Jacqui Ripley on Tangle Teezer, celeb endorsements and great PR

Jacqui Ripley’s life in media started as fashion assistant for Cosmopolitan magazine in the late-1980s, before working at young women’s glossy 19 magazine, where she became health and beauty editor. Ripley then spent the noughties working as a freelance journalist, writing for Elle, the Guardian, the Telegraph and Sunday Times Style, as well as authoring seven books.

She crossed over into PR in 2010 after meeting Shaun Pulfrey, founder of Tangle Teezer, the detangling hairbrush. Over the next 12 years, Ripley worked as creative/communications director, developing brand comms strategy and tone of voice, as well as managing its PR and social media. During this time, she also helped Tangle Teezer secure celebrity endorsements from the likes of Victoria Beckham, Emma Watson and Cara Delevingne.

Ripley currently works as a consultant and qualified life coach, helping companies shape their brand identities. She recently published new book 100 Days to Becoming Your Own Beauty CEO, co-written with beauty marking expert Natasha Suri.

Jacqui Ripley's public relations career in her own words

The world of beauty PR was very different in the 1980s/1990s. Back then, it was very formal with only the heritage cosmetics giants such as Estée Lauder and Revlon controlling the narrative. They gave the impression they were ‘untouchables’; there was very little ‘personality’ behind the products. 

Thankfully, there are more beauty startups today. It’s changed everything, not least because it gives PRs and journalists an opportunity to explain the ‘why’ behind a product’s development.

Many PRs think the story is about how a product is ‘disrupting’ a sector. It’s not: if you’re asking somebody to invest something in your brand, whether it’s buying the product or equity, they need to feel something about it. Humanising the product and making people connect with it on an emotional level is much more important.

Everybody loves to gun for the underdog. PRs should always sit down with founders and unearth their back story. When I first started working with [Tangle Teezer founder] Shawn Pulfrey, I found he had an incredible background: he’s from Grimsby and worked as a fisherman before becoming a hair colourist and stumbling upon his lightbulb idea. It’s a great rags-to-riches story which resonates with the public.

Don’t forget the basics when approaching journalists… As a journalist, I’d always receive press releases which didn’t have any prices or contact details. It’s something I’m incredibly anal about today working on the other side.

… and don’t blanket-bomb your stories to the press either. Sending the same story out to hundreds of journalists doesn’t work. Instead, adopt a bespoke approach by developing angles that suit the journalist and title.

• Calling all PRs: 7 things this editor wants you to know

Want to get a celebrity endorsement? Approach people in their inner circle. I used to know many fashion and hair stylists, plus makeup artists who worked with celebrities. So, I sent them the product. Whenever a ‘What’s in your bag?’ feature came up, these celebrities would ask their hair/makeup team. If you don’t personally know any celeb stylists, just DM them on Instagram.

Managing expectations is important in beauty PR. Ask a client where they want coverage and nine times out of ten, they’ll say “Vogue magazine”. That isn’t always possible. If you’re representing a hand lotion, for example, [persuade them] other channels such as celebrity manicurists or nail artists might be more effective.

Don’t resort to ‘word salads’ when launching a product. Too many people in comms use words such as ‘state-of-the-art’ and ‘dynamic’ in their promotional copy. Instead, try to find out what makes this brand ‘dynamic’. It could be provenance, ingredients or the founder’s story.

• Meeting a journalist? Questions not pitches can deliver results

Finding the USP of your brand is essential when selling it. This may involve wading through scientific material more suited to New Scientist, but you could pull out an unusual ingredient. Then, find out more about that ingredient. Do your homework!

Fortunately, sustainability is a big USP in beauty right now. It never used to be on the agenda: until recently beauty journalists were still being sent products covered in masses of tissue paper or press releases embossed on posh paper. The days at magazines when I used to be sent on two-week photoshoots to Australia are over too.

Use micro, not macro influencers. The key thing is to find influencers with less than 10,000 followers. Macro-influencers can charge £10,000 to post a short reel: it’s a lot of money, especially if you’re a startup.

The number of over-50s beauty influencers is encouraging. Sadly, many beauty brands will always have the image of a 25-year-old woman in their heads as an ideal customer, but there’s been a breakthrough with mature influencers in recent years. It’s exciting and will hopefully help make the industry more inclusive. 

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The success of a person, person or brand will always come down to being a successful communicator and how their story is told.

PRs should see themselves as intrapreneurs: an entrepreneurial spirit who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with their founders, helping their businesses grow.

Stay curious. Never be embarrassed about asking your clients nosy questions. Sometimes, they’ll come out with something that you didn’t expect, which could form an entirely new brand story which will then start building itself.

• 100 Days to Becoming Your Own Beauty CEO is available on Amazon now.

Christian Koch is an award-winning journalist, editor, content strategist and brand consultant.