Pat McGrath isn’t just the most influential makeup artist in the world, but a business genius and marketing maven. She dreams up the biggest beauty trends and brings to life the products that create them. When she first announced the launch of her own makeup line, Pat McGrath Labs, the whole beauty world awaited in intense anticipation. Her first product, Gold 001, made its debut on the Spring 2016 Prada runway. Only 1,000 units were available and sold out in minutes. Next up is Lust: MatteTrance scheduled for launch on July 13th at 12pm.
She’s created unmatched intense desire for products from day 1, replicating her formula for success with each launch. Here’s how she does it.
1. TEASING McGrath incites lust for her products by teasing them long before their launch date. The full collection is up for preview on her website, though it won’t be available for purchase for weeks. She dangles her prettily packaged lipstick in front of consumers and holds it just beyond their touch so by the time it launches they can’t grab it quick enough. Through her gorgeous Instagram full of backstage beauty moments, McGrath debuts the shades of lipstick on the lips of her circle of stunning supermodel muses. The brand doesn’t even have it’s own Instagram because the products are inseparable from their creator, so promotion comes from within her personal page. The Lust: MatteTrance nude shade was secretly debuted on the runway on Naomi Campbell, while the bright crimson and orange red appeared in the Prada Resort 2018 show.
2. INSPIRING Pat McGrath has branded herself as a source of major fashion and beauty inspiration. The Pat Mcgrath Labs website barely appears to be selling anything, as a section dedicated to inspiration acts more like a dreamy Pinterest board than an eCommerce component. This behind the scenes peak at what inspires the artist makes consumers feel they have a bird’s eye view of the creative process, from ideation to the final product they hold in their hands. She inspires customers with the lavish imagery of her mysterious website, and draws them in deeper through the packaging. Each shade of lipstick comes housed in a weighty black metal bullet, dressed with a pair of gold lips and packed inside her signature sparkling sequence filled metallic bag.
3. PROMOTING With years of insight into the beauty industry, McGrath has built a network that includes fashion and beauty’s major influencers. She releases pertinent information about launches among the top tier of the beauty world from beauty editors, to celebrities, to her cohort of supermodels. She expertly leverages her personal relationships to get the word out about her products from the mouths of industry professionals who she knows her customers trust.
4. LIMITING McGrath is the queen of limited edition launches. After teasing the products, inspiring her customers and promoting her launch, she releases only a certain amount that are guaranteed to sell out almost instantly. She then will have a limited restock, and the knowledge of how quickly they sold out the first time lights a fire under consumers to buy now, driven by a fear of missing out. Exclusive distribution is another way of creating that limited edition extremely exclusive draw. Lust: MatteTrance will first launch on PatMcGrathLabs.com, and then on Sephora.com about a week later. The collection will be available at seven select Sephora brick-and-mortar locations. As described on the Pat McGrath Labs website, they are best known for “Spontaneous releases in limited quantities that sell out in a flash.”
5. EDUCATING Pat Mcgrath is the visionary behind runway trends and editorial shoots worldwide. She brings the runway looks she’s created for the likes of Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton to her customers. McGrath describes the runway influence in her collection by saying these lipsticks are “like those lips I used to create where we used pigment on top, but it just doesn’t have that drying effect.” She brings a glimpse of her supermodel world to the collection through the shade names. The shade Omi is named after McGrath’s muse Naomi Campbell. The shade Elson is named after model Karen Elson, and McMenamy is named after model Kristen McMenamy. Involving the customer at all steps of the process is important to make them feel a part of the Pat Mcgrath lifestyle. On the website, she further educates with her makeup artist application tips. Her editorial expertise has direct impact on her marketing approach and is unreplicable by anyone who is not THE Pat Mcgrath.
Pat McGrath Labs Lust: MatteTrance launches July 13th at 12pm. Let the countdown commence.
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