• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 13, 2022

E.L.F. Cosmetics, one of Gen Z’s favorite makeup brands, is partnering with pop singer Meghan Trainor and The Weather Channel for a co-branded campaign predicting another “E.L.F.ing Glow Storm.”

The effort casts Trainor as a meteorologist delivering a “special radiance report.” It promotes the company’s occasional Halo Glow Liquid Filter, a hybrid complexion booster that is part cosmetic, part skin care.

Patrick O’Keefe, vice president, integrated marketing communications, says more than 75,000 are on the waiting list for the re-release of the product.

In an email to Marketing Daily, he says the campaign stemmed from an insight from the Weather Channel, revealing that more than eight in 10 women change their personal care or beauty routine based on the weather.

The co-branding also offers a new way to connect with fast-moving young women -- especially given Trainor’s outsize sway on TikTok, where “Made You Look” is inspiring a viral dance craze.

To keep up with E.L.F.'s customer base, “identifying new and emerging social media platforms is always top of mind," O’Keefe says. " Our community of over 14 million social followers is important to us, and we want to continue to surprise and delight them. Aside from TikTok, E.L.F. has established a presence on other emerging social platforms like Twitch to empower our growing community of women gamers, and most recently BeReal, where we can be our true E.L.F.”

E.L.F., which stands for eyes, lips and face, launched in 2004 with a digital-first approach.

In its most recent ranking of top teen brands, Piper Sandler’s “Taking Stock With Teens,” E.L.F. is the highest-rated beauty brand, at 16%, followed by Maybelline at 11% and L’Oréal at 7%.

“Our vision is to disrupt norms, shape culture and connect communities,” O’Keefe tells Marketing Daily. “We are bold disrupters with a kind heart, fearless and heartful, and this means hanging out wherever our community is spending their time. This mindset continues to make us a standout purpose-driven brand, especially with Gen Z and teens.”