The brands’ Beauty Bodega hit 3 universities, targeting RushTok recruits within 5 miles of a Sephora at Kohl’s location
While the RushTok phenomenon has been dominating campus activity and social media feeds, brands have been finding relevant ways to insert themselves into the cultural movement and do some recruiting of their own.
Sephora and Kohl’s jumped into the action last year with a Beauty Corner activation at three universities to help “PMNs” (potential new members) look and feel their best during rush.
This August, the brands returned with a different spin on the concept, and brought a Beauty Bodega pop-up to Auburn University, the University of Georgia and the University of Florida to help recruits get “Rush Ready” between rounds.
The pop-up was again designed to help sorority pledges freshen up and feel their most confident during the stress of RushTok and recruitment. But it was also a reminder of how convenient it is for students to buy their beauty essentials, with a Sephora located in all Kohl’s stores nationwide. In that spirit, the companies chose to activate at schools located within five miles of a Sephora at Kohl’s.
“RushTok feels like the perfect spot for Sephora at Kohl’s to play because it’s this moment of meeting new people, engaging in new ways in these new spaces, and you want to go in confident,” says Sam Bennett, svp-integrated marketing, brand & creative at Sephora. “And certainly, it’s not all around beauty, but how you feel about how you look can be a big part of it. So [activating again] was a combination of the success and the joy that we saw in it last year, and also the growth of the opportunity.”
Inside the Beauty Bodega Experience
Students who visited the Beauty Bodega encountered a fragrance fridge stocked with trending scents, product discovery moments and giveaways, guidance from celebrity makeup artist Allison Kaye, a themed photo op, and smaller delights, like sweet treats and stickers.
Then, there was the physical postcard station, which tapped into Gen Z’s love of nostalgic experiences, and helped incentivize a trip to Sephora at Kohl’s. Students could fill out and send a postcard and a coupon home, and walked away with a 15%-off coupon for themselves.
Enlisting Celebrity Talent
The highlight, though, was a row of touch-up stations staffed by the “Beauty Barrage” (Sephora’s hair and makeup team), and supervised by Kaye. By appointment, students could receive one of three treatments: a Hair Touch-up, Face Touch-up or Lip Touch-up.
“People take their recommendations from influencers, as much, if not more, than even their dearest friends,” says Bennett. “So we felt it would be a conversation point for these potential new members, and it would also help them get that confidence, some new learnings, and feel like they’re starting with an edge that Sephora at Kohl’s and Allison Kaye brought to the table.”
Learnings from Year One
This wasn’t Sephora at Kohl’s first RushTok rodeo, meaning the brands had the advantage of incorporating learnings from year one.
According to Bennett, the biggest factor was managing the unrelenting Southern heat. After sweltering on-site last year, she said, the teams this summer created more shade within the footprint, and curated the product lineup differently, including the addition of setting sprays and products with SPF.
Next fall, the brands aim to build on their success with an expanded RushTok campaign in a continued effort to connect with Gen Z and introduce more students to Sephora at Kohl’s.
“I anticipate that we’re going to continue growing in this area and engaging with customers this way,” Bennett says. “It’s proven to be both really fun and really successful. I can’t see us wanting to back off.” Agency: The Team.
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