The New Era of Marketing Is Consumer-First — Not Just Influencer-Driven

In a marketing world obsessed with influencers, high-profile launches, and curated aesthetics, something refreshing just happened. Mikayla Nogueira — beauty creator turned founder — launched her brand POV Beauty with an event that did the unthinkable:

She didn’t invite influencers. She didn’t chase hype. She didn’t try to impress the industry.

Instead, she invited her followers. The people who built her. The ones who’ve followed her journey through acne breakouts, makeup tutorials, and deeply personal moments. The ones who made POV Beauty possible.

This wasn’t just a brand launch — it was an audience-first cultural moment. And it speaks volumes about where marketing is headed.

The New Era of Marketing Is Consumer-First — Not Just Influencer-Driven

Mikayla’s decision reflects a growing trend among challenger brands and innovative marketers: prioritizing connection over clout.

For years, marketers built launches for buzz. PR lists, influencer kits, curated stories. But somewhere along the way, we started confusing reach with relevance. And that’s what brands are now waking up to.

Today's most effective marketing doesn’t just look authentic — it is.

It’s built on empathy, insight, and participation. Not performance. It centers on the people who actually buy, use, and live with the product. And in Mikayla’s case, it reflects a deep understanding of her community — one that values realness over polish, vulnerability over perfection.

What the Mikayla Model Gets Right (That Many Brands Still Miss)

Let’s break it down:

✅ Audience Insight Over Industry Approval POV Beauty was designed around real needs — not marketing buzzwords. This shows what happens when you actually listen to your community and treat them as co-creators, not just end-users.

✅ Belonging as a Brand Experience Her event didn’t feel like a red carpet. It felt like a reunion. That emotion — the feeling of being seen — builds deeper brand loyalty than any influencer post ever could.

✅ Anti-Performance Authenticity By stripping away industry performativity, Mikayla delivered a message loud and clear: “This brand is for you, not them.” And in 2025, that is a radical act.

What It Means for Brands Today

What Mikayla is doing isn’t niche — it’s the blueprint.

More consumers, especially Gen Z and multicultural audiences, are tired of being talked at. They want to be brought in. And as DEI shifts from being a checkbox to a creative core, brands that build with cultural intelligence will lead.

That’s why at CROING, we don’t just market to audiences — we create with them. From the start, we’ve embedded multicultural insights into every part of strategy and storytelling. Because authentic connection can’t be reverse-engineered after the campaign brief. It has to be baked in from the beginning.

We ask:

• What does your audience believe in?

• How do they speak, live, and share stories?

• What kind of space does your brand give them to show up fully?

These are the questions that move marketing from transactional to transformational.

The Takeaway

Mikayla’s launch wasn’t just innovative — it was deeply human.

It reminds us that marketing at its best isn’t about broadcasting louder — it’s about listening better. And the brands that rise today will be the ones who build with, not just for, the people they serve.

Because when your audience feels seen, they don’t just engage — they stay.