oh so we're just attacking me personally now

This week, Maddie analyzes how Rare Beauty turned a celebrity reunion into a marketing masterclass and her own personal downfall.

Enjoy 👇

Okay, picture this. I am Paul Revere (but like cuter, funnier, and wearing Rare Beauty blush) because BOY OH BOY do I have an announcement!!

You better sit down when I say this.

Rare Beauty just reunited Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato for a photoshoot that brought back the Princess Protection Program era (and a limited-edition blush, but minor detail).

And suddenly, we're all 12 again. My responsibilities? Unclear. My desire to rewatch Disney Channel? Off the freaking charts.

Okay, you guys know my take on nostalgia marketing and how powerful it can be when done right, so I won't even get into that.

But REALLY, this campaign was kind of genius.

Nobody woke up today desperately needing another blush. We have blush. We have blush we bought because TikTok told us to. We have blush we bought because the packaging was cute. We have blush sitting in our makeup bags that we haven't touched since Limited Too shut down.

But a Selena-and-Demi reunion?

Suddenly, I'm listening.

The product is blush. The product experience is emotional damage with free shipping.

And THAT is the thing about selling a feeling.

You can find a million products that do the same thing. What you can't find everywhere is a product that makes you feel something.

Rare Beauty isn't just giving people another reason to buy blush. It's giving them a reason to care about THIS blush.

Because apparently, a good enough campaign can make a product feel like a cultural event. And I fear I will be participating in the economy.

I'm so glad you asked.

Your customers aren't just buying what your product does. They're buying what it makes possible.

You're not selling project management software. You're selling the feeling of closing your laptop at 5 p.m. without 47 tabs open and a mild stress rash.

You're not selling email marketing software. You're selling the satisfaction of watching your open rates climb instead of sending another newsletter into the digital equivalent of a black hole.

And you're not selling another analytics dashboard. You're selling the ability to walk into a meeting and say, "Here's what worked, here's what didn't, and here's what we're doing next," without needing to fake your own disappearance.

Features explain what your product does. Feelings explain why anyone should care.

So before your next campaign, ask yourself: What are you REALLY selling?

Because the blush is the product. The chokehold is the marketing.

Well, I'm off to rewatch Princess Protection Program for the first time in years, so if anyone needs me, I'll be accepting receipts for the Rare Beauty blush you're buying me.

— Maddie

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