A Sephora-Focused DOOH Campaign That Sold Out Ethereal Eyes Again

Makeup By Mario was relaunching its iconic Ethereal Eyes Eyeshadow Palette after a five-year absence. The goal was bigger than generating awareness. Strategus needed to drive consumers into Sephora stores and ultimately help turn renewed interest into purchase.

The creative system was designed for immediate recognition across urban panels, vertical screens, and landmark billboards. Makeup By Mario branding and Ethereal Eyes remained the visual heroes, while “The Icon Is Back” captured the significance of the relaunch in seconds.

Every media decision served the same objective: put the product in front of the right consumer, in the right environment, close enough to Sephora for interest to become action.

• Build brand awareness around re-launch of cult-classic product
   
• Drive foot-traffic to Sephora stores where the product was sold 

Programmatic DOOH became the centerpiece, with inventory concentrated within approximately 200–300 meters of Sephora locations across New York and Los Angeles. Placements were evaluated based on audience quality, retail environment, proximity to stores, and their ability to influence consumers close to the point of purchase.

The campaign paired hyperlocal DOOH with CTV, using layered audience data to reach prestige beauty shoppers, cosmetics buyers, in-market Sephora shoppers, past Sephora visitors, lookalikes, website retargeting, and social-interest audiences before they encountered the DOOH creative in-market.

High-impact Times Square inventory added scale, placing Ethereal Eyes in one of the world's most visible retail environments while keeping the campaign connected to nearby Sephora locations.

Ethereal Eyes sold out again.

The campaign demonstrated how programmatic DOOH can move beyond broad awareness and become an accountable retail media channel. By engineering the media plan around physical store locations and foot traffic from the outset, Strategus connected audience intelligence, programmatic buying, creative, and real-world proximity to create a measurable path from impression to purchase.