02/07/2024
This is the name Tiffany Masterson gave to her skincare brand in 2012. She designed the logo herself with a Sharpie at her kitchen table. This was literally her first drawing. Every marketing consultant she met, and virtually every friend she had, failed to convince her not to use the name.
One publicist, who’d agreed to work with her — based on the strength of her product-line concept — resigned the account when Tiffany refused to change the name. I wouldn’t have resigned the account, but I might have secured her agreement, in writing, that I’d advised her that the name was catastrophically off-target for the brand she wanted to build.
Tiffany launched Drunk Elephant Skin Care in 2013. Within three years, it was the fastest-growing skin care brand in Sephora history. Within three years of that, she sold the company for $845 million.
All of which goes to show how little seasoned brand-building experts (like me) ultimately “know” about what we do — and how important it can be sometimes to listen to your gut, instead of all the facts and research.
