The Outset
Scaling a modern skincare brand founded by Scarlett Johansson
Services
paid media
tiktok shop mgmt
amazon
retention marketing
Overview
The Outset is a clean skincare brand co-founded by Scarlett Johansson and Kate Foster, built around gentle, clinically tested formulas for sensitive skin. With strong brand awareness and distribution at Sephora and Amazon, the brand needed a unified performance marketing system to convert cultural relevance into sustained revenue across DTC, Amazon, and social commerce.
Outcomes
72%
Reduction in CAC vs. goal during key promotional campaigns
x4.5
ROAS on Amazon Sponsored Ads across Products, Display, and DSP
01
Awareness without a conversion architecture
The Outset launched in 2022 with instant name recognition and retail distribution at Sephora, Amazon, and Goop within months. But awareness alone doesn't compound. Paid media, Amazon, TikTok Shop, and retention were operating without a unified strategy, acquisition costs fluctuated, promotional moments underperformed, and strong organic interest wasn't being captured efficiently at the point of purchase. Darkroom identified that The Outset didn't need more visibility, it needed a performance architecture that connected every channel into one system.
02
A seamless launch
Darkroom partnered with The Outset to build and manage an integrated growth program spanning Meta, Google, Amazon Sponsored Ads and DSP, TikTok Shop, and retention, all under shared goals and unified reporting. The team restructured paid media around promotional moments, driving $442K in Labor Day revenue at a CAC 72% under target, then scaling to $734K in BFCM revenue at a 4.03 MER across $182K in spend. On Amazon, Darkroom built the advertising infrastructure across Sponsored Products, Brands, Display, and DSP, maintaining $4.50+ ROAS while pushing weekly revenue above $45K. Each promotional campaign performed more efficiently than the last as channel architecture, creative testing, and audience segmentation improved with every cycle.
