As one of the largest beauty retailers in the US, Sephora wanted to engage the Latine community in a deeper, authentic way that fully embodies the retailer’s inclusive brand purpose.
Knowing that Latines are sophisticated shoppers who know what they want from beauty brands, Sephora’s approach to reach this community needed to be genuine to meet its objective of driving retailer preference among the group.
Through proprietary research, we uncovered an insight we couldn’t ignore: for the Latine audience, beauty is a communal experience. Beauty wisdom is passed down from generation to generation, as moms, tías, and abuelas educate the younger generations. In Spanish, this idea of “vanidosa” means self-care and self-pride, and it’s important to share beauty rituals with the next generation. Riveted by this idea of beauty being a shared story across Latine generations, Sephora had a unique opportunity to authentically tell the stories of this rich culture.
The idea: leverage rich brand storytelling to create a first-of-its-kind content series celebrating Latine beauty entrepreneurs and the profound connections between identity, self-care, and ancestral memory. The four-part series illuminates the journeys of influential beauty brand owners, shedding light on how their roots and heritage inspired and shaped their ability to create innovative brands that authentically represent and celebrate their communities.
From a creative perspective, our goal was two-fold: to both captivate audiences and inspire a deeper understanding of the Latine experience, using beauty as our way in.
We needed the perfect distribution partner to ensure this series got in front of the Latine audience at scale. When it comes to Latine viewership, Spanish-language content, and iconic media moments, we identified Peacock as a leader in the space. With more than 70% year-over-year in monthly viewership, a strong multigenerational Latine audience – 7M Gen-Z and 111 index in Latine Beauty Shoppers – they were the ideal platform partner.
We partnered to transform our idea into a Peacock original series, The Foundation of Belleza, which follows three Sephora beauty brand founders as they share their vulnerable, personal beauty experiences and unpack their definition of beauty.
Over the course of five weeks, we followed three Latine beauty brand founders—whose products are sold at Sephora—in their hometowns, meeting family, seeing their process, and understanding how rituals were passed from one generation to the next.
To adhere to Sephora’s goal of creating inclusivity in front and behind the camera, and to ensure stories are told as authentically as possible, not only did our subjects identify as Latine, but 92% of our crew – including Sundance-recognized director Gabriela Ortega – did, too.
Sephora needed a strong storyteller to guide viewers from each Latine community. We recruited relevant Latina talent, Emmy award-winning host and singer Adrienne Bailon-Houghton to act as our connective tissue, interviewing brand owners to uncover their origin stories, beauty journeys, and perspectives on how to inspire future generations.
Knowing that social distribution and organic traffic to Peacock would drive viewership, we included a key Latine beauty influencer in each episode and hired a behind-the-scenes crew to capture content that would feel native to their social platforms —expanding the narrative and connecting more deeply to audiences.
Over the course of post-production, we developed a rich media plan that included more than 75 pieces of social content, placement on Sephora’s Times Square billboard, and big media moments across Spanish language TV and award shows.
The series launched on Peacock on November 15, 2023 and captivated the attention of Latine viewers nationwide.
The results were nothing short of incredible and delivered on Sephora’s business and creative goals.
Based on the accompanying brand lift study, the series and surrounding media significantly enhanced perception of Sephora, including an off the charts 13% lift in Sephora brand trust among Latine audiences. The brand also saw an 11% lift in recommendation intent among the Latine community.
During the 10-week campaign we saw amazing results and consumer engagement with the content, beating all campaign goals by double digits:
- 44M paid media impressions
- 14M social media impressions
- 800,000+ hours watched
- Avg 12 minutes per viewer
- The second most watched Peacock original brand series
