Kory Marchisotto

How This CMO Made e.l.f. Into Gen Z’s Favorite Beauty Brand

Time and again, e.l.f. stays relevant by riding pop culture waves and making a few of its own. Witness last year’s hit Super Bowl commercial, the brand’s first ever, featuring the hilarious Jennifer Coolidge discovering that e.l.f’s TikTok-favorite Power Grip Primer holds up in the stickiest situations. In a 2022 report, e.l.f. ranked as Gen Z’s favorite beauty brand, so it makes sense that cultural relevance, timeliness and TikTok are integral to the brand’s marketing strategy under Kory Marchisotto, who took over the job in 2019. In September 2023, the brand launched a limited-edition lip collection with Coolidge that was inspired by an outtake from its famous Super Bowl ad, where the actress came up with the lip shade “Dirty Pillows.” Like the rest of e.l.f.’s marketing, it was well-timed, relevant and entertaining. And it works. The company’s stock is up over 1,500% in the last five years, and e.l.f.’s brand awareness in the U.S. has doubled from 13% to 26% since 2020. Recently, the beauty brand launched its new initiative “Change the Board Game,” which aims to increase the number of women and diverse members added to corporate boards by 2027.

By Cristina Cala