Too Faced Hires TikTok Star Sara Echeagaray as its First-Ever Creative Director in Residence
Beauty brand Too Faced has appointed 21-year-old TikTok star Sara Echeagaray as its first-ever Creative Director in Residence. With a massive following of 7.7 million on TikTok, 530,000 on YouTube, and 300,000 on Instagram, Echeagaray, a talented creator and actor, will contribute to various aspects of the brand, including product development, social content creation, photoshoots, and brand campaigns throughout their year-long partnership.
How it Will Help Too Faced
By bringing Echeagaray on board, the brand can tap into her expertise, knowledge, and skills that have helped her develop a highly engaged social media following and global reach. Echeagaray's biggest impact will be in amplifying the Gen Z voice in the brand. Because of her track record of creating engaging content and being a Gen Zer with her finger on the pulse of digital culture, Echeagaray can help Too Faced tailor its marketing efforts to resonate more effectively with the Gen Z demographic.
What makes Echeagaray's addition to Too Faced unique is that she isn't primarily known as a beauty influencer. Although she doesn't frequently share beauty-related content, this actually works in the brand's favor. Echeagaray's unique perspective can help Too Faced continue to be known as a serious beauty brand while resonating with consumers that have wider interests.
The Benefits for Echeagaray
Not only is the brand benefiting but there are also perks for Echeagaray. Besides a new revenue stream, she has the opportunity to contribute to the development of a brand that has been around for over 20 years and gain firsthand experience in the inner workings of a company. This experience can be leveraged in her future entrepreneurial pursuits.
Creators As Full-Time Employees Emerge
Echeagaray's appointment adds to the increasing trend of brands hiring creators as full-time employees or consultants. This phenomenon, while sporadic in the past, is gaining momentum this year, which is one of my big bets for 2023. While the beauty and fashion industries have been at the forefront of embracing in-house creators, this trend is spreading across various industries. Other examples include Jack in The Box appointing Kodie Turner as its first full-time Twitch Creator, Sophie Jamison, being named as Nerf's Chief TikTok Officer two years ago, and more recently, taking the same role up at kitchenware brand Made By Gather.
Unlocking the Full Potential of Creators
As ambassador programs have become routine in influencer marketing today, the next evolution for brands is to unlock the full potential of creators by bringing them into their businesses in full-time or consultancy roles.
Since the concept is still new, the playbook is being created in real-time, but brands can take a number of approaches to identifying creators for these roles. These include everything from traditional job application processes to social media contests, tapping creators they are already working with, and even transitioning current employees who double as creators.
