Marketing Happy Hour - Inclusive and Timeless Marketing: The Playbook from Laura Geller Beauty | Laura Geller + Sara Mitzner

Episode Date: January 15, 2026

Laura Geller’s love of beauty began backstage on Broadway and behind the scenes with celebrities — but her true passion has always been making makeup work for real women. That belief led her to launch Laura Geller Beauty, a brand rooted in simplicity, inclusivity, and confidence at every age.In this episode, we’re joined by Laura Geller, Founder, and Sara Mitzner, VP of Marketing, to discuss how the brand continues to resonate with women 40+ while thriving in today’s fast-moving marketing landscape. From QVC to social media, affiliate marketing to storytelling, this conversation explores what it really takes to build longevity — especially when marketing to an audience often ignored by the beauty industry.This episode is especially relevant for millennial and Gen Z marketers navigating how to modernize legacy brands, build trust across generations, and market with purpose.Key Takeaways:// Women 40+ Are an Underserved Growth Opportunity: Brands that genuinely understand and respect this audience can build deep loyalty and long-term growth.// Legacy Brands Win by Staying True to Their Core: Evolution doesn’t mean reinvention — the strongest brands modernize their channels without abandoning their values.// Social Media Isn’t Just for Younger Audiences: With the right tone, humor, and authenticity, social content can connect across generations.// Storytelling Builds Trust in Beauty Marketing: Real experiences, real education, and real representation matter more than perfection.// Focus Beats Fragmentation: With so many marketing channels available, clarity on where to invest time and budget is critical.// Longevity Comes from Purpose: Building something meaningful — not just trendy — is what creates brands that last decades.Connect with Laura Geller Beauty: Website | LinkedIn____Join the MHH Collective! The MHH Collective is a community for marketers and business owners to connect, ask real questions, and grow their careers together. Join for access to live Q&As with industry experts, a private Slack community, and ongoing resources: https://www.marketinghappyhr.com/mhh-collectiveSay hi! DM us on Instagram and let us know what content you want to hear on the show - We can't wait to hear from you! Please also consider rating the show and leaving a review, as that helps us tremendously as we move forward in this Marketing Happy Hour journey and create more content for all of you. ⁠Join the MHH Collective: ⁠Join now⁠Get the latest marketing trends, open jobs and MHH updates, straight to your inbox: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our email list!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow MHH on Social: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ |⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

You need to see where that white space exists. I think you need to really be authentic and love the product and be passionate about it because it's hard to fill white space today. There's so much competition out there that how can anybody any more come up with anything that hasn't been done? So if you're going to come up with something that somebody else has or that many people have, you better have a point of difference. Welcome to Marketing Happy Hour, a weekly podcast helping marketing professionals and entrepreneurs build better strategies and hit career goals. I'm Cassie and I'm Allie. We're marketers and your hosts through these unfiltered convoes with your peers and experts in the space. Let's dive in.

Grab your favorite drink and let's get to this week's episode. So, so very excited about this conversation. We were talking off record that it's always such an honor to have both the founder perspective and the marketing perspective in a conversation. But we have two fantastic ladies from Laura Geller Beauty here today. I'll let you two introduce yourself, but welcome to the show. Oh, thank you for having us. We're so excited. We just said to you before you started that this is the first podcast that we're doing together

and we're together six years already. Oh, my goodness. Well, we are incredibly honored to be the first episode that you two are doing together. Again, the perspective's going to be awesome. We have some great topics that we're going to dive into. to Laura from your perspective of just creating the brand in the first place and then Sarah, just how you have worked alongside Laura and the team to just grow and build this brand. But please introduce yourselves, if you don't mind.

Tell us your names, of course. I already tease Laura's here with us, but let us know who you both are. Elders first. Laura Geller, and I am the founder of Laura Geller Beauty of like 28 years now, almost 30 years, actually. And I'm Sarah Mitzner. I'm the vice president of marketing at Laura Geller Beauty. Amazing. Amazing. I got to say, your team reached out on social to us, and I had to do a double take. I was like, wait a minute. This is incredible. And then just bringing both of you onto the show and being able to hear from both of you. It's such an honor. I feel like Allie and I have both grown up with your brand and just watching our moms use it, but also just friends and ourselves being able to dabble with the brand.

It's just been awesome to see such a legacy brand here in the marketplace and excited to hear from both of you today. So thanks for being here. Thank you. Of course. Well, I of course have to ask you an important marketing happy hour question. What's been in both of your glasses lately? Well, I could speak from myself because everybody already knows I'm a coffee gal. So give me a Grande Pike from Starbucks or a Sumatra with a little half and half and a stevia. By the way, a lot of times per day will be my goal. I love it. I'm going to say Arizona iced tea because I do love ice tea. You got your caffeine fix and a little bit of sweetness, and I'm a big fan of their green tea. And also a big fan of the Arizona iced tea brands, also founder-led brands who's maintained their pricing, the 99-cent can for decades. and they do amazing content and great job with merch and marketing. So also as a marketing professional, I'm a big fan of their product and a big fan of all the things that they're doing.

Oh, fun. That is one of those, again, legacy brands. Legacy. Yeah, we just like kind of don't think about the marketing of them sometimes because they're just kind of there. You know, like they're in the marketplace. We know them. Right. But that's fun.

I'm going to, we'll have to table that. for future. They do a great job. They do a great job. And they just opens either a factory up or some kind of like pop up experience where you can like go, you know, like a whole kind of tours that they're doing. Oh, wow. Yeah. That's amazing. Oh, that's so cool. I love it. And Laura, too, it's so funny. You mentioned Sumatra blend. I, one of my first jobs was working at Starbucks. And every single day I had to have a Sumatra blend coffee. And so I totally, I totally. I totally. really get it. It's a good one. I don't move without that first cup of coffee in the morning. That's for sure. Correct. Correct. Especially when we're building brands and working and we're

just hustling. It's important, right? So. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So, okay, I'm going to kind of tee up questions to both of you and feel free to, if, you know, Laura, for example, ask you question, Sarah, feel free to chime in too on the topic if you would like. But Laura, this question is for you. So just kind of looking back, I'm curious, like, what has surprised you most about how the brand and the beauty industry has evolved over the years? And feel free to also share a little bit about the brand, too, you know, why did you create it in the first place and what does that evolution look like over the years for you? I'll start with why I created it in the first place, because that speaks to why we are where we're at for this many years. And I think it was,

for me, the education of beauty. I felt this very big connection with her. It was important for me to educate my customer on how to use products, how to use beauty products.

So she felt empowered. I never wanted to just speak at her. I wanted to empower her to be able to replicate a look or feel comfortable using a product. Understand the ease of use of the product. And I think that's one of the things that sets me apart. It was when I started in the

business and I was doing makeup and even on famous celebrities, I would find them saying, all right, but how do I do it again? And I'd say, well, what do you mean? Like, I'll do it for you. You know, I'm thinking the celebrity could hire me. And they're like, well, I can't always have you. You know, you need to teach me. And I realized that education was not a big piece of it. Education may be about product. That's out there. That exists. But education on how to do it for themselves, not just a broad stroke of, here's how you put it on, but how do you do it for her individually. And so it started off like that.

And because I had the knack of being able to communicate that, I think it started attaching our customer to the brand. She would get it at home and go, oh, wow, this is. is easy to use. Oh, this is sort of like you said, full proof. And so being that I'm with the brand still after, like I said, almost 30 years now and much

longer as a makeup artist, I feel this kinship to always want to continue to educate and not leave her. And so I am, that's one of the things we do best together is making sure that I'm connected to

her and that she has access to me. And I don't think that exists in, maybe in a very small way, but I don't even know who else. I don't know how many founders are left that are still with their namesake brand. And doing the same thing, you know, of course evolving. But yeah, that's sort of the beginning and to where we are today. No, and it's a great point that, you know, the beauty landscape is ever evolving. And I think changing from a competitive landscape. And I'm curious, Sarah, what do you think really different?

differentiates Laura Geller Beauty from so many of these other legacy beauty brands out here that are really trying to stay relevant. I think more recently there has been the pendulum is swinging back to expert-led brands and makeup artists founded brands, which I'm so happy about because while I think there are a few celebrity brands that have a strong point of view and the celebrity had a reason for being for creating that brands, that's not the case in a lot of the cases. I would say it's more few and far between that those brands were created for a real reason and have a true point of view. But an artist-led brand always has a point of view because that artist either felt that there was a need in the marketplace from working with hundreds and thousands of products. There was something that they had to create that wasn't out there before.

Laura is one of those founders with Spackle Primer, our Primer franchise that she was working on, I could really let her tell the story, but she was working on Broadway, doing makeup, and on Broadway, they're dancing, they're sweating, there's rain coming down in a scene, and that makeup has to last and has to look amazing for the entire show performance, and has to look amazing for the person sitting in the last row. And she was using primers, which now are commonplace in the consumer market, but we're not at the time. They're really only used in professional settings on red carpets and for Broadway. So one of the first things that her brand came out with was the Spackle Primer franchise.

We have, you know, I think 10 or 12 different primers and different formulas in the franchise now. But it was one of the first consumer-facing primers because she felt, you know, regular primers. people need their makeup to last all day too. You know, not just if you're dancing on Broadway, but you want your makeup to, you know, start enriching the colors and all the amazing things that Primer does. It makes your makeup look better and last longer. And, you know, she created that for the average person. So that's a great thing about artist-led brands.

I think what really stands us apart being an artist-led brands is that Lauren knows what the marketplace is missing because she works with so many different. products over the years and she used those products on a lot of different women, not just celebrities with perfect skin, but Laura had her own store here on the Upper East Side where she worked with real women who had all different types of skin types, so you know, knows what's going to work if your skin is drier or if you have wrinkles or if you have acne. So I think that's what really makes us stand out is that we are led by a professional who has a reason for being.

And that's more rare in the marketplace. but as I said, when I started, the pendulum is swinging that way, and more artist-led brands are coming to the forefront, and people are celebrating those artist-led brands. So, you know, we're really excited to see it kind of coming back around to makeup artist-led brands. That's awesome. And talking through social for a second to Sarah,

I'm just wondering, in terms of crafting content for an audience, 40-plus audience, for example, How do you do that? What is that strategy looking like? Well, still trying to feel modern, fun, and inclusive. You guys had a post on your page recently, whereas a mother and a daughter both using the products, right? So it still is obviously accessible to other audiences, but knowing that that is your core target, how are you developing content? What platforms are you focusing on, etc.? You wouldn't know it, or you wouldn't think it potentially, but we are actually focusing on TikTok. There are a lot of women 40 plus on TikTok. TikTok, I think it gets a reputation for being a Gen Alpha and Gen Z platform, but we have hundreds, if not thousands, of TikTok affiliates that are all over 40 that are promoting our line on TikTok shops, where I believe like the number two color cosmetic brand on TikTok. So the thing about Women 40 Plus is one in every four women in America is over 40. So there's a lot of us, and we're on social media. So we're on TikTok, we're on Instagram, we're on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube,

and those are all the platforms where we show up. We really focus on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, but also working on our YouTube and our Pinterest strategy as well. So, you know, we don't really look at it differently than I think I would look at it if I was working at a brand that focused on younger women because, you know, they're on social media just as many hours and on the same platforms as the younger generations. That is so interesting. And I just love hearing that insight because I feel like we don't typically get that from, you know, from other guests and other brands.

So thank you so much for sharing that. Of course. Pivoting Laura, one of the things that you've always done so well is is really making makeup relatable, approachable, and fun. And so how do you see that storytelling and authenticity really play into how Laura Geller, but also other beauty brands are connected? with those women. I don't know that I could speak to how other beauty brands are doing it.

They keep me so busy that I don't even have time. She probably knows. So that's a better question for her. But for me, I think one of the things that Sarah touched on is so true is that as a makeup artist, when I'm coming up with product development ideas, it's so funny because I've been creating product for almost 30 years. And now people are coming out with things. And I'm like, did that. Ten years ago, did that. You know, what's old is new again. But, you know, it's hard to innovate. But what I'm always thinking about, there's never a moment that I don't touch a product

that I go, okay, I imagine when someone gets this home, whether she's 19 to 90 below or beyond, I say that all the time, because we are now a three-generation. brand. And so like you said at the beginning, like your mother may have told you or a friend, I hear about their grandmothers telling them. People have gotten emotional and cried to me because they remember their grandmothers who are no longer with them. That's so sweet. And I will tell you that when I'm creating the product, I'm thinking about, not that she's over 40 only, but does she understand how to use this? Will it be easy for her? Will it make a difference? Will it simplify her routine and her life. I can't tell you how many products I turn away and turn down or isn't up to my

standards. I mean, I probably drive my team crazy, but it's one of the things I think that has kept the brand so relevant. Even to the point now, one of the things, I think Sarah knows this, but I'm working with the product development team on is, you know, even over 40, your eyesight starts to get a little more challenged. So labeling things that are bigger, color coding things so that you don't have to scramble with everything that looks the same, but it'll stand out in your vanity.

And when you turn it over, you don't need to put your magnifiers on. I'm working on all of these things to simplify and streamline our line of products. And I think that's what makes the authenticity really shine through, is they can feel your presence in that and knowing that it is coming from you. It's really special.

Thank you. Thank you so much. That means a lot. And I care to a fault. I mean, Sarah knows. I mean, I'll be on. If I can't sleep, I'll go on comments. And, you know, we have wonderful people answering social media things.

And I'll just jump in and start, especially if it's a question about how to use a product or they don't understand why the product's not working for them. I'll usually be able to solve it for them because I'll know that they're using it wrong. Or maybe that wasn't the right product for them. But certain things, I'll have the nuance of knowledge. And I find myself still connecting in that way with her. Before we get back to the episode, we wanted to take a moment to tell you about our latest offering for marketing professionals. We get asked all the time where marketers can actually connect outside the podcast.

So we built it, the MHH collective. Monthly live sessions with us and industry experts, real career conversations in a slack space that's actually helpful and not noisy. If you want to learn with people, not just listen, we'd love to have you. If you want to join us, you can find the link in the show notes below. And that's actually a question I just wanted to ask kind of off the cuff here, if you don't mind, Laura's. You are not only involved in product development and building the brand, etc. But you are a face on social. you are showing up and connecting with the audience.

So how has that been not only impactful for you personally, but what have some of those conversations that have happened or discussions that have sparked from social from you showing up and connecting with the audience? How has that just been beneficial from a product development and a messaging standpoint innovation? Yeah. We're laughing because I want to hear what she has to say.

Because six years ago, she had a son. much smaller presence on our social media and on our website and was doing a lot of work behind the scenes on the product development side of things and on QVC as the spokesperson for the brand and selling the brand there and in our retail relationship she was really showing up but was less of a presence on our social media but if you're with her for five minutes as we've just been. I mean, you can't not point a camera at this woman. I have the easiest job in the world because

I mean, we just put that ringlight on and the camera on and, you know, you can't fake authenticity. I've worked with a lot of talent, a lot of really professional talent, you know, either actors or musicians or models or influencers over the years. And

I see a lot of people, the camera goes on and then their camera personality comes on. And with Laura, when we turn this record, It's the same personality. She looks like this. She acts like this. She talks like this.

Whether the camera is pointing at her or not. And what a blessing that is for me as a marketing head to have a talent like that that needs no coaching and, you know, and is just right there connecting with the customer, whether she's on social media at 3 o'clock in the morning teaching someone how to apply their eyeliner. or, you know, when we're doing some more produced videos for social. But I'll let her answer whether she loves it or not. I have gotten her to do it. We film a lot of TikToks almost daily because there's just no substitute for her. And I think that's one of the great tools that I have to lean on as a marketer as a founder-led brands

that I can lean on her to teach the customer, to entertain the customer. and to build that connection with the brand through her. Because they're resonating with our products and they're resonating with our brand message. But those things were developed from her, from who she is. So the brand is an extension of her. The products are an extension of her. So if they're resonating with a lip product we made or if they're resonating with some of our content, whether she's in the video or not, her presence is there.

And that's what they're connecting with. and I think that's been a huge key to our success, if not the key. Thank you for saying that. Well, I mean, typically, if she's here, and this is my home here in New York City, she might be doing something with me and then go, oh, just one minute. Can you just get this one TikTok for me? I mean, this is a marketer that doesn't stop coming up with ideas. Her and her team, I do like it.

The truth is they have made me so relevant, you guys. I mean, there's no place I can go now that people don't. stop me and go, oh my God, you're killing it on social. Oh, my God. Who's doing your social? Do you outsource it? Do you have an agency? Can you recommend them? I'm like, I'm not telling you who's doing it because I'm never letting them leave me. And also, they capture my personality. And sometimes, you know, I bust their chops and I'll say, oh, are you kidding? Like yesterday, when they were here doing TikToks and made me stand on my kitchen island, which I never did in my life and hug a pole, just saying.

That video is coming to... I was going to say, we can't wait to see it. Yeah. And I just want to get it over with, so sometimes I just go along with it and go along with it. And then I'm like, they go, just put this hat on and just put and just say this and just talk over that. And I'm like, okay, all right, whatever. And then three months later, it emerges. And I'm like, oh, that's what that was. I didn't know what I was doing. And now that's what it is. And so, you know, it was. And so, you know, it was. really has, for this 67-year-old woman, it has put me on the map and made me relevant.

And frankly, I think there's an inner child in me that still wants to be a stand-up comic. And so they're getting that out of my system because I get to do a little bit of fun stuff. And so it's actually, she's right. I mean, I don't mind it. I like it. Sometimes it's a little annoying. I'm not going to lie. But for the most part, I like the end product.

And if I don't, it's rare, I will text her and say, uh-uh, no, no, no, no, you got to take that now. And she'll say back, but Laura is performing well. Everyone is loving it. We can't take it down. Everyone is loving it. It's performing well. It's the comments. It's the engagement rate.

Every marketer ever. I think that happens potentially once or twice a year, though, when we're posting twice a day. So I think, I'll say, it's a, it's a very. volume game though and that's I think that's obviously been the toughest part both as us as marketers producing that amount of content and then you know asking Laura to help us produce that volume of content but yeah I think we we really lean into a sense of humor and comedy that also stems from Laura so we're building the strategy around the entrepreneur she is the mother she is the makeup artist she is and the and the comedian she is truly and when we're thinking of ideas

is, you know, we're thinking of, you know, Laura be hilarious doing this or, you know, if it's Mother's Day, you know, thinking of, honestly, private stories Laura has told us about, you know, what her own mother has meant to her and what having her son has meant to her and then asking her to share those with our broader audience. So, you know, we really, when me and my team, when we're thinking about our social strategy and our content strategy, we think about Laura the person and then are building the strategy and the content around her. Oh, I love it. Well, and speaking of just strategy and content too, Sarah, I'm, you know, there's so many other channels too that we could discuss here, but with so many of those channels available to us as marketers today, which is a blessing and a curse, right? Because we're like, what do we focus on? Where do we show up for our community? But just thinking about some of the core ones, you know, there's influencer, there's email marketing, affiliate, etc. Where do you specifically from a tactical standpoint decide or how do you do you do? decide where to focus your energy and budget today? I mean, it's a group decision with our executives

and our leadership team at the company that we're deciding where to put dollars and we're a very data-driven company. We are in mainly online. We're on saffora.com, ultra.com, our own ZetaC site, and Amazon as well as QVC, but not in very few actually brick and mortar stores. So, The benefit of that is that we get to be really data driven because we know who's buying what online in real time. And I can look at daily sales and look at click-through rates and look at different images that they, look at a heat map of what they lingered on on the website versus photos that they didn't seem as interested in. So we get to be very data-backed and we make a lot of the decisions about our overall business strategy and our overall marketing strategy, you know, basically based on performance.

of how certain programs are doing. We have a very strong promotional strategy that really shows up in our email marketing. So we're always, I mean, literally daily making tinks and tweaks to that program and figuring out how to personalize our email marketing more. So if you live in Florida, you know, we're serving you,

maybe are better than block serum foundation that has SPF in it because you're out in the sun more all year rounds where, you know, if you're in New York, you know, focusing on our hydrating products because our skin gets drier in the winter. So we're always working on, you know, elevating the programs we already have, like email marketing. We have an SMS program.

Of course, we have an influencer program and an affiliate program. So we're really working on all the above. But we apply a test and learn strategy. So, you know, we test a lot of different platforms. on Apploven, for example, for gamers. We saw a lot of success there, but we started small, but then we invest more in it as we see it working. So in general, I would say our strategy is we're open to testing and trying sort of any avenue, and then we build on it.

Even in real life events, that was a very small part of our strategy years ago. When I first started, Laura and I did an event at a winery, and we only had 20 or 25 spots available. And it was come, spend the day at the winery with Laura Geller and the team and have lunch with her and get to know her and giving out products. And it was a little bit around COVID time. So I think people were hesitant about in real life in general. But I would say we actually struggled to really even – and it was a full day commitment because we took them on a bus to this winery on Long Island. But we really struggled, honestly, to get 20 people to come spend the day with us in real life. And then we really steered away from doing in real life events and focused on our influencer marketing and focus on our different digital channels for the last few years.

And then we slowly started to do more influencer events and dinners with small groups. We did a lunch in L.A. with only six people. Then 20 people. Then 40. The last one we did in L.A. was 75 people. And then we felt like, okay, people are really, you know, we're creating this community over a year. It took a lot of time, and because we're so authentic, you know, people are coming. These are people who Laura has become friends with that she has lunch with, you know, outside of the business, that call her when they come to New York to see a show and go to dinner.

So we build things slow, but we most recently had a pop-up. You know, we felt like our influencer events and our creator community was so strong, you know, maybe the customer community is there too, and they would show up for us in real life, knowing we don't have a retail store, and over a thousand people came in only six hours to our New York City pop-up event. So it took many years, but we started small and we build on it over time. So when we're looking at the strategy, we see what's working, and then we take it to the next level and the next level and the next level. I would say our overall marketing strategy, we never go big out the gate. We usually start small, whether it's an influencer program or doing an in-referral.

life event. It always starts out as a six-person lunch before it becomes a thousand-person pop-up. And the same thing with our marketing dollars. We start with a small amount of money and then grow it over time as we learn. I think that's really inspiring just for listeners as well as they're working with maybe smaller budgets and smaller teams and seeing just how things have grown for for you over time. I think it's really inspiring. So thank you so much for sharing that. As we wrap up this wonderful conversation with you both, I have a question for both. of you actually, if you could give one piece of advice to either marketers on your end, Sarah, or founders on your end, Laura, listening who want to really build something meaningful and

lasting, what would that advice be? Okay, I'll go. I think you need to do your homework really well. I think you need to see where that white space exists. I think you need to really be authentic and love the product and be passionate about it because it's hard to fill white space today. There's so much competition out there that how can anybody anymore come up with anything that hasn't been done? So if you're going to come up with something that somebody else has or that many people have, you better have a point of difference, whether it's the delivery system or the ingredient or, you know, are you the front-facing person? Not everybody is going to be a founder that wants to be a front-facing person.

I do think connecting with her, with your audience, is important. And I spoke a number of months ago at Fashion Group International, and I said, whatever it is that you have, it's a service or a product, maybe find somebody who is as passionate as you are about it, and maybe put them in a role where they're front-facing, so that people have that experience of talking to someone, because I do think it sets you apart. Knowing who your cohort is and your community is,

like community building is so important, and the next level of community is really treating your community, like I think of us as concierge is. So I think some of my advice is a lot of what's happening because of the volume is that influencers, or even UGC creators or people are even treating their customers in this very transactional way. You know, like we're going to put a sale in front of you

and you're going to click through and you're going to buy. And it's just, it's about the transaction, you know, and even our U.S. design, it's all about getting that transaction, you know, and getting the sale. And then even from the influencer, you know, like, okay, here are the deliverables and you're going to do it, and it feels transactional. And I think if you're a brand, you know, like that,

and it's very easy to get focused on. get focused on that because that's just the nature of the market and the nature of being in marketing, right? Like you need the influencers to, you know, do the video on the product and put it out there for their audience. And so your relationship with them becomes transactional. And the same thing with your customers, you know, you've got to put the product on the website, give them the information and the price. So then they make the sale. And it's easy to get caught in that hamster wheel of everything being transactional. And where I think we win, and is because we have such a strong cohort community

based on people's emotional connection and the authentic person that Laura is. And so what we try to do and what I would, my advice for other marketers is figure out who your cohort is, whether you're at a founder-led brand or not, but who is your community and what are they resonating with and don't treat them transactionally. Let your creators interpret the product

as they see fit for their own audience. Give them that creative freedom. That's why you're hiring them. And even for your customers, you know, how can we be giving you personalized messaging on your birthday and show up for you in a way that means something to you that you feel like this brand really cares about you? Because we really do. Loras personally, as she mentioned, answering you at 3 a.m., if you're sending us a question on Facebook. So, you know, trying to, you know, act like concierges.

How can we help you? How can we be there for you? How can we show up in your life and in your community? So you're an evangelist for our brands and giving us that credit and recommending a sport of mouth. And so I think find out who your cohort is and then treat them like the community they are and love and respect them the way you would and the way Laura did when she had a brick and mortar store and a customer would come through the door. Yeah. It sounds like just from this conversation, a big focus of what you all do in general is just helping other people, being there, building community, educating on makeup, et cetera. And so I think that's such a powerful intention and something that all brand builders should remember is underneath, you know, the prime making money and having sales and things like, what are you actually doing to impact people and help your audience?

And so thank you for just that, that simple reminder of the power of community, the power of people. the power of just serving and helping others. That's always very important to be reminded of. So as we close out too, we want to stay in touch with both of you individually, but also just the brand in general. So let us know if you don't mind how can we stay in touch with you two, but also Laura Geller Beauty as well. Yeah, so Laura Geller Beauty is where you can find everything and laura geller.com. And then my personal, but it's really the same thing. It's Laura J. Geller. Excellent.

On Instagram and TikTok. Yeah, follow Laura at Laura J. Geller. Yeah. And then follow the brand at Laura Geller beauty on all platforms. And then my personal is Madam Mitzner, where I do post about our different marketing campaigns. So, yeah, follow me as well at Madam Mitzner. And then you can go to laura geller.com to find over 700 skews of products, amazing makeup for women. 19 to 90, but especially made for women 40 plus and see a lot of great Laura Geller content on

there as well. Amazing. Thank you both so much for just sharing your story, your journey, your insights with us today. We are honored to have you on the show. Check out all the links below if you want to connect with both Laura and Sarah individually and the brand as well. Thank you both so much for being here. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Kelly and Cass. Thanks so much for listening to this episode of Marketing Happy Hour. If you enjoyed it, make sure you're subscribed to the show and sign up for a weekly newsletter with insights and marketing resources. We also invite you to check out the MHHH Collective, our community for marketers looking to connect, grow, and learn together. Check out the links in the show notes. We'll see you next time.