I’m a fan…

In fact, I’m obsessed with Rhode. Everything about this brand screams intentionality.

From their marketing campaigns, to social media content, to community building; we can see they didn’t come to play.

To prove to you that good marketing is irresistible I’ll refresh your memory on how back in 2018 Hailey was bullied and hated by a lot of people after her marriage to Justin.

Despite this strain, she was still able to capture a lot of attention with her products.

It became a trend, people wanted to feel among; almost all the GRWM reels on social media had the phone casing with the lip tints.

I even tried saving up to get her peptide lip tints; because I found it to be sooo cool. I thought that the hottest girls use Rhode; I still think, lol!

Rhode launched on June 15, 2022 and they started with just 3 products. Hailey had no retail store nor wholesale deals…

She started from scratch with just a big Instagram followers and an intentional marketing strategy most people completely ignore.

What made my jaw drop was this…

In 11 days, Rhode crossed $10 million in sales. This is literally crazyyyy!

By 2025, it had generated $212 million in revenue, doubled down on its customer base every year, and then became the no. 1 skincare brand in Earned Media Value with about 365% growth.

Then, e.l.f. Beauty acquired it for $1 billion and it’s said to be one of the fastest billion-dollar deal that has ever existed.

In just 3 years, Rhode was worth $1 billion dollars with just 10 products.

Wow! I must applaud the geniuses behind this tremendous growth.

As a result of this rare success, a lot of opinions were raised. Some called it luck, some said it was due to fame (advantage of the Biebers name), and some said it’s just timing.

My opinion?

It was none of that, in fact I had to dig into the marketing strategy of this brand.

I analyzed their social media platforms, Hailey’s instagram page, it’s official website… literally everything that I could get my hands on.

I was obsessed with knowing their secrets… and I did find out, and I’ll expose all to you.

Here, I’ll judiciously break them down for you step-by-step, so you can steal what works and apply it to whatever you’re building.

Trust me, ALL are worth stealing, lol 😂

Let’s get down into it:

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Step 1: They Got Dangerously Clear on Their Positioning Before Launching Anything.

Rhode did the opposite of what most brands do; they launch first and figure it out later.

Hailey even acknowledged the brutal reality in the market before any of her products went live.

She said “I know I’ll have other celebrity beauty brands as competitors upon launching Rhode, so I developed my brands values that separate me from others.”

Those values were simplicity, affordability, authenticity, quality, and transparency; which has shaped every decision of this brand till now.

Hailey knew the game, she knew what she was getting into as regarding skincare. They were already established brands like L’Oréal, Fenty Skin, The Ordinary, Gisou,

This is how to be so dangerously good at marketing to attract your customers even in a saturated market.

In today’s market where businesses obsess over 10-steps routines and probably hundreds of Stock Keeping Unit, Rhode did something unexpected…

It launched with just 3 products and positioned around radical simplicity.

Rhode appeals to young people(Gen Z and Millennials) who want high-quality skincare solutions without the complex and time-consuming routines.

This approach is in line with recent trends, where there’s a rise in minimalism; consumers prioritize fewer but better skincare products.

Now, this is what most brands miss entirely. They don’t have a positioning skill.

Positioning isn’t what you say about your product, it’s how your audience see you, how they feel about you, and the trust they have in you.

Rhode made a promise and delivered every single one down to earth. It showed in every product, every campaign, and every decision they carried out.

What This Means for Your Brand?

Before you create anything, answer this questions:

• What does your brand stand against?

• What is the crowded, noisy, and wrong way of doing things in your industry?

• How will you do the opposite?

The brands that win don’t just have a good product, they have a clear point of view that attracts the right people and repel the wrong audience.

Step 2: They Built Their Audience Before Building Their Product

This step is what most businesses reverse and it costs them success.

Rhode didn’t launch and then start looking for its audience. In fact, long before Rhode officially launched, Hailey Bieber was already building hype by sharing her skincare on social media.

When the website went live, people were already waiting, longing, and wanting to buy for months.

She built a TikTok audience of over 15.7 million and used it to her advantage. She understood what trends meant and started trends that shook social media platforms.

The word “iconic” was her. The now-iconic “glazed donut skin” look? That was her idea. Who doesn’t want a glazed skin?

She did same with Latte and Strawberry Girl makeup. Here’s what most brands fail to understand…

Hailey played it smart by not flooding her socials. Her posts were rare but often converted, and always had high engagements because of this.

Every teaser and every glimpse of a new product screamed quality and was treated as an exclusive drop.

This is an intentional scarcity of attention and not just product. A good marketing strategy when played right.

Most brands train their audience to scroll past by posting too much, bombarding their audience with a lot of content till it becomes a circus show.

Rhode trained hers to stop and pay attention every single time Hailey showed up, because she showed up with intention and not desperation.

By 2024, she had grown from a founder-centric model to a community-driven one.

What This Means for Your Brand?

You definitely don’t need a million followers before you start, you just need a warm, engaged, and attentive audience before you launch anything.

Start building in public right now, share your process, your thinking, your story while you grow.

Create curiosity around what’s coming so that when you launch; you won’t be introducing yourself to strangers but you’ll be delivering value to people who have already been waiting.

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Step 3: They Used Scarcity to Make Demand Feel Urgent

Here’s what Rhode did…

Instead of launching 10 products at once; they launched 3 which created curiosity about the rest.

Their marketing team intentionally built scarcity which led to hype and “sold out” scenarios in this market.

This wasn’t even done by accident. It’s a system that works on a very specific psychological principle.

When something is limited, people would want it more and when things are sold out; it’s a proof that other people want it too (because it’s solving their problems), which in turn makes the next person want it too.

No human being like the thought of missing out on something good. They want to experience what others are experiencing.

This was their strategy:

• Announce product

• Build waitlist

• Sell out immediately

• Create secondary market demand

• Restock and repeat

We can see this during their Peptide Glazing Fluid launch. They used a preorder system with limited quantities to create a sense of exclusivity.

This built anticipation among customers with many rushing to place orders before it gets sold out.

During the series of event that led to the launch; Rhode carried out a teaser campaign across social media platforms, showing sneak peeks of the product’s formulation, benefits, and how the packaging was designed.

By August 2023, the brand had sold 1 million units of Peptide Lip Treatment alone. Just one product… because they made people want it before it arrived.

What This Means for Your Brand?

Stop making everything available all the time. Whether you’re launching a digital product, a course, an ebook, or a service; make sure you create a waitlist.

Tease before you launch, limit access, and when it gets sold out or closes; say it publicly.

Scarcity isn’t manipulation as most people think. It’s you communicating honestly about supply and demand.

When used in the right way, it creates this energy that makes people act just in time.

Step 4: They Made the Product the Message

Rhode made sure to pass the message with every product they produced.

They used phrases like “Glaze it. Love it. Repeat.” Also accompanied by a core tagline “Edited. Efficacious. Intentional.”

They named their products with words leaning into cozy, food-inspired terms instead of complex, common skincare names.

We see it in their Glazing Milk, Cinnamon Roll Lip Tint, Strawberry Glaze, etc.

This is conversion copywriting in it’s highest form. Every tagline, product name, and piece of copy on their website and social media makes you feel something before it even tells you anything.

Let’s use the Glazing Milk product for instance: it doesn’t just describe an ingredient; it describes an experience (the feeling of your skin being well hydrated that it glows).

These are terms that you don’t need to google about or ask a dermatologist, it’s something you understand at first glance.

Most ASMR-style videos featured application sounds and product styles that were very satisfying and it increased the sensory appeal of viewers.

This combo of aesthetics and hype made Rhode’s content feel like an experience not just a content.

This highlights the difference between marketing that conforms and marketing that converts. While informing tells people what something is, converting is showing the transformation by making them feel what it would be like to have it.

They also linked a yummy treat with skincare through the Krispy Kreme collab, and on their recent launch in Australia they linked up with A.P Bakery offering specially themed treats like "rhode lamingtons" and blueberry buttermilk waffles.

These created a fun and memorable experience that consumers resonated with in several ways.

What Does This Means for Your Brand?

Look at every piece of copy you’ve written this month:

• Does it describe features or does it evoke feelings?

• Does it just tell people what your product is or does it show the transformation of life after using it?

The copy that converts is always the one makes the reader feel something within first.

Hence, rewrite your headlines, product descriptions, email subject lines…, with this at the back of your mind.

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Step 5: They Built a Community and Not Just a Customer Base

One thing Rhode did that made me give them their flowers was this:

They mastered the art of user-generated content by encouraging its followers to engage with the brand through hashtags, fun, and aesthetic content.

This made their audience feel like they are part of the brand’s story; not just mere consumers.

This tells the difference between a brand that’s all about sales and a brand that is community-based.

Rhode’s customers don’t just buy; they participate in the brand’s identity. When someone post with a hashtag #rhodeglowup, they are not just showing a skincare routine; they’re showing who they are.

In essence, they’re saying: I am someone who values simplicity, glowing skin, and main character energy.

If you check their social media platforms, you’ll see that they frequently reshare consumers post, thus passing a strong message and strengthening community bond.

It tell them “You matter to us” and “You’re part of this.” This sense of belonging turns a one-time buyer into a loyal customer who brings other customers.

They extended their presence beyond the digital world by creating pop-up shops, photo booths that provided customers with an engrossing in-person experience.

During these events, fans can physically see the products, meet with influencers, and engage with each other in a way that feels more intimate and exciting.

What Does This Mean for Your Brand?

Always give your audience a way to participate not just consume your products.

Create challenges or tasks, reshare their content, and celebrate their wins publicly.

Ask them questions and genuinely respond. Ask for feedback and make readjustments where necessary.

The brands that build community build something even competitors cannot copy or imitate. This is when your audience start becoming a team.

Step 6: They Spent Almost Nothing on Paid Advertising

When I confirmed this, I was dazzled and I think this part of Rhode’s story should stop every marketer in their tracks.

The number that shocked the internet was their marketing expenditure, which was 11% of their total revenue.

Most DTC brands 30% to 50% of revenue into paid social advertising unlike Rhode that spent 1/5 of theirs.

I’ll show you how they did it…

They built the most important marketing tool most brands try to buy: which is the media trust.

Every trend Hailey started, UGC post a customer made, and every influencing video that genuinely showed love while using the product was a marketing strategy that cost Rhode almost nothing.

Because of this any dollar spent on marketing generated approx. 9x in return (9x Marketing Efficiency Ratio), while most brands hover around 3x to 4x in return (source directly from e.l.f.).

The lesson to be learnt here is very clear especially if you’re building a brand on a tight budget.

You don’t need to spend huge amounts on paid ads to build a profitable brand; you just need a story worth sharing, a product worth talking about, and a community ready to do the talking/hype for you.

What Does This Mean for Your Brand?

Stop obsessing about reaching more people and start asking yourself this question, “How do I create something worth sharing?

Build moments that can be shared into everything and that includes your content, your products, and customer experience.

When your audience becomes your marketing team, advertising cost will drop to the lowest.

Step 7: They Built a Real Business Behind the Brand

This is the final strategy I have for you and it’s what most people building a personal brand overlook.

They made 3 decisions in a structured manner that separated them from other beauty brands that launched during the same period.

i.) She Built a Real Executive Team:

Lauren and Micheal Ratner which are cofounders brought their operational and production expertise while CEO Nick Vlahos (formerly of The Honest Company) brought credibility and and experience on growing consumer brands.

Rhode was never solely dependent on Hailey’s social media posts for survival.

ii.) She Was Disciplined in Keeping the SKU Count

While some competitors would go ahead to launch 25-40 products to declare themselves as a full-line brand, Rhode launched only ten.

Each product coming to light due to consumer demand. This discipline and product restraint from the strategy is what made Rhode so desirable, acquirable, and worth $1 billion.

What Does This Mean for Your Brand?

Popularity will not build a profitable business but discipline, repeatable systems, and focus will scale a brand into an asset.

The Brutal Marketing Secret Hiding in Plain Light

After breaking all of this down for you, here’s the one thing Rhode did that nobody talks about:

They made people feel something before asking them to buy. Everything they did was designed to create this feeling of “I want to be a part of this world.”

This showed in every scarcity drop, product name, UGC campaigns, and every content.

I’d say this is what great marketing is all about. It doesn’t chase customers but creates a world that is so compelling, specific, and resonates emotionally that it makes the right people come willingly with their money.

Rhode didn’t win because Hailey is famous. They are many famous people whose beauty brand failed.

They won because behind that fame they built a marketing strategy so unique, clear, disciplined, and deeply human, which converted attention into loyal customers and finally made it worth $1 billion.

I’ve handed you the blueprint, the next question is, What are you going to do with it?

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About the Author:

Hi bestie 👋

I’m Ruth, the creative mind behind Rue Writes to Convert. Two years ago, I ditched my 9-5 to gain both financial freedom and explore life on my own terms.

As a copywriter and marketing strategist, I built this space to help you grow your business using words and strategic content that connects and converts while sharing every step of this journey with you.

I’m so glad you’re part of this community ❤️

Let’s keep in touch:

📧 Need help with conversion or any other marketing-related issues? Reach me via ruthnche115@gmail.com

📞 In need of strategy, clarity, and positioning to help you upscale? Book a 30 minutes clarity call with me.

🔗 On LinkedIn? Let’s vibe…

💬 Ask me anything, I’ll respond ASAP

Thanks for reading!

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By Ruth Odey — Join a community that converts.

Practical copy lessons and marketing tips that connects, converts, and help you live life on your own terms.

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