizes that understanding customers isn't theoretical. It requires research, listening, and genuine engagement. e.l.f. Beauty's community on social media provides direct access to customer voices. The company doesn't just broadcast to customers; it listens to what they say, how they use products, what resonates and what falls flat.
This customer-centric approach shapes all strategic decisions. When considering Super Bowl advertising, the question wasn't just "can we afford it?" but "will our customers be there and will they care?" The answer to both was yes. Similarly, when launching products, expanding into new categories, or engaging with causes, the question remains: does this align with what our customers care about and what they expect from us?
Matt emphasizes how this reflects broader leadership wisdom. The speed of culture means that companies must know their customers deeply. Generic marketing and one-size-fits-all strategies fail. Companies that invest in genuine customer understanding can make bolder decisions with higher confidence because they're grounded in real insight.
An important theme throughout the conversation is authenticity. Consumers, particularly younger consumers, have developed sophisticated skepticism toward advertising. They can smell inauthenticity immediately. They ignore or mock marketing that feels forced or disingenuous. They reward brands that feel real, that admit limitations, that engage with them as humans rather than consumers.
Kory discusses how e.l.f. Beauty's success partly comes from authenticity. The brand doesn't pretend to be luxury. It doesn't pretend to be perfect. It celebrates accessibility and value. The marketing feels like it comes from real people rather than faceless corporations. The brand engages with community conversation rather than broadcasting one-way messages.
This authenticity extends to values and causes. When e.l.f. Beauty engages with social issues, the company does so in ways that feel connected to brand values and customer expectations rather than as performative corporate activism. This alignment between brand voice, customer values, and company action builds genuine loyalty.
The conversation explores what creates real brand loyalty. It's not advertising expenditure—companies with massive ad budgets still build weak brands. It's community. When customers feel like part of a community, when their voice matters, when they see themselves represented authentically, they become advocates.
Kory discusses how e.l.f. Beauty has built community deliberately through social media engagement, influencer partnerships with authentic advocates rather than just paid promoters, user-generated content campaigns that celebrate customer creativity, and product development that incorporates customer feedback. The result is a community that feels ownership over the brand.
This community becomes a moat against competition. Competitors can copy products. They can match pricing. But they can't easily replicate genuine community. When customers feel loyalty to a brand community rather than just to a product, they're willing to stick with the brand through competition and price pressures.
Strategic bold moves require willingness to risk and learn from failure. Not every campaign succeeds. Not every product launch resonates. Kory discusses how e.l.f. Beauty approaches risk. The company makes bold bets but within calculated parameters. It tests ideas before massive commitments. It learns from failures and adjusts quickly. It maintains conviction about direction while staying flexible about tactics.
This reflects what Matt calls strategic agility. The speed of culture means that companies must move quickly and adapt based on real-world feedback. But movement without strategy is flailing. The most successful companies balance strategic conviction with tactical flexibility. They know what they're trying to achieve and why. They adapt how they achieve it based on learning.
Looking ahead, Kory shares perspectives on how beauty industry will evolve. She anticipates continued growth of direct-to-consumer channels. She expects further democratization of beauty—breaking down barriers of price and exclusivity. She sees sustainability becoming increasingly important. She expects technology to enable personalization at scale.
Most importantly, Kory emphasizes that brand values and authenticity will become increasingly important. As physical product quality becomes table stakes—most companies can make decent cosmetics—differentiation comes through authentic connection with communities. Companies that build genuine communities rather than just customer bases will thrive.
Matt connects this to broader cultural evolution. The speed of culture means that product alone is insufficient. Consumers increasingly buy brands, communities, and values. Companies that align these elements authentically will capture disproportionate loyalty and growth.
Key considerations: brand stage and growth trajectory, target audience viewing patterns, alignment with strategic goals, creative strength of campaign, expected return on investment. Super Bowl makes sense for brands with national appeal, sufficient budget to maximize the opportunity, and creative that will resonate. For niche or early-stage brands, other investments may yield better return.
Real loyalty comes from consistent delivery on brand promise, authentic engagement with community, transparency and honesty, delivery of genuine value. Manufactured loyalty comes from heavy promotion and advertising. Real loyalty is sticky; manufactured loyalty evaporates when incentives change. Companies build real loyalty through experience, community, and values alignment.
Through alignment of company action with brand values and customer expectations. Genuine commitment to issues matters more than visibility-seeking campaigns. Companies should address issues that connect naturally to their business, where they can have meaningful impact, and that align with authentic company values. When done right, it strengthens brand loyalty. When done performatively, audiences recognize it immediately.
Through combination of research and conviction. Understand your customer and market deeply before making big bets. Make calculated risks with clear success metrics. Learn from failures and adjust quickly. Maintain strategic vision while remaining tactically flexible. Accept that some bold moves won't succeed but that playing it safe guarantees mediocrity.
This episode of The Speed of Culture podcast demonstrates the power of strategic thinking grounded in cultural insight. e.l.f. Beauty's success comes not from having the biggest budget but from making smarter strategic choices based on deeper understanding of customers and culture.
For marketing leaders and business strategists seeking to understand cultural shifts and their implications, Matt Britton provides unique perspective. As an AI keynote speaker and author of Generation AI, Matt explores how culture shapes business and what successful leaders must understand about rapid cultural change.
To explore how strategic cultural insights can transform your marketing and business strategy, visit Speaker HQ, connect with Suzy's cultural intelligence platform, or reach out to learn more. For more episodes of The Speed of Culture, visit speedofculture.co.
Matt delivers high-energy keynotes on AI, consumer trends, and the future of business to Fortune 500 audiences worldwide.