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case study

Scaling a Niche Beauty Expo into a Global Brand

Role:
Marketing + Communications Lead

Company:
Indie Beauty Media Group

Duration:
April 2017 – December 2020

Location:
Dumbo, Brooklyn (Hybrid)

The Challenge

Indie Beauty Expo (IBE) had gained early traction in New York and Los Angeles and was entering a period of rapid growth. I was initially brought on to support art direction and design, but as the company quickly expanded, I began taking on additional marketing responsibilities. Over time, I was asked to lead marketing for IBE, helping scale the brand’s presence and impact across new markets.

As the company grew, it evolved from a single event into a multi-platform ecosystem, launching Beauty Independent (editorial), BeautyX Summit (educational conference), and Uplink (virtual & live B2B platform). I contributed to the development and promotion of these platforms — collaborating across teams to ensure brand consistency, visual cohesion, and strategic alignment as the overall business expanded globally.

My Role

As the Marketing + Communications Lead, I was responsible for owning and scaling all brand marketing efforts. I played a core role in launching new initiatives, building the marketing team, and driving global expansion — all while maintaining brand cohesion and data-driven decision-making.

Event recap of Indie Beauty Expo Berlin

Key Initiatives & Contributions

Strategic Expansion & Campaign Development

  • Expanded IBE from NY & LA to Dallas, London, and Berlin, tailoring messaging and campaigns to local markets.
  • Conceived and helped launch Indie Beauty Week, a branded week-long series connecting indie brand founders, retailers, and consumers.

New Brand Launches & Ecosystem Building

Performance Marketing & Growth

  • Developed and executed omnichannel marketing strategies that increased:
    • Web traffic
    • Email subscribers
    • Social media engagement
    • Ticket sales & exhibitor sign-ups, and buyer & press registrations
  • Segmented and optimized the customer database to boost personalization and campaign ROI.

Content, Communications & Visual Identity

  • Revamped the company website and ensured real-time content updates.
  • Led email marketing, improving open and click-through rates with strategic cadence and copy.
  • Produced sales collateral, partner decks, and show assets for stakeholders and sponsors.
  • Oversaw the visual rebrand, ensuring brand cohesion across all platforms.

Team Leadership & Ops

  • Recruited and onboarded designers, bringing content and social in-house.
  • Built Airtable systems for project management, content tracking, and performance analysis.
  • Developed a show communications playbook, streamlining internal comms and cross-team workflows.

Program Development & Monetization

  • Managed and helped monetized IBE’s signature programs:
  • Best in Show
  • Discovery Bag
  • Referral Program

The Results

  • Grew social following across platforms
  • Increased exhibitor participation across new markets
  • Drove ticket sales growth year over year through segmented campaigns
  • Achieved consistent YoY growth in email database and web engagement

The Impact

By combining creative vision with strategic execution, I helped evolve IBE from a niche trade show into a multi-brand media powerhouse with global reach. My leadership helped elevate both the brand perception and bottom-line revenue through data-informed, audience-driven marketing.

Project Samples

cassandra-buisson-ibe-anthology-mock-berlin-2019

Anthology (event recap decks)

I developed and launched an interactive recap deck for every IBE show, leading both creative and production aspects. From art direction to analytics, I ensured the piece captured the event’s impact while driving promotion for future shows.

  • Directed structure, art direction, and photography (shot list + photographer oversight)
  • Partnered with publishers to craft written content and curated press/retail data
  • Incorporated post-show survey insights and key statistics to highlight results
  • Managed launch, online publication, and promotion across social and email
View IBE Berlin 2019 Anthology

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