The Next Wave of Brand Community Is Coming
How Topicals, an up-and-coming beauty brand, builds more meaningful relationships with members.
In 2022, we introduced Hellen, a new breed of loyalty consultancy born from the collaboration between Zeus Jones and PLB LAB, led by Pierre-Laurent Baudey, former head of membership at Nike. Recognizing the shortcomings of traditional loyalty programs focused solely on transactional benefits, we embarked on a mission to redefine loyalty, crafting modern membership experiences for some of the world's most loved brands.
Over the next month, we're excited to spotlight brands that inspire us by reimagining loyalty through emotional connections and a deeper sense of belonging. Our first feature is Topicals, an emerging beauty brand dedicated to transforming skincare perceptions with scientifically backed products and mental health advocacy.
The psychological and psychosocial impacts of skin health are well documented: people with skin conditions are more likely to experience mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Topicals stands out among skincare brands, both for their disruptive product design and art direction, and for their commitment to de-stigmatizing the conditions their products treat. With the rallying cry of “perfect skin doesn’t exist,” Topicals uses images of real, imperfect models with real, imperfect skin. The brand’s remarkable growth—they were the fastest-growing brand at Sephora in 2022—underscores how well this approach has connected with consumers.
What drew us to Topicals is their distinct approach to loyalty and community building. Instead of a conventional points-and-perks loyalty program, they've introduced The Spottie Sphere, a unique community where members actively collaborate in shaping the brand's future and their own personal beauty experiences. The Spottie Sphere redefines member rewards by focusing on participation-based engagement rather than spending. Framed not as a “loyalty program” but as a community for connection, collaboration and earning, even the name nods to the brand’s mission.
The Spottie Sphere community has a voice, with members participating in conversations around beauty as well as social impact initiatives. Beyond free samples and discounts, there’s access to mental health resources and live events to discuss related topics. By completing challenges, such as enhancing their beauty profile or participating in social impact discussions, members earn rewards based on engagement, not expenditure. Unlike traditional tiered models, Topicals tailors memberships to audiences including general consumers, influencers, and professionals. (The professional category even allows members to earn commissions on product sales.)
We believe this is just the start: brands will continue to shift toward community-based platforms that allow fundamentally new and more collaborative relationships, experiences, and interactions with their truest fans, customers, and partners—many times via technologies like web3.
More and more, people want to feel like they are a part of something. As performance marketing-based strategies to brand building become less sustainable, and loyalty programs continue to offer little differentiation or value, brands not only need to embed themselves into the communities in which consumers live. They also need to collaborate with them in ways where members become a part of the brand, and take part in building it.