Serena Williams makes a commercial scoring move at the US Open

Tennis champion Serena Williams is using the 2024 US Open as a big marketing opportunity to launch her latest business venture.

The retired tennis champion wore $192 worth of make-up subtly at the US Open from Wyn Beauty, her cosmetics brand launched in April this year.

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The US Open is known for having a star-studded guest list of some of pop culture’s most prominent figures, and Williams made sure to tap into her influential contacts.

In advance, Williams made sure to stock her suite with Wyn Beauty products and invited celebrities and influencers to try them on during the event and promote them on their social media platforms.

Using social media as a tool for viral promotion, Williams’ makeup artist Keita Moore also took the opportunity to post a picture on X of Williams’ makeup look with her beauty line.

The post went viral within minutes, and Williams’ fans flooded the comments section with praise for her glam and made several mentions of the beauty line.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 05: 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Flushing borough of Queens in New York City.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

The booming US beauty industry

The beauty industry, comprised of cosmetics, skin care and fragrances, continues to be one of the fastest-growing markets in the US, despite consumers’ more conscious approach to shopping in recent years.

The US beauty industry market has been estimated to be worth nearly $63 billion in 2023 alone, and the estimated annual growth rate is around 6.1% from 2023.

This growing US market contributes approximately 21.3% of total global cosmetics revenue, with Gen Z being the main driving force behind its growth.

Although in-store beauty sales continued to take the lead, accounting for nearly 71.2% in 2023, online beauty sales are on a continued trend and expected to grow 7.1% from 2024 to 2030.

The power of social media virality to drive business

Williams’ strategic use of social media is a great way to propel her beauty business and develop potential future sales growth.

Social media has become one of the main advertising channels for beauty products. It can easily reach the masses faster than traditional communication outlets, and its virality can make products go from unknown names to global household names almost instantly.

According to a recent study, two out of three beauty shoppers say they discover new products through influencers, and 42% say they would buy products promoted by an influencer.

Top celebrity beauty brands such as Kylie Cosmetics by Kylie Jenner, Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez and Fenti Beauty by Rihanna all have a prominent presence on social media and use influencers and celebrities to promote their products online.

Promoting products using social media personalities is also cost-effective, with brand partnerships costing 25 times less than paid digital media.

Participating in the US Open to create brand awareness

Williams used her many years of attending the US Open and some trend forecasting to formulate an unproven marketing strategy.

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The US Open is currently one of the most talked about events in the US, with a record opening day attendance of 74,641 this year.

The tennis event is also a prominent topic on social media platforms, with approximately 118.3K TikTok posts and 1.6 million Instagram posts using #USOpen.

As seen on Wyn Beauty’s tagged Instagram page, the brand has several influencer posts promoting the makeup line, each with thousands of likes and comments from loyal followers mentioning the brand.

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