Tarte’s Influencer Trip: What They Did Right + What They Got Wrong

Setting the Stage: Makeup brand Tarte took 30 to 50 beauty and lifestyle influencers (and their plus-ones) to Dubai for an extravagant three-day trip. The luxury getaway flooded people’s TikTok feeds and led to backlash for the over-the-top trip against the backdrop of a possible recession.

The marketing campaign really jumped from the Comments section to national news story after a campy “investigation” into the Tarte trip from TikToker Jack Mac, who works for Barstool. His video, breaking down the costs of the trip, prompted other news outlets to take the story seriously and question whether Tarte’s marketing efforts were out-of-touch.

So, let’s unpack what Tarte got right and where they could have done better.   

Why this campaign works:
First, let’s establish a few details about Tarte’s financials and a larger economic trend at play: Tarte is valued at somewhere between $50 to $150M; Tarte was the second most popular brand sold through influencer affiliate links on LTK in 2022; All data shows Gen Z is on track to become the biggest buyers of luxury products in the next decade.

So… the company conceivably has a decent marketing budget; is popular with influencers; and is presumably aware there’s a potentially appreciative audience for this type of campaign.

Against this backdrop, I asked marketing strategist Sara McCord to weigh in on the campaign from a strategic perspective. According to her, the Tarte influencer trip to Dubai absolutely makes sense.

“It’s a strategy the brand has executed for years (pre-Covid) that they’ve adapted for a new viral platform and a new generation of influencers by focusing on TikTok.”

Moreover, they’re making all the right moves assuming Tarte’s goal is sales, says McCord:

• The influencers they chose are known to sell out products (#1 example of this Alix Earle)

• TikTok is a platform where people who follow makeup influencers trust them and buy the products they use to replicate the looks 

• It created a viral brand awareness on TikTok that absolutely introduced the brand to potential new customers.

The bias of it all:
The public debate around this influencer trip got so loud, Tarte’s CEO Maureen Kelly felt she had to set the record straight, explaining to Glossy that the company prioritized putting its marketing budget into building relationships with influencers. 

“Every day, brands make decisions about how to spend their marketing budgets. For some companies, that means a huge Super Bowl commercial or a multi-million-dollar contract with a famous athlete or celeb. We’ve never done traditional advertising, and instead, we invest in building relationships and building up communities.”

Seriously, if we’re going to complain about a beauty company spending its marketing dollars on a trip for influential young women, has anyone ever asked why beer, soda or auto advertisers spend $6.5M for a 30-second Super Bowl spot?!  

3 Valid Issues to Consider: 
That’s not to say the Tarte trip couldn’t have benefitted from some smarter planning:  

• People have pointed out that there’s a significant lack of diversity among the influencers who RSVPd. It’s a known fact that black creators are denied opportunities like this one and it’s disappointing to see this persist.    

• Tarte says they didn’t pay the influencers, but according to the FTC Influencer Marketing 101 guidelines, influencers still have to disclose a material connection to a brand whether they’re “paying you or giving you free or discounted products or services.” Which means every post should have had a #sponsored or #ad hashtag — even if the company wanted this to seem like an organic (aka unpaid) experience.     

• Since these influencers weren’t actually paid for their time or content, I asked Lindsey Lee Lugrin, founder of creator payment transparent platform FYPM, if this sets a bad precedent for unpaid collaborations:

  “It seems like this trip was more of a one time thing for a product launch. Not paying influencers is more problematic if it’s their overall strategy and they’re relying on their brand being big enough with more hopefuls in the pipeline to sustain it sort of like Revolve does,” says Lugrin. 

  Furthermore, there’s clearly a difference in value in flying first class and staying at a luxury hotel than being offered a couple free meals or toothpaste, says Lee of brands trying to duplicate Tarte’s success. “Brands looking to copy this strategy should be mindful of this as well and try to approach influencers who are already their customers and want to work with their brand if this is the case.”

The Last Laugh: Tarte and its CEO are now having fun on TikTok with the (false) rumors that they fired their entire marketing department, which seems to demonstrate they’re as funny as they are smart.