For the past month, the beauty and YouTube community has had its eyes on Jeffree Star and Shane Dawson. Shane Dawson, YouTube celebrity with over 20 million subscribers, has been creating a docu-series that follows the journey that he took while creating a new makeup collection in collaboration with another YouTuber celebrity, Jeffree Star.
Jeffree Star and his cosmetics company have had a share of controversies, but Star and his products always seem to come out on top. Jeffree Star Cosmetics’ ability to continuously thrive as a business despite being almost constantly surrounded by controversy speaks to the value of great PR in the modern era. Jeffree Star and his PR team are experts at managing the brand’s publics, and this is how they do it.
- Jeffree Star maintains a regular, direct stream of contact with his publics on his YouTube channel and social media feeds. Communication between an organization and its publics are important, even when the organization is not in a state of crisis. Since the launch of his cosmetics company in 2014, Jeffree keeps in regular contact with his followers via his YouTube channel. Not only does he discuss news involving his company, but he also reviews makeup products from other brands and shares personal anecdotes about his life. He gives his subscribers beauty tips and advice and even recommends products from other cosmetics companies. Jeffree’s YouTube videos tell the story behind the company and build and strengthen the relationship between Jeffree and his followers.
2. Jeffree Star is willing to be upfront about the things that go on within his company, even when they do not show his company in a positive light. Due to Star’s open communication, he has with his followers, Jeffree has a platform to speak out when crisis strikes. In March 2019, the Jeffree Star Cosmetics warehouse was broken into and 2.5 million dollars’ worth of makeup, including a not-yet-released product, was stolen. A few weeks after the initial robbery, the stolen products started showing up on eBay and other online retailers for a fraction of the retail price. Jeffree made his public statement about the incident directly on his YouTube channel, where he revealed that he believed the robbery to have been done by someone who previously worked for his company. Jeffree Star maintained the trust he had built with his customers by being frank about what had occurred and also what he has done to prevent this from happening again. In his video, Jeffree urges his customers not to buy the stolen product and to report any retailers selling them to him on Twitter. His loyal fans obliged and reported hundreds of unauthorized sellers to Jeffree via Twitter, minutes after his response video was posted.
3. Jeffree Star authentically demonstrates a commitment to his company, his craft and the people that support him. Throughout Shane Dawson’s recent series with Jeffree, which is the second series he has done in collaboration with him, Shane has been able to capture what is like to create a new makeup product, from the idea to the launch. The filming of this series began in February 2019, where Shane and Jeffree began to discuss ideas for their makeup collaboration which is set to launch on Nov. 1. In the six episodes of the series, Shane and Jeffree have shown their followers how much time and effort has gone into every part of the product, from the colors of the eyeshadows to the logo to the design of the packaging. From start to finish, it took the two of them about eight months of hard work to create the product. Jeffree said that his products are like art to him, and he always wants things to be perfect when they are launched to the public. Jeffree also revealed that he could sell his luxury palettes for much more than he currently does but refuses to so that his products can be affordable for his fans. These sentiments show his fans that he is committed to the company and to making them happy, not just making the most amount of money possible.
Jeffree Star’s great communication with his publics proves that it pays to do great PR.
-Maxley Kittiver
prowlpr.com 