#8 Marketing

Time spent: 20 months
Time to launch: Now? Also 1 month. See how it keeps changing?
$ Invested: 530K

WIP Meeting: “How many 8 Balls have you sold?”

Me: “I don’t know.”

WIP Meeting: “How is marketing going?”

Me: “It’s going…”

I struggle to answer this question without feeling like I’ve sold myself and my team short, or on the other end, completely overwhelm someone with every aspect of what we’re doing, and what our expectations of timelines and a return are. For me marketing is a mix of hard work and good luck: timing, support, initiative, planning, and reacting.

They say content is king but unfortunately, content doesn’t mean anything anymore. Our industry pushes out images, blogs, quotes, and events like the world will end tomorrow. More is more today — and it’s too much. Brands think that they’re listening to and responding to their audience, ‘giving them what they want’ when really, they’re just giving them what they, the brand wants.

Which is why Fluff’s approach has to be less. Fewer social media platforms that we don’t fully understand. Less posts that we don’t care about. Less pointless, harmful products for the sake of making money. Consider it, a ‘fuck you’ to the industry. Someone’s gotta say something — and not just Kanye.

As we get closer to our launch, our marketing strategy looms in front of me. Timing is the biggest thing for us — having all our ducks in a row, but product delays haven’t helped. Money is the next thing. How do we keep paying for all of this? What is our priority? What can we do without a huge spend? How do we reach enough people?

This is a slow burn for me. I can’t generate sales in a day. I don’t think I even want to. I have been in a situation where growth has happened too quickly, in which I felt like we lost control. Today I want to take the time to have conversations, to listen, to respond, to plan.

So yes, we’re on FB; doing ads, Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, and Tumblr. We spent ages discussing what and why we’d be on these channels. Not just to tick boxes but because we have something to say on each of them.

Our Twitter thread is a stream of consciousness from our audience.

We have a Tumblr which brings me genuine joy each day when I hit refresh. It’s a reminder of why I love the internet.

Our Youtube will be all about conversations with girls about issues they’re facing, and dreams, and breakfast, and why the world sucks and doesn’t sometimes.

We have an Issues section on our website too — where we write about heartbreak and our parents and adventures, being a princess, having no idea what we’re doing, kissing and emails. Because the world doesn’t need another beauty review, standard how to, or listicle. We have girls creating this content for us daily, as well as on our PhotoBooth and Instagram.

And we made a magazine which is being distributed all around Melbourne — in places where our audience hangs out.

We made matches for a candle that we still don’t have. 🤦🏽‍♀️ And maybe should have never ordered to begin with. Mistakes happen. You keep going. And you think about selling matches for $1 a strike. Anyone a smoker? You should quit.

We’ve made a Fluff Hotline so that people can call and listen to several things when they’re bored, lonely, or feeling important — including a song being sung in meows.

We’ll be sticking rock posters, stickers, and magnets wherever we can. Our goal is to have a billboard or wrap a tram one day.

And of course, we have our shop, where we are going to throw events and sell merchandise like beanies (if we can ever make a good one), our candle (if it ever comes) our 8 Ball (which is definitely missing from your life) and products like our bronzer and kabuki brush (they are definitely coming).

I have briefly mentioned how I feel about influencers, and the current price tag on their heads. I do however think there’s a difference between Influencers and Influential people. The latter, I’m all about. So we’ve looked to define what an influential person is for Fluff; who are having conversations in the same realm as we are; who are aware of the pressures the beauty industry is placing on them and who are trying to maintain a sense of self?

PR? Right now it feels like anything but relating to the public.

Which is why we’ve spent so long talking to the public (our consumer) about our brand, and why I’ll be doing our PR myself initially. I really believe that no one can represent your brand like you can, and while the relationship building will be longer and harder, it will be worthwhile tenfold. I’m acutely aware that our product is yet another box that will be piled upon an editor’s desk. It needs to be a pretty good box with a pretty clear message.

And finally, we’re trying to keep doing different differently. We recently went to Meccaland, Australia’s first and arguably biggest beauty event. Thousands of girls within our target demographic went to see a range of beauty brands showcase new products and trends. I was overseas, but our team taped up ambiguous signs that asked girls to turn Airdrop on and then airdropped Fluff images, photos, videos and links to anyone and everyone within range. I got several texts from people about it, and the girls were told off by the event manager, saying this wasn’t in the ‘spirit’ of the event. Given that the ‘spirit’ of the event involved too much contouring, highlighting, and ‘air facials’, I’m going to take this as early feedback that we’re on the right track.

I hope Fluff can polarize more people in the future — there are enough brands playing it safe, not having an opinion, not willing to ruffle feathers, and not truly engaging or challenging their audience.

Finding people who care about Fluff to talk about Fluff.

Our message won’t get out simply by existing on the internet. It needs to be shared. Since we started working on this brand and talking about it, we’ve noticed how much support we’ve got not just from our intended audience, but from women and men of all ages. It’s genuinely amazing. It seems we’re all noticing and thinking about these problems relating to beauty, age, and social media — and the next step is that we should all be having these conversations.

So. Read our Issues, see if they resonate with your own. Buy some Stuff on our site, or simply play around on our Photobooth. If you like it share it on social, or whatever you’re into these days.

Or don’t. 🤷🏽‍♀️

It’s all Fluff anyway.