The Marketing Bestie Podcast with zoeunlimited - you don’t need a man, you need a brand

Episode Date: April 13, 2026

selena gomez chose herself (and $2 billion brand). you don’t need a man, you need a brand💡claim your exclusive FREE stan store ⁠⁠https://taap.it/freestanstore✨Start your dream brand TODAY with a FREE shopify trial https://tapthe.link/zoeunlimitedshopify* A case study on digital marketing, branding, and business growth from a Gen Z perspectiveHow did selena gomez go from an alleged “pick me” to the most beloved beauty billionaire?Love the series? 👉🏻be the 1st to pre-sign up for our free email list (capping at 10,000) https://shorturl.at/hiRe0Learn & Grow with me.💖 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoeunlimited/💜 TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@zoeunlimited🖤 Listen on Apple & Spotify: http://apple.co/zoeunlimited https://open.spotify.com/show/0ZReedpR6Bf1kvHeKBuWY1🪭 All my outfits https://www.shopltk.com/explore/zoeunlimited👩🏻‍💻 LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/zoeunlimited🛒 Essentials https://www.amazon.com/shop/zoeunlimited📧 Business inquiries: [e-mail]👉use code ZOEUNLIMITED for 10% off ALL travels on Klook https://t.ly/aA76T

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Plan started just $12 a month. Learn more at tellus.com slash online security. No one can prevent all cybercrime or identity theft. Conditions apply. How does Selena Gomez go from an alleged pig me? Pick me Blot to one of the most beloved beauty billionaire. Miss Salina, Queen!

She is officially a billionaire! Nothing is a coincidence. It's all marketing. Hey, I have this idea. This is the first time that I've actually said it. And the reason why is because I didn't want it to sound, I don't want to sound like a bit. If there was someone born on the wrong side of the for-you page, it must be Selena Gomez.

Despite having the talents to not just act, not just sing, but also build a mega business, the most follow-women on Instagram, best friends with Taylor Swift, and dated the biggest names in entertainment. Somehow, this attention turned sour quicker than the TikTok ban, and almost spoiled a clean brand that took 20 years to build. Guess who has a boyfriend? Pick me. M-a-blopped. We all know Selena Gomez.

I love you, you're my god! The former Disney darling turned pop star, actress, and yes, the billionaire founder of Rare Beauty. You know that feeling when you made something and you're like, I made this. Oh, this, this little old thing? I made this. But what makes her story so fascinating isn't just her success, but a contrast.

What did they say about this? Yeah, uh, yeah, it was the first time I'd ever been called fat. I don't want to disappoint John. I don't want him to think that he's think that he signed some fucking Disney Kim. For years, Selena's name was synonymous with drama, public feuds, toxic relationships, and tabloid chaos. And yet, she re-rided herself into one of the most respected, admired, and let's be honest,

one of the richest women in Hollywood. So how does she do it and what makes rare beauty so rare? As your marketing bestie, who graduated top 1% UCLA business economics, with a background in marketing, we're going to explore how Selena Gomez not only survive, but thrived through endless dramas to build a billion dollar beauty empire. Never in my wildest dreams thought that fair beauty would turn into what it's become. Hello. And how you can take things from her story and apply them to your dreams.

Because a brand is not about simply putting your name on a blush. Many have tried and failed. Branding is about how your dream college, dream job, dream boyfriend sees, You. And yes, you have one. Bitch, I have two bitches that be talking shit in this place all the time. Do what? Oh. I'm creating this series to analyze pop culture girl icons from a marketing perspective

because of the power of influence they have over a generation of young girls. I'm really excited about today's episode because as someone who is fascinated by the beauty industry and geeks out on marketing, I've had the chance to be on the Zoom call with Selena Gomez, and have more insights to share, including branding warning she should look out for at the end. Because despite a powerful rebrand, no brand is impeccable. I'm also starting an email list and if you want early access to this exclusive community of deeper dives, Insides, trends, make sure you pre-sign up in the link in the description. It's completely free.

Let's begin with Selena 1.0. Selena Gomez's career started like many Disney stars, bright-eyed, polished, and primed for success. As early as age 10, she began her acting career through Barneys, and by 15, she was already a household name for her role in Wizards of Waverly Place. Hey! A role that made her one of the most beloved Disney stars of her generation. Gosh, someone set me flowers, I wonder who it could be. Me!

But Disney fame is a double-edged sword. That quickly led to a prolonged drama era that she did not sign up for. As Selena's stardom rose, so did, The Scrutiny. Her on-again, off-again romance with Justin Bieber became Hollywood's favorite soap opera. What is your relationship like now with Justin? I support him. I think I always will.

Every breakup, every reconciliation, every tear was splashed across headlines, making her more famous for her personal life rather than her work. He called me this morning about the song with Justin and I was like, I'm like, when am I gonna just be good enough by myself? Like, when am I gonna be, like, when am I gonna be good just by myself? From a marketing angle, this is the ultimate branding purgatory. When your personal life becomes your brand, you're at the mercy of everyone else's narratives of you.

And it was about to get ugly. From at first facing the backlash of dating Justin Bieber to being engulfed by the Jelina brand, to then being accused of playing the victim in the messy love triangle of her, Justin, and, and Haley Beaver with the internet's never-ending comparison of her against Haley Bieber, fueling a toxic narrative about the two women competing for Justin's attention. Yeah, I'm not afraid to just say that's kind of repulsive.

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From Binge All Episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. Haley Online, along with the allegations regarding her kidney transplant feud, Man, I'm tired by even just reading this laundry list. You ever heard a rumor about yourself and actually wanted to hear more? Like, damn, what did I do next? All of a sudden, the bright-eyed girl-next-door image turned into the sticky label of a victim and quote-unquote, pick me by the wrong side of the algorithm. This in anyone's right mind would be the worst time to launch a brand,

but not for Selena Gomez. With the ever-growing graveyard of celebrity launch brands, How is it that at the height of the dramas, when Selena was accused of being the quote-unquote textbook definition of Pygmy, not only launched Rare Beauty, but took it to a billion-dollar company, with the insane 50% year-over-year growth in revenue as seen in 2023. Well, when everything seems out of control, Selena Gomez owned the mental resilience to do something simple, yet not easy. Control what is in her circle of influence and let her actions speak.

Hence, we are ready to talk about the genius rebrand from a quote-unquote pick me to beauty billionaire. You have reached billionaire status of the success. Starting with marketing success factor one. The marketing principle of brand mystique. Minimal overexposure. The elusive yet present strategy. I am on a diet boot. I am no longer eating anybody's V.S.

their negative energy and other bitches problem. Feeling burnt out and drained from being overexposed in media, Selena disabled all her comments on her Instagram except for only her friends and took a major step back from constant media exposure, which is a scary move for any personality-based brands for the risk of losing relevancy. But instead of actively fighting the negative backlashes, Selena Gomez took a step away from Hollywood and began putting focus on building rare beauty as well as priority. her health. Obviously, people fussed about it, but they fussed about everything, so I felt empowered by doing that.

Which created a sense of mystique and counterintuitively and even higher interest in her personal life. And the key is, this mystique was still balanced with approachability. Whenever she chooses to engage in the rare occasions with her community. And this unintended scarcity only increased the value of her presence, which you can apply in your personal life and was successfully applied to Rare Beauty. The campaigns of Rare Beauty are never about the over-the-top glitz, but about genuine storytelling and interactions with customers, creating balance. This makes the brand not a pushover and creates the space for consumers to actively be curious and learn more about the brand.

Space is serving. Skin is like eating. Which brings up the second key marketing success factor of inclusivity. To be rare is to love every you. Before you roll your eyes and be like, duh, every brand and their mother are inclusive nowadays. How exactly were Selena Gomez and Real Beauty different? This could be much better understood through something I read in this Fast Company article. Quote, when I asked my own teenager and her friends, musical theater nerds, athletes, brown, black, and white girls

to explain the singer, actor, and cosmetics founders, Allure. One says succinctly, Selena Gomez does not make me feel less than. How many brands? whether personal or product, overly focus on themselves while forgetting to shine any light on their audiences, which in turn lost them so many audiences. Rather than wasting the time to tell the internet how she is not a picnic,

all Selena Gomez focused on was keep showing up as her. To uphold the principles she values, and having been on a Zoom call with her during back to school where she voiced out the same concern I had for the rise of Sephora kids, of girls not just starting to wear makeup younger and younger, but feeling the need to do so, I could tell that she has a genuine care for the users of Rare Beauty and thinks in service of them.

You fucking killed it. Which is shown in the product design, a Rare Beauty. From the 48 foundation shade ranges to the ergonomic packaging designed for ease of use, particularly for individuals with arthritis or mobility challenges, Rare Beauty actually walks the talk for their mission of inclusivity, and makes sure that no one gets left behind. And this connects with marketing principle 3, lifestyle branding.

Alright, well, don't really mind whatever's happening here. I wanted to make a brand where you feel comfortable. Stop comparing ourselves to each other and just start embracing our own uniqueness. Rare beauty isn't just marketed as makeup, it is marketed as a lifestyle. By tying the brand into empowerment, mental health, and self-love, Selena Gomez transformed it into something consumers could connect with emotionally and ethically. And because her personal brand is so connected with rare beauty, the amount of goodwill created through this gets attributed back to her personal brand.

A genius double kill. She's the number one positive influencer in the world. By Selena Gomez taking the lead, showing her imperfect moments online, including her non-perfect makeup days, and even when she fuchs up her eyebrows. I accidentally laminated my brows too much. I don't even be like this is my color. This is a disaster. Both brands allow people to participate in something much bigger than just buying makeup.

It's not just buying makeup anymore. It's a movement of self-acceptance and challenges, unrealistic beauty standards. And tying the ideologies of people's self-perception is one of the most powerful psychological ways to influence others. Because rather than actively, forcing to influence them, it's very easy to passively guide them along similar value alignment to avoid the pain of cognitive dissonance. That was free 10,000 EQ points, by the way. You're welcome. To top this off with the principle of visual branding, both Rare Beauty and Selena Gomez

tend to a minimalist everyday appeal, which is quite different from her high glam era, as you can see here, versus her now go-to more minimal looks. In a world of over-the-top glam, Rare Beauty stood out for its simplicity. The products are easy to use affordable and designation. designed for real people, not just influencers or makeup artists. And this perfectly ties to, fourth, the Gen Z effect. I don't think you guys understand. I don't think I will ever go back to anything else. As the rising power consumer group of not just beauty, but also digital media,

a lot of Gen Zs, including myself, already grew up watching and relating to Selena Gomez. Selena Gomez needs to return their music because no one else can give us. And Selena Gomez and Rare Beauty not only grew with the zeitgeist, but also stayed ahead. head of the culture through two ways. First, as we already mentioned, marketing principle purpose-driven branding is embedded in both a personal brand and Rare Beauty. Rare Beauty pledged 1% of all sales

to the Rare Impact Fund, which supports mental health services. So I want Rare to be a comfortable, safe place for people to find resources, to reach out to people if they need help. This isn't just marketing, it's a movement. And Gen Z's, they noticed. I just think that's so amazing.

Mental health is like so important to me. Really amazing to just be celebrating all of the advocacy. Second, at a time when digital media is filled with heavy themes and negative news and people constantly selling you things, Selena Gomez and Rare know how do not take themselves too seriously. Blala's application, it happens like so soon. From lighthearted jokes, So my name, my name is Bella Hitteed. My name Salida Gones.

See, it doesn't even sound sexy. To bare face moments, to tapping into meme culture that create conversations such as the launch of their peach line. Peaches, peaches, peaches, peaches, peaches. Both brands bring the value of entertainment to a Gen Z audience and the value of a great product market fit, as rare beauty is positioned as premium yet affordable, falling in a sweet spot for the targeted demographic of Gen Z and millennials. Hence, within just five years of launching the brand, the valuation has exceeded $2 billion. But more importantly, through building the goodwill of rare beauty,

Selena Gomez re-established her brand of trust, authenticity, and as someone young girls can look up to. A confident, self-assured entrepreneur who speaks through actions. It's almost poetic, isn't it? The girl once criticized for her relationships, her body, her looks, her true, choices. What did they say about this? Yeah, uh, yeah, it was the first time I'd ever been called fat.

Unbelievable. But it was weird because it's not just, oh, she's fat. It's like, she's a mess. She's, you know, she's got off the deep end. Now built a billion dollar rent that tells people they are enough just the way they are. It's just, I was too hard on myself. I didn't think I was enough or sometimes I didn't think I'd fit in and ultimately, you're exactly who you're made to be. Very iconic, very legendary behavior.

However, just because of a track record of successful rebranding does not guarantee an evergreen brand. Because a brand is like a plant. Just because a flower of once does not mean you never need to water it again. So here are two branding warnings that Selena Gomez should watch out for. Is my boss for a second? First, over-reliance on vulnerability. Selena Gomez's ability to make herself the victim of every situation ever is,

truly admirable. It's a skill that only she has mastered. Selena's brand thrives on her vulnerability and openness about mental health and personal struggles. However, there is a very fine line between being relatable and being seen as being overly dependent on hardship narratives. If her messaging focuses too heavily on her struggles, audiences might perceive her as stuck in a victim mindset, which has backfired before. The solution will be to balance vulnerability with empowerment while being open about struggles. My whole life since I was a kid I've been working and the only thing that I want is like I just wanted to like quit sometimes.

Draw a bigger emphasis on growth, resilience, and wince to avoid fatigue or pity branding. Second, over-reliance on personal IP. Despite having made the smart decision of not making her name the name of Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez's name is still almost synonymous with Rare Beauty, which means when she eventually wants to sell the company, there is a high risk of permit evaluation. And it will be interesting to see if there can actually be a good brand alignment with potential buyers, such as Cotty with the Kardashian lines or Unilever, PNG, L'O,

as well as their giant portfolio companies, or the option to IPO. In any of the cases, Rare Beauty needs to establish itself outside of Selina Gomez's, brand Halo, which it has been building through the past five years of growth, through consistent, strong product formulations and innovations. Okay, bitch, I get it. The rebranding arc of Selena Gomez really shows that lucky and pretty privilege will give you a head start, but how far and deep you go depend on a consistent and resilient brand. Selena Gomez didn't just change her narrative.

She rewrote it. Rare beauty isn't just makeup. It's a reflection on Selena Gomez's growth, resilience, and purpose. But what do you think? Can rare beauty continue to thrive or are there hidden challenges ahead? Subscribe if you love a good comeback story and share it with someone who needs a little inspiration. This is your marketing bestie, Zoe Unlimited. Episodes are now available on all podcast networks, Apple, Spotify, YouTube.

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