SELECTED WORK
Reconnecting a Brand with the Identity That Built It
ABOUT-FACE 360° BRAND RESET & IDENTITY REFRESH
The Opportunity
about-face beauty had built a loyal following through its disruptive point of view, creative edge, and cultural relevance. As the brand evolved, however, its marketing had begun leaning more commercial, creating distance from the identity that originally set it apart.
Having previously helped build the brand as its first Brand Manager, the opportunity to return during this next chapter offered a unique perspective on both where the brand began and where it needed to go.
To better understand the gap between brand intention and consumer perception, a comprehensive consumer insights study was conducted in partnership with the CEO and an external agency, evaluating brand awareness, audience sentiment, and recognition of the brand's core differentiators.
The findings revealed an opportunity to sharpen positioning, strengthen brand recognition, and reconnect the business with the identity that fueled its early success. Those insights became the strategic foundation for a 360° brand and marketing reset, informing storytelling, creative direction, channel strategy, and future growth initiatives across the business.
The Approach
The goal wasn't to start over. It was to reignite the original, disruptive DNA and create stronger alignment between what about-face stood for and how it showed up across every touchpoint. What followed was a 360° reset spanning storytelling, content, digital experience, product launches, and cultural activations — all working together to rebuild momentum and bring the brand back into focus.
The brand story was re-centered around what had always made about-face resonate: music, artistry, and self-expression. Founder Halsey's perspective returned to the forefront, creating a more cohesive narrative across campaigns, content, and launches.
Brand Expression
Key consumer touchpoints were refreshed across the board — website relaunch, social refresh, new campaign content, and updated creative direction. Together, these efforts reintroduced the brand's disruptive visual identity and modernized how it showed up across channels.
Brand Storytelling
CRM, paid media and community initiatives were revitalized to rebuild engagement and create more intentional touchpoints. Email + SMS journeys were refined, paid media was reintroduced, and retention-focused programming helped strengthen connection across the consumer lifecycle.
Consumer Connection
BRAND POSITIONING
360° BRAND STRATEGY
CAMPAIGN CONCEPTING
SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTION
EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING
INFLUENCER STRATEGY
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
BRAND POSITIONING 360° BRAND STRATEGY CAMPAIGN CONCEPTING SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTION EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING INFLUENCER STRATEGY SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY
Cultural Activation
Halsey
FOUNDER + ARTIST
CULTURAL MOMENT
For My Last Trick Tour
Halsey's album release and tour created a natural moment to lean into what had always made about-face different: the intersection of music, makeup, and self-expression. Rather than letting it pass as a founder moment, we built around it.
In each key tour market, we hosted 70+ influencers, editors, and creators at specially curated pre-show lounges — each one themed to the tour, designed to immerse guests in the brand world. Makeup touch-ups, product play, food and drink, then VIP access to the show. The kind of experience people talk about after.
Halsey's stage looks, fan moments, and lounge highlights were captured and transformed into content the same night, making every tour stop feel like a live social moment, not just an in-person event. The community ran with it. Fans and creators recreated the looks across social, UGC surged throughout the tour, and tour recaps, ticket giveaways, email, and SMS kept momentum building between cities.
What started as a tour activation quickly became something bigger, creating new opportunities to introduce about-face to new audiences while reconnecting with the community that had been there from the beginning.
Festival Activation
Live Nation
PARTNER
Governors Ball + Lollapalooza
ACTIVATION
As part of an ongoing partnership with Live Nation, about-face activated at Governors Ball and Lollapalooza, two of the most recognized music festivals in the country and a natural fit for a brand built at the intersection of music and makeup.
At Lollapalooza, a dedicated co-branded space and pre-festival get-ready suite brought creators and consumers together around product discovery, makeup artistry, and community, while introducing about-face to new audiences through a strategic brand partnership. At Governors Ball, influencer partnerships generated content rooted in real festival experiences: expressive looks, long days, and products designed to last through it all. Product sampling at both festivals extended the experience beyond creator activations, putting the brand directly into the hands of attendees.
Together, the festivals extended the momentum of the broader brand reset, reinforcing the connection between music, makeup, and self-expression while reminding consumers what had always made about-face feel different.
High Impact Results
DTC REVENUE GROWTH
+400%
ENGAGEMENT GROWTH
+125%
BRAND VISIBILITY
+150%
WEBSITE TRAFFIC
+27%
CREATOR PARTNERSHIPS
+100
+200
ORGANIC TAGGED POSTS / MONTH
