In an effort to further increase their inclusivity and publicize the views they have always had, Sephora launched their “We Belong to Something Beautiful” campaign in May of 2019. This campaign, which acts like more of a rebranding for Sephora, was about much more than simply selling products to a greater number of people: since its beginnings in May 2019, Sephora has done a number of projects that all work to create an environment in which everyone is both welcome and known.

While there is no single known reason why Sephora launched this campaign, it is likely a result of Sephora trying to meet the more progressive, inclusive society of the modern world. Sephora has a great track record in terms of inclusionary actions; however, Sephora aimed to make these actions more public through the campaign. With the release of their first “We Belong to Something Beautiful” ad on June 5th, 2019, Sephora primarily targeted inclusion of LGBTQ people by showcasing a variety of people with very different identities. They also shared the stories of LGBTQ people who are a part of the Sephora community, and new stories are still being shared on YouTube and their website. Since the launch of the campaign, “We Belong to Something Beautiful” has become somewhat of a mantra for the beauty company, and Sephora has stated that their primary goal will continue to be creating a community that invites individuality and self-expression for everyone. The initial ad was also part of the first “leg” of the larger campaign, called “Identify as We”. This part of the campaign was designed to be aligned with Pride Month in 2019, and again primarily focused on inclusion for people of various gender expressions.

The advertisements and videos part of the “Identify as We” were incredibly effective in highlighting Sephora’s commitment to the inclusion of the LGBT community and persuading members of the community to be a part of the Sephora community. The initial ad began with a black screen with various pronouns flashing across the screen, including neopronouns such as “xe” and “ze”. This immediately and boldly establishes the ad as an ad for and about LGBTQ people, and invites people of different gender expressions to pay attention to the ad. After the series of pronouns, the commercial presents scenes starring people of many ages and identities engaging in various forms of self-expression, such as applying make-up or dancing. The shots are incredibly engaging, and they persuade their audience of LGBT members that joining the Sephora community will allow them to further enhance their own expression of identity without judgment.

The closing of all stores was only one action Sephora took that aligned with their “We Belong to Something Beautiful” campaign: Sephora also introduced several new programs to promote diversity and inclusion. Besides building awareness and celebrating diversity, Sephora has taken more specific steps towards inclusion like increasing content in the Spanish language, incorporating closed captions for videos on Sephora’s IGTV, and even allotting 15% of shelf space to black owned companies. They have also been actively donating to nonprofit organizations and have even worked towards increasing the diversity of their workforce and staff, especially in distribution centers.

Sephora’s “We Belong to Something Beautiful” campaign launched only two years ago and is still very much ongoing. As a result, not much has been discussed with respect to its successes or results. However, there are some metrics that can measure the success of the campaign. Sephora has received positive coverage from several news sources as a result of the campaign, and the campaign has been reported positively for its mission of inclusion. Financially, the company has also seen massive returns. Sephora’s parent company, LVMH, has seen a 100% increase in stock price in the two years since the start of Sephora’s campaign, by contrast to the mere 50% in the two years before that. Both of these metrics point to the massive success the campaign has already had.