Overview

A marketing and retail audit of Rhode's London pop-up and Sephora UK rollout, focused on how well the launch generated awareness, community engagement, and sustained conversion beyond launch week.

Problem

Rhode's London launch and pop-up used OOH, events, influencer seeding, and press to create a big awareness moment, but from the outside it was harder to see how much of that launch buzz translated into sustained in-store conversion and long-term customer relationships.

Solution

I evaluated Rhode’s UK entry in several layers. First, I reviewed press coverage across beauty media, business wires, and trade outlets to understand how the brand positioned the London pop-up and Sephora rollout, what storylines were emphasized, and which product or brand pillars were spotlighted. In parallel, I ran social listening on Instagram and TikTok using Brandwatch-style queries around terms like 'rhode pop-up london' and branded hashtags to track how often the activation was mentioned, what type of content performed best, and how sentiment differed between founder-led posts, influencer coverage, and everyday customer reactions. Next, I catalogued influencer content from both top-tier creators and London-based micro-creators, noting the balance between aesthetic shots and practical education, the strength of CTAs, and the presence of any trackable links or codes. Finally, I analysed available case material from the OOH and events agency to understand placements, formats, and how the physical experience supported discovery and trial. Throughout, I benchmarked Rhode’s approach against another recent London beauty pop-up, focusing on how each brand linked awareness tactics to concrete conversion paths and retention programs.

Results

The audit confirmed that Rhode’s London launch successfully generated awareness: press placements were strong, founder and celebrity content drove massive reach, and OOH plus events created a citywide sense of presence. However, there were clear opportunities to turn that spike into a more durable UK customer base. Public signals suggested limited localization in content (relatively few everyday London stories and micro-creator narratives), a thin or invisible post-launch CRM funnel for visitors, and little evidence of in-store storytelling or trial mechanisms beyond standard merchandising. In response, I proposed a set of actionable plays: a three-month London micro-creator program focused on routine-based content and local context; in-store demo moments with QR codes leading to a skin quiz and email capture; repackaging event footage into a structured library of short verticals for paid social; and a measurement framework relying on UTM links, creator-specific promo codes, and cohort analysis of 30/60/90-day repeat purchase. Together, these recommendations show how Rhode could evolve from a one-time pop-up moment into an ongoing, measurable UK growth engine.

What I learned

This project strengthened my ability to connect brand-building, events, and OOH to measurable retail outcomes, design realistic measurement plans, and think through how a founder-led beauty brand can move from a splashy launch into localized, data-informed community and CRM.