Latest news with #LaurieLam
Fast Company
8 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
How E.l.f. is using humor and hard data to push for boardroom diversity
BY Before launching a viral campaign that would jolt corporate boardrooms, E.l.f. Beauty faced a familiar problem: a lack of data—and an even bigger lack of direction on how to turn that data into action. To tackle both, the beauty brand enlisted help from Oberland, a New York-based creative agency. After sifting through more than 35,000 data points on board diversity, the Oberland team started asking a different kind of question—not just what the numbers said, but how to make them matter. They found inspiration in an infamous 2015 New York Times analysis known as the 'John study,' which revealed that more Fortune 500 CEOs were named John than were women. 'We said, 'What if we modernize this? What if we think about this in terms of boardrooms?'' recalled Kate Charles, Oberland's chief strategy officer, speaking at Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Summit in New York last week. The result was both irreverent and revealing: a campaign called ' So Many Dicks ' that exposed a striking imbalance—there are more men named Dick on corporate boards than there are entire underrepresented groups. 'We had to break the malaise,' Charles said. 'We wanted to do it in a way that had a shocking statistic like the 'John study,' but also carried a clear call to action.' 'And that's exactly what happened,' added Laurie Lam, E.l.f.'s chief brand officer. 'We had to do something sticky, something memorable, something disruptive—and it caught fire.' CEO Buy-In While the 'so many Dicks' campaign was what really 'caught fire,' it's not even the first piece of a larger initiative the company has dubbed 'Change the Board Game,' Lam told the audience during the panel discussion. The Oakland, California-based company recently celebrated 25 consecutive quarters of net sales growth, she said, which is why the campaign also connects how embracing diversity in a company and boardroom is the profitable thing to do. Lam credited E.l.f.'s CEO, Tarang Amin, with leading the cause by fundamentally understanding why it's so important to champion diversity and ensure it's not a 'check-the-box sort of thing,' but rather the ethos and core purpose a company is built upon. And, in that way, it's not difficult to achieve diversity if there's intentionality, she said. 'Every single day, we walk that talk,' Lam said. 'It's rooted in the culture of who we are—that diversity matters, that we are rooted in positivity, inclusivity, accessibility, that makes it easy.' Messaging Matters Of course, there's been pushback—both long-standing and more recently—to diversity-focused efforts, which Charles said is 'weird,' given the results. 'There's so much proof to show that when you have a diverse board, diverse leadership, diverse base, that you're all succeeding, you're more profitable, including Dicks,' she added. 'It's really good for everybody.' But the messaging also mattered. The campaign could have been called 'too many Dicks' or 'don't be a Dick,' Charles shared, and opting for 'so many Dicks' was very intentional, along with a subhead that reads: 'So few of everyone else.' The goal was to be inclusive. 'We wanted to make sure that men felt okay to stand up for this and that they didn't feel like they were being called out, that they were being called in,' Charles said. 'And we wanted other organizations to say, 'I want to be a part of that.'' Future of DEI For a duo who has put so much energy behind supporting diversity, it might come as a surprise that neither Lam nor Charles think the DEI acronym—short for diversity, equity, and inclusion—is necessary to advance efforts. 'I don't think it needs to be an acronym,' Lam told the audience. 'I think it just becomes a way of modeling a culture that is inclusive of everyone and it stops creating these sort-of lines in the sand of who it is.' Part of the problem, Charles added, is the acronym has been weaponized as a term that's 'attacking meritocracy' and it might be good to decouple the words from it. 'People, and certainly leaders and brands, do believe in diversity—they do believe in equity, and they do believe in inclusion.' And by showcasing the impact diversity can have on a company's performance, the more it can become a status quo—and something other companies want to emulate, the women said. 'We don't even have a DEI department, it doesn't exist at E.l.f. because it exists in every single employee,' Lam said. 'It is the job of every single employee to live the truth of the company.'
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Leading for Change: Inside the Fight to Diversify the Boardroom with E.l.f. and Oberland
Moderated by Kc Ifeanyi, Executive Director of Editorial Programming, Fast Company E.l.f. Beauty conducted a study with brand agency Oberland and found that there are more men named Ricard, Rich, and Rick on public company boards in the U.S. than entire groups of underrepresented people. That discovery led to the 'So Many Dicks' campaign that's just part of an overarching initiative to double the rate of women and people of color added to boards by 2027. Hear from Laurie Lam, chief brand officer at E.l.f., and Kate Charles, chief strategy officer at Oberland, on how they're getting it done.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
e.l.f. Makes a New Play on Big Game Viewing to Throw the Ultimate Watch Party for the Community
e.l.f. boldly plans livestream during the full game, disrupting the traditional tune-in TV experience OAKLAND, Calif., February 07, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Big Game is here, and e.l.f. (NYSE: ELF) is making a new play, joining the live viewing experience and inviting the community to its pioneering first live watch party "The E.L.F. TIME Show." The beauty brand known for disrupting norms, shaping culture and connecting communities is committed to meeting every eye, lip and face wherever they are – and research shows that 70% of Americans use an average of two or more media platforms during the Big Game.* All the action at the "E.L.F. TIME Show" on Sunday, Feb. 9 further amplifies the sticky bond e.l.f. has made with the football community throughout the season through the "eyes. lips. face. fandom." campaign that celebrates fan-favorite Power Grip Primer, the No. 1 SKU in mass cosmetics** "With our viewing party, we unleash an e.l.f. twist on democratizing access to sports fandom. We always want to be with the community, literally where they are as their tried-and-true bestie," said Laurie Lam, e.l.f. Beauty's Chief Brand Officer. "And what do besties do on Big Game day? They have fun!" Enjoy the cheesesteaks and BBQ and experience the Big Game with the e.l.f. made entertainment roster: "The E.L.F. TIME Show" "The E.L.F. TIME Show," an innovative second-screen companion experience running parallel to the Big Game, has an all-star host lineup led by sportscaster Suzy Shuster, actress and comedian Yvonne Orji and drag queen Heidi N Closet. The trio will bring fun and gripping commentary and keep the party going – including giveaways – while Christopher Kouros, as "Klaus" reports from New Orleans. Watch live across e.l.f.'s channels on TikTok, Twitch, Instagram, YouTube, Amazon and Who is Klaus? e.l.f. recently released "e.l.f. von zehn," a global campaign first launched in the German market that puts real product reviews through outrageously literal and seriously funny lab tests. Klaus is e.l.f.'s new "Chief Science Officer", who awarded e.l.f.'s Power Grip Primer, Halo Glow Liquid Filter, Lash Xtndr Mascara and Glow Reviver Lip Oil an "e.l.f. von zehn" – which translates to 11 out of 10! "e.l.f. von zehn created a product rating scale for our global community, upholding a shared value of premium quality," said Lam. "Why stop there? Let's normalize the bizarre and apply Klaus' rating system to New Orleans and its attractions." Democratizing access During the Big Game, the "e.l.f. von zehn" spot will air on Tubi, which provides free entertainment to 100+ million monthly active users. e.l.f. will be the only participating beauty brand in Tubi's live Big Game programming, a first for the streaming service. e.l.f. is the first brand sponsoring Tubi's recently launched shoppable experience, allowing viewers to shop their e.l.f. favorites directly on without disrupting their viewing experience. More of a puppy fan? e.l.f. is the Official Cosmetics Partner of Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl XXI, also on Sunday. e.l.f.'s " ad spot will air during the four-legged sporting event on Animal Planet, Discovery and TBS. This partnership raises awareness for shelter pets and reinforces e.l.f.'s vegan and cruelty-free values. History of total disruption: e.l.f. is no stranger to making noise at the Big Game. In 2023, as one of the only beauty brands to show up in front of one of the largest TV audiences, e.l.f. disrupted with a sticky ad that showed everybody that beauty belongs everywhere. Last year, "Judge Beauty" delivered a verdict at the Big Game that it's a "crime" to overpay for makeup. This year, e.l.f. takes a multi-pronged, disruptive, never-been-done before approach to the Big Game that reflects the e.l.f. ethos to bring the best of beauty to every eye, lip and face. Tune in across our channels Sunday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 pm ET/3:30 pm PT: Amazon Instagram TikTok Twitch YouTube *From AdTaxi, 2025 Super Bowl Survey. ** "*e.l.f. Cosmetics claim based on data reported by NielsenIQ through its Scantrack Service for the Mass Market Color Cosmetics category for the 52-week period ending December 28, 2024 for the US xAOC channel according to e.l.f. Cosmetics custom product hierarchy. Copyright © 2024, Nielsen Consumer, LLC." About e.l.f. Cosmetics e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) is fueled by a belief that anything is possible. We are a different kind of company that disrupts norms, shapes culture and connects communities through positivity, inclusivity and accessibility. e.l.f. Cosmetics, our global flagship brand, makes the best of beauty accessible to every eye, lip and face by bringing together the best of beauty, culture and entertainment. Our superpower is delivering universally appealing, premium quality products at accessible prices that are e.l.f. clean and vegan, all double-certified by Leaping Bunny and PETA as cruelty free and we have products made in Fair Trade Certified™ facilities. Learn more at View source version on Contacts hrubin@ Sign in to access your portfolio
