Dive Brief:

• E.l.f. Cosmetics will host a branded experience championing women race car drivers at the Indianapolis 500 on May 26, according to a press release. The move follows the brand’s recently expanded partnership with professional race car driver Katherine Legge. 
• The racetrack-themed “Lip Oil Change” activation features a pit crew of “glow-up” artists, a DJ and limited-edition merchandise. The brand will also deploy 500 drones for the first-ever Indy 500 Drone Show to celebrate Legge as a symbol of empowerment. 
• E.l.f. will also launch a custom Indy 500 extension on its “e.l.f.UP!” Roblox experience and will livestream on Twitch for race day in addition to offering a themed Snapchat AR lens beginning May 24. 

Dive Insight:

E.l.f. is leveraging mobile marketing, among other tactics, to champion women race car drivers at the Indy 500 in a move that supports its expanded partnership with race car driver Legge and persistent calls for more diversity. The marketer is the first-ever beauty brand to serve as a primary sponsor of a driver for what is considered the largest single-day sporting event in the world, per release details.

E.l.f.’s “Lip Oil Change” activation will celebrate the nine women drivers who have participated in the Indy 500 over the 108-year history of the race. Co-created with Day One Agency and Branded Management, the activation features a “glow-up” artist pit crew, DJ and merchandise including bumper stickers and its Glow Reviver Lip Oils. The event will be hosted on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Legge is a contender to hit the track at the Indy 500 as the only woman driver and will represent E.l.f. with a branded fire suit, helmet and wrapped #51 car. The activation from the beauty marketer is part of its goal to “create spaces where women and girls feel accepted and represented,” according to CMO Kory Marchisotto.

“At e.l.f., we want to see more women in the driver’s seat — whether in the boardroom, on the court, in the stands or on the racetrack. We believe inclusivity gives communities who are so passionate about something like racing a win-win outcome because it brings more people into the tent as fans, talent and sponsors,” said Marchisotto in a statement.

For consumers at home, E.l.f. will be livestreaming on the day of the race via its Twitch channel and will also launch a custom Indy 500 extension on its “e.l.f.UP!” Roblox experience, a move that could help the brand maintain engagement with the younger demographic. The brand on May 24 will also release an interactive racing Snapchat AR lens. 

The marketer is rounding out its efforts through a sweepstakes running until May 30 that will give away one year’s worth of its Glow Reviver Lip Oils to 500 members of its Beauty Squad loyalty program. The move could help boost E.l.f.’s loyalty offering, which already touted over three million members in 2022, and boost its first-party data troves. 

Along with its latest push, E.l.f. also dove further into the sports realm earlier this month through a partnership with tennis legend and equity advocate Billie Jean King to call on U.S. business leaders and the community to put more women and diverse candidates on corporate boards. Last week, the brand also launched a campaign, “So Many Dicks,” that calls out the preponderance of “Dicks” — Richards, Ricks and Dicks — compared to the relative scarcity of women and diverse individuals on U.S. corporate boards.