Launching international brands into India

A brand problem with a performance layer

Elite had existed since 2018 as a subscription program. In July 2022 Purplle relaunched it as a luxury and premium category for international beauty brands entering India, and launching it was my brief until I left in September.

The brands came with strict global compliance rules, fixed creative guidelines, entry positioning that needed cultural care, and no Indian performance history to plan against. It was a brand problem with a performance layer, not the other way round.

A new format, realistic benchmarks and longer horizons

• Owned the media strategy for the relaunch and its brand launches.
• Set up Meta Collaboration Ads (co-branded campaigns run with the brand), a format so new there was no established playbook. We were among the first in India to set benchmarks for it.
• Benchmarked each new brand against its closest Purplle equivalent, so early expectations were realistic.
• Working with content, design and legal teams and the brands’ global stakeholders, we shifted reporting from short-term ROAS to 3–6-month brand roadmaps the brands could commit to.

More than 20 international brands in three months

• More than 20 international brands launched in the first three months.
• A co-marketing model that balanced global compliance with performance.

When a brand is entering a new market, define success over months, not days.

Market entry · Beauty · India · Meta Collaboration Ads · Brand launches, co-marketing