Beauty Doesn't Have a Language // A Conversation with Ulta Beauty, Made by Mitchell and Cymbiotika

**Jim Stengel** (0:00)
If you were a chief marketing officer in Consumer Products, I want you to think about something for a moment. You have creative that works. You have campaigns that capture attention. But somewhere between that moment and the register, the signal gets lost. You cannot see what actually drove the sale. You are making optimization decisions on inference, not truth. Well, that changed in February. Infillion acquired Catalina. Four decades of deterministic purchase intelligence. 130 million US households, 70 retail banners, $600 billion in verified annual consumer spending. And here is what really matters. Over 90% of consumable purchases still happen in store. Infillion and Catalina together can close the dupe from digital advertising to in-lane purchase and incentivize the next one. This is not a measurement tool you consult after the campaign. This is a live signal that runs through your media while the campaign is in flight. You can now optimize from attention to action in real time against people whose actual purchase behavior you know. A consumer product's brand needs return on ad spending. It needs foot traffic. Infillion now delivers all of it. Not as separate vendors you reconcile later as one connected platform. That is what closing the gap looks like.

**Mitchell Halliday** (1:14)
But before I was a founder, I was a makeup artist for five, six years and I'd traveled the world teaching beauty. I think what I really realized that beauty didn't have a language. It was everyone can understand it because everyone can see it and everyone can feel it, no matter what language that you spoke. I traveled from Australia to South America, to everywhere, you name it, I had been there.
What I'd learned from that experience of meeting people from all walks of life is just how much people love to feel beautiful in their own way, not in what society classes and deems as beautiful, but what they deem as beautiful.

**Jim Stengel** (1:50)
Hi, I'm Jim Stengel. I've helped hundreds of major brands discover and activate their purpose.
Because when a brand's purpose is clear, compelling and authentic, profit naturally follows. Each week, I welcome the CMOs, the chief marketing officers of your favorite brands, to speak to how their job is so much more than marketing. These leaders share their inspiration and challenges, along with how they try to build a full, healthy and happy life in and out of the office. It's that energy that reaches everyone they touch. And we're glad you're here to feel that energy and to learn from these remarkable leaders. So here we go. One of my favorite moments from today's conversation came from one of our guests, Mitchell Halliday, who said, Beauty doesn't have a language. No matter where you come from or what language you speak, what's important is how beauty brands make you feel. That's what today's conversation is all about, building brands that people don't just buy, but genuinely want to be a part of. This week, I'm joined by three leaders who understand that idea from very different perspectives. First is Kelly Mahoney, Chief Marketing Officer at Ulta Beauty, the US's largest beauty retailer with more than 1,400 stores and over 45 million loyalty members. Kelly is helping redefine what beauty means by expanding Beyond Cosmetics into wellness while creating one of the industry's most trusted retail brands. Next is Mitchell Halliday, founder of Made by Mitchell, one of the beauty industry's fastest growing founder-led brands. Mitchell turned a global makeup artistry career into a community-first business. His motto, Made by Mitchell, but Made for Everyone. And finally, Durana Elmi, founder, chief creative officer, and chief experiential officer at Cymbiotika. Since launching her wellness brand with her husband in 2018, Durana has helped build one of the fastest growing supplement companies in the country, centered on transparency, education, and the belief that true luxury begins with your health. Here's to my conversation, recorded live aboard the Beanstalk Yacht during the Cannes Lions Festival, with Kelly Mahoney, Mitchell Halliday, and Durana Elmi.
Well, welcome, you three, to the CMO Podcast. We have two returning guests. Durana, you were on about a year ago.
Such a good episode. Thank you. It was so emotional. Your story is so amazing. So thank you for coming back. You were just on this summer.
It's such a good episode. Such a great discussion. You have such a big heart. You're so smart. You're so engaged. You represent the brand well. And Mitchell, you're new.

**Mitchell Halliday** (4:14)
Thank you for having me.
I don't know what I'm doing here, to be honest. But thank you for having me. It's always a good thing to be on a yacht. Especially with you, James. Always. You're two beautiful ladies.