After a year that saw marches, protests, and civil unrest in the name of racial justice and equity, retailer Ulta Beauty is stepping up its commitment – to the tune of more than $25 million – in support of its diversity and inclusion initiatives.
“We used the events of 2020 as a year to listen, learn, and take action,” said Shelley Haus, Ulta’s chief marketing officer, of the initiative. “We’ve been building on diversity and inclusion for a while and feel like this is a great time to double down.”
Company executives announced it would allocate approximately $20 million in media spending to multicultural platforms to create more personal connections with LatinX, Black, and other communities. This commitment more than doubles the brand’s spend on such platforms over the past three years. In addition, the company will dedicate more than $4 million in marketing support to Black-owned brands within its stores and will dedicate $2 million to associate training to address unconscious bias and promote inclusivity. The company has also established a Diverse Leaders Program to identify and mentor more than 30 high-potential associates as future company leaders.
In addition to these investments, Ulta recently launched MUSE: Magnify, Uplift, Support, Empower, a campaign platform celebrating and amplifying Black voices in beauty. The commercial, which will run on high-profile network programming, features a voiceover from Jasmine Mann to celebrate Black women’s heritage and beauty.
“The MUSE platform was conceived by a diverse group of black creatives,” Haus said. “It’s a celebration of skin tones and hair types that makes Black beauty special and different.”
MUSE reinforces Ulta’s “Beauty for All” brand positioning. Last September, the brand launched a new advertising campaign, “Where Dreams Begin,” that featured women (and a few men) of different races, ethnic backgrounds, sizes, and ages enjoying their lives. The spot concludes with onscreen text reading, “Welcome to the place where beauty lives.”
As the largest beauty retailer in the United States, Haus said the brand believes it has a responsibility to “shape the way the world sees beauty,” particularly for people of color.
To ensure the company’s D&I initiatives remain on track, Ulta has enlisted actress and entrepreneur Tracee Ellis Ross as the company’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisor. In this new role, Ross, who has worked with Ulta on her brand PATTERN Beauty, will advise on matters such as Black, Indigenous, People of Color brand development, as well as company leadership and supplier diversity initiatives. Ross will also attend the company’s quarterly Executive Diversity and Inclusion Council Summits.
“I look forward to formalizing an already existing dialog and partnership around diversity and inclusion with the Ulta Beauty team,” Ross said in a statement. “This work requires commitment and accountability from Ulta Beauty to ensure measurable goals are achieved. I am hopeful and optimistic our work together will create foundational change.”
