MAKEUP CARTEL
To boost sales, the beauty brand partnered with creator platform TRIBE for a campaign of Instagram branded content ads, which earned a 1.5X higher return on ad spend than regular photo ads.
Australian cosmetics brand MakeUp Cartel offers vegan, cruelty-free and locally produced makeup and skincare products that aim to leave skin feeling healthy and nourished.
lower cost per purchase from branded content ads, compared to photo ads
lower cost per impression from branded content ads, compared to photo ads
higher return on ad spend from branded content ads, compared to photo ads
MakeUp Cartel was looking to improve its direct-response marketing strategy and wanted to see if working with social media content creators would increase sales.
THE SOLUTION
Partnerships with creators
MakeUp Cartel teamed up with TRIBE, a Meta Business Partner that connects brands to content creators, to identify online personalities who would be a good match for the brand’s values, products and desired audience.
The beauty brand selected five creators, who posted photos of themselves on Instagram either using, or posing with, MakeUp Cartel products. The team then repurposed the photos, transforming them into branded content ads, which are marked as Sponsored. Running on Instagram, the ads used the conversions objective and linked to MakeUp Cartel’s website, where people could purchase products.
The team broadly targeted both campaigns to women in Australia over the age of 18. To measure the effectiveness of the branded content ads, the brand also ran a campaign of its business-as-usual photo ads at the same time, and conducted an A/B test to compare their performance. The A/B test showed that from October 30–November 20, 2021, the branded content ads earned better results compared to regular photo ads:
- 29% lower cost per purchase from branded content ads, compared to photo ads
- 19% lower cost per impression from branded content ads, compared to photo ads
- 1.5X higher return on ad spend from branded content ads, compared to photo ads