Tracee Ellis Ross has won over viewers with her work on “Black-ish,” the award-winning sitcom where she plays Dr. Rainbow Johnson, an anesthesiologist married to an ad exec. But in the last two years, she’s also been winning over consumers with Pattern, a beauty brand she founded for those with naturally textured hair. Ross, who was recently featured on the November cover of Harper’s Bazaar, spoke at Ad Age Next: CMO, a digital conference, about Pattern’s growth, how she markets the brand and that 2020 Mtn Dew Super Bowl spot with Bryan Cranston.

See Ad Age's 2021 Year in Review here.

Why she founded Pattern and how it has grown

Ross founded Pattern two years ago, though the brand was actually more than a decade in the making. Ross found that there were few products on the haircare shelves meant for curly, coily and tight-textured locks. She and others in the Black community had a hard time finding beauty items that worked for them.

“I wasn’t being mirrored back to myself in a way that I felt celebrated and supported both in how I cared for my hair and the way I styled my hair and supported myself,” she said. “I discovered through research that I was not the only one that was feeling this way—that there was a vast community of people that were also not feeling supported and celebrated in their hair care and how their hair naturally grew out of their head.”

Pattern started with 75 samples but has since grown to include dozens of new products in different launches. The brand, which counts Ross as CEO in addition to founder, has won beauty awards from Allure, Elle and Glamour.

How she markets the brand

As the face of Pattern, Ross is heavily involved in the brand’s marketing. From the beginning, she focused not on problem-solving, but on celebrating, she said.

“It’s more about meeting the needs than actually solving the problem—there is no problem, we just need the support and the celebration,” she said.

Ross herself appears in Pattern’s online videos and tutorials—something that was spurred by the lockdowns of COVID-19. She called Pattern a “mobile-first brand” focused on social media, where much of the advertising occurs.

“When it comes to marketing, it really is about sharing the information. It’s the education of the products, it’s creating content that really matches and mirrors the community that we serve, it’s about continuing to expand people’s understanding both of ourselves and our own hair,” she said, adding: “The truth is, that during the pandemic, we had to get creative. I had to get creative and the majority of our ads are me in my home with the products.”

Ross said those ads have done “incredibly well” as the authentic content resonates with Pattern’s community.

What consumers expect from brands

Ross said that many retailers need to learn more about the customers they serve—particularly in the curly, coily and tight-textured hair community. She said that group of consumers have different hair care patterns than those who have been traditionally served—for example, Black women use more conditioner than shampoo. Before Pattern began selling at Ulta Beauty and Sephora, Ross had a lot of conversations with executives around details such as package sizing and the frequency of Pattern’s shoppers.

“There’s a lot of data that’s missing around this vast group and community of people that the retail industry needs to catch up on,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons that d-to-c does so well.”

How she chooses other brands to partner with

Earlier this year, Ross starred in an ad campaign for retailer J. Crew. The “Make a Scene” campaign stars Ross as a film director on a fictional set. Ross has worked with other brands in the past and said that she is careful about choosing which marketers she works with—she weighs what a brand stands for, who the people are behind the scenes and what they’re willing to do before agreeing to a partnership.

“Hopefully, their ethos and their ethics and their mission matches up with mine,” she said.

Pattern, meanwhile, uses its packaging to showcase other organizations with like-minded missions of supporting people of color and women.

If she’s thinking about Super Bowl 2022

Ross appeared in Mtn Dew’s 2020 Super Bowl spot, a remake of “The Shining” with Bryan Cranston. She described the experience as “one of the most fun things” she’s ever done and starring in a Super Bowl ad as a “life-long dream.” While marketers have begun announcing their ad plans for 2022, Ross said she doesn’t have any plans to return to another commercial—yet.

“Not come February, unless something happens,” she said.

See Ad Age's 2021 Year in Review here.