e.l.f. Cosmetics

The objective

Driving awareness and conversions for a hero product launch

e.l.f. Cosmetics is a globally recognised, digital-first beauty brand known for offering high-quality, affordable makeup and skincare products.

For the launch of its Soft Glam Concealer, e.l.f. set out to achieve a dual objective: drive mass awareness while generating lower-funnel conversions in a highly competitive beauty category. Competing across both premium and value segments, the brand aimed to cut through the noise by tapping into its engaged community and creating authentic buzz around the product.

The strategy focused on positioning the Soft Glam Concealer as a must-have item, using TikTok to drive both discovery and high-intent action.

The solution

Driving Branded Buzz through premium placements and Spark Ads

To achieve its goals, e.l.f. Cosmetics activated a full-funnel strategy combining creator-led content with TikTok’s premium ad solutions to generate large-scale “branded buzz”.

At the core of the campaign was the amplification of high-performing organic and influencer content. By leveraging Spark Ads, e.l.f. boosted native creator videos, ensuring the campaign remained authentic, engaging, and aligned with platform behaviour.

This approach was supported by a strategic bundling of premium placements, including:

• TopView to drive high-impact visibility at launch

• Branded Buzz, which incentivises creators to produce content around a campaign, driving large-scale participation and generating high volumes of native, community-led videos

• Prime time placements to capture peak attention

• Category Search Hub to capture high-intent beauty searches

As part of the activation, e.l.f. became the first beauty brand in the UK to activate both primetime and Branded Buzz, as well as the first EUI makeup brand to roll out a Category Search Hub takeover.

Branded Buzz generated a large volume of native creative assets, which were then amplified through TopView and Spark Ads to maximise reach and visibility. Primetime added a premium, high-attention environment for the campaign, while Category Search Hub helped capture users actively searching within the beauty category and drive lower-funnel intent.

A mix of broad targeting and TikTok audience solutions enabled the campaign to reach scale while re-engaging users with demonstrated beauty interest.

By combining native creative with high-impact placements, e.l.f. ensured consistent visibility across the funnel, driving both awareness and conversion.

The results

Delivering strong brand lift, scale, and high-intent engagement

The campaign delivered strong performance across awareness, engagement, and conversion metrics, exceeding delivery expectations and driving meaningful business impact.

Key results included:

• 143M total impressions and 13.3M users reached

• 10M total video views

• 160K Search Hub page views, exceeding UK benchmarks by 194%

• 3.67% engagement rate, exceeding target by 115%

• +11.9% lift in ad recall and +10.6% lift in awareness

• +88% incremental lift in View Content conversions

Prime time placements exceeded expectations, delivering 126% of forecasted impressions.

The campaign also drove a significant increase in UK market presence:

• Audience size ranking increased from #16 to #1

• Impressions ranking increased from #19 to #1

• Engagement ranking increased from #20 to #4

The bundled placement strategy successfully maximised share of voice and drove sustained attention across multiple touchpoints. This momentum translated into real business impact, with the Soft Glam Concealer selling out across the UK before the campaign concluded.

The results reinforced the effectiveness of combining creator-led content with premium TikTok placements, with e.l.f. planning to continue investing in Branded Buzz to drive future performance.