Since its launch in 1996, “clean” skin-care brand OSEA has never discounted its products. Even on Black Friday, its only deal has been a gift with purchase, not a discount. In 2016, however, on the occasion of its 20th birthday, it wanted to mark the occasion — but it didn’t want to commit to an annual birthday sale. And so, a leap year sale was born. Since then, every four years, the brand rolls back its prices to be more in line with what they were when the brand was born, in the ‘90s. This year will mark its third leap year sale, which will take place from February 28-March 3.
For its third iteration, the brand is going bigger — working with 400 influencers to promote not only the sale but the ’90s-inspired campaign the brand has designed around it. A “small percentage” of those 400 will be paid, though the brand declined to specify an exact number. A few of those partners include Allie Glines (202,000 followers on Instagram), the Lipstick Lesbians (259,000 followers on Instagram) and JoJo Fletcher (2.7 million followers on Instagram). Partners will receive a mailer including a number of OSEA’s bestselling products as well as a sweatshirt also designed to riff on the ’90s theme.
“We have built a complete ‘90s-themed website. … A sticker book is built in, where you can drag the stickers around, and it’s a completely different color palette,” said Melissa Palmer, OSEA’s co-founder and CEO.
“This campaign was a lot of fun for the creative team to brainstorm because it’s so different from what we typically create. … We brought in a lot of bright colors, custom patterns, interactive and playful stickers and bolded text,” said Courtney Coll, OSEA’s creative director.
OSEA will promote the sale on its website and through email, social media posts and creators across TikTok and Instagram. Investment in the campaign is “on par with our largest investments of the year,” Palmer said, noting that the investment is similar to what the brand spends on a new product launch.
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As far as what the creators will do, Palmer said, “We’ve provided them with a combination of assets. … One of them, for example, is an AIM chatbot [we built] which they can fill out with an instant messenger screen name and share screenshots.” However, because some of the creators are young, the concept didn’t translate for all of the partners. “A lot of them are like, ‘What’s that?'” she said.
“Our Leap Year campaign taps into our collective desire for the feeling of nostalgia, even if it means leaping back to an era before Gen Zers were even born. The ‘90’s was such an iconic time for fashion, beauty and life, in general,” Palmer said.
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The brand itself, at 28, is now older than some members of Gen Z. It only started working with influencers in 2019. And while OSEA is not a cheap brand — prices range from $32-$108 — expanded distribution has raised its awareness and popularity among a younger audience. It now sells at Ulta Beauty and Ulta Beauty at Target, and has a growing presence on TikTok — it has 46,000 followers on the platform and 408,000 on Instagram. “We’ve been able to communicate much [better] with our 25-34-year-old consumer [on TikTok],” Palmer said.
Since its first leap year sale in 2016, OSEA has grown from a team of three to a team of over 70, and the business has grown 7,600%. The brand’s Undaria Algae Body Oil, which ranges in price from $20 for a travel size to $100 for a jumbo, is a favorite of Victoria Beckham and Brie Larson. One bottle sells every 30 seconds.
Overall, the goal of the leap-year campaign is to celebrate the brand’s ’90s roots, Palmer said. OSEA was “clean beauty” before “clean beauty” was a thing, and its ethos has not changed, Palmer said. “When we launched, so much of what we focused on was considered very fringe: We were talking about sustainability, in terms of packaging, as well as naturally derived ingredients. And saying things like, ‘The skin is the largest organ in your body’ was a radical statement. [But] our message and philosophy have remained consistent. We got into this business because we were committed to those beliefs. It’s always important to us to highlight those roots and the longevity of our commitment.”
