Like many direct-to-consumer brands, Rare Beauty isn’t a major TV advertiser. The makeup brand, founded by actress and singer Selena Gomez, has only run two TV ads in its roughly three years of existence. TV, after all, is an expensive marketing channel, making it difficult for many startups to rationalize the spend.
Rare Beauty’s marketing team found an alternative way to get in front of some of Hulu’s 48.2 million subscribers—without spending on a connected TV campaign. Gomez, who is currently starring on Hulu’s popular “Only Murders in the Building” series, often wears Rare Beauty makeup while in character as Mabel Mora—which led Rare Beauty and Hulu to team up to plug a handful of Rare Beauty products.
The partnership with Hulu was cheaper than buying a CTV ad, said Ashley Murphy, Rare Beauty’s VP, consumer marketing, although Hulu and Rare Beauty declined to disclose specific financials behind the partnership.