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vinegar

Brand & Marketing Studio by Shauna Williams

Overview

Led the launch of Crown Affair's first clinically proven formula through strategic campaign development, cross-functional collaboration, and integrated content strategy.

Result

3x revenue targets — Crown Affair's highest performing product launch to date, setting new benchmarks across awareness, engagement, and sales:

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  • $4.6M EMV (the brand's highest monthly earned media value)

  • +38% MoM new customer revenue

  • 7.7% IG engagement rate (+3 pts MoM)

  • Sephora revenue targets hit

  • Press: Marie Claire, W Magazine, The Zoe Report, WWD's Hair Innovator of the Year

BRAND: Crown Affair

INDUSTRY: Haircare, Clean Beauty, Prestige Beauty, Luxury

PROJECT: Go-To-Market Launch Campaign

ROLE: Lead (Director of Brand & Integrated Marketing)

Crown Affair Overnight Repair Serum Launch

"Good Things Can Happen Overnight"

the challenge

Building credibility in a new category.

Crown Affair needed to establish authority in hair treatments while expanding beyond their air dry-focused brand identity. The challenge: launching a $58 overnight serum in a saturated market, requiring education around "overnight repair" and proof of efficacy.

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the framework

Target Audiences

While the serum was suitable for anyone with dry, heat-damaged, or color-damaged hair, we honed in on three priority audiences, allowing us to tailor messaging, creative, and partnerships with precision:

BEAUTY/SEPHORA ENTHUSIASTS

seeking beautiful results

WELLNESS DEVOTEES

seeking proven results

TIME-STARVED OPTIMIZERS

looking for efficiency

Result: By pre-seeding creators aligned with each segment 3 months before launch, we achieved +20% ROI increase without increasing seeding budget. Proof that strategic targeting beats broad reach. 

key strategic decisions

Phased Launch Timeline

Sephora App Preview exclusive before full DTC launch - building anticipation while rewarding loyal community

Real-Time Revenue Pivots

When data showed strong new customer interest, I redirected strategy mid-launch to activate hero SKUs alongside newness, driving +38% MoM new customer revenue.

Cross-Brand Partnership

A Summer Fridays GWP swap to reinforce "overnight transformation" positioning while expanding audience reach

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influencer partnerships

Amplifying reach through audience-aligned partnerships.

Rather than broad influencer outreach, I matched specific creators to our three audience segments. This ensured Beauty Enthusiasts saw clinical proof, Wellness Devotees received ritual storytelling, and Time-Starved Optimizers got efficiency messaging. This targeted approach delivered authentic product demonstrations that resonated with each audience’s core motivations.

Mobina Peinman - Beauty Sephora

BEAUTY/SEPHORA ENTHUSIASTS

seeking beautiful results

Sam Ellis - Wellness Ritual

WELLNESS DEVOTEES

seeking proven results

Lilly Sisto - Time-Starved

TIME-STARVED OPTIMIZERS

looking for efficiency

I created a 3-pillar framework to codify the campaign's messaging, visuals, and content: Philosophy, Results, and Ritual. Each pillar worked together to show the product’s promise, deliver clinical credibility, and embed the serum into everyday routines — balancing emotional aspiration with proof and lifestyle accessibility.

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PHILOSOPHY

"Good things can happen overnight" (aspiration + possibility)

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RESULTS

"Clinically proven efficacy" (2x stronger, smoother, softer hair)

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RITUAL

"The simplest 2-second step before bed" (fits any routine)

The framework proved so effective at capturing both the product’s innovation and the brand’s essence that it was adopted for all evergreen content planning and future launches, creating a repeatable strategic system the full team could execute against.

the mailer

campaign creative

Sofia Coppola meets scientific credibility.

Dreamy, otherworldly aesthetic balanced with clinical claims. Soft pastels and ethereal lighting created an aspirational world while clinical data provided credibility.

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World-building with our community.

Built anticipation through a 3-tier seeding strategy: mystery lab samples to top community members sparked early buzz, while beautifully designed mailers, created to look like heirloom books you’d display on your nightstand, create launch day advocacy.

60+ pieces of strategic social content.

Built comprehensive 8-week content calendar that:

 

  • Cycled through 3 messaging pillars to avoid fatigue

  • Educated on "overnight repair" concept (new to category)

  • Demonstrated clinical proof through before/afters

  • Showed ritual integration with core SKUs via tutorials and UGC

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Result: 7.7% engagement rate, exceeding goals by +3 pts

ORS IG Feed

content strategy

the results

Crown Affair's top-performing launch.

The strategic framework and cross-functional orchestration delivered record-breaking performance across every metric:

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Business Impact

  • 3x revenue targets — the brand's best-performing launch

  • +38% MoM new customer revenue through real-time strategic pivots that activated hero SKUs alongside newness

  • Hit Sephora revenue targets across all retail channels, reinforcing credibility with retail partners

 

Brand & Awareness

  • $4.6M EMV — Crown Affair's highest monthly earned media value

  • 7.7% IG engagement rate (+3 pts MoM, exceeding pre-launch goals)

  • Top-tier press coverage in Marie Claire, W Magazine, and The Zoe Report

  • Won WWD's Hair Innovator of the Year

 

Strategic Wins

  • Successfully positioned Crown Affair in the treatment category without compromising brand equity

  • Proved "overnight repair" concept through clinical claims while maintaining aspirational aesthetic

  • Built repeatable framework for future product launches

WWD's Hair Innovator of the Year
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