Sara Mitzner | VP of Brand Marketing | AS Beauty Group
Sara Mitzner is a distinguished brand and marketing expert currently serving as the VP of Brand Marketing at AS Beauty Group. AS Beauty Group oversees five notable brands: Laura Geller Beauty, Bliss, Cover FX, Mally Beauty, and Julep Beauty. In her role, Sara leads her team in developing strategies and concepts across various facets of brand management, including brand mission and identity, partnerships, advertising campaigns, influencer and affiliate marketing, public relations, and social media. We at EliteX, are proud to introduce Sara Mitzner as one of the Marketing Maverick: Inspiring Leaders to Watch, 2024.
Sara’s impressive career spans nearly two decades, starting with her role as a fashion intern at O, The Oprah Magazine, where she advanced to Associate Editor over six years. Her transition into marketing began at Swimsuits For All, a size-inclusive swimwear brand, where she played a pivotal role in strategic marketing and customer service before advancing to Creative Director and eventually VP of Marketing. Her success at Swimsuits For All led to a VP of Brand Marketing position at FullBeauty Brands, AS Beauty Group’s corporate parent, where she worked on multiple brands within the portfolio.
A significant turning point in Sara’s career was her work at Swimsuits For All during the early 2010s when body inclusivity was not widely recognized. Sara’s efforts in booking photoshoots for plus-sized models and promoting body positivity were groundbreaking. Her work included an impactful ad featuring supermodel Ashley Graham in Sports Illustrated, which was well-received and contributed to Ashley Graham’s subsequent cover feature. This campaign highlighted the power of brand marketing to influence culture positively and make meaningful changes. Sara’s expertise and influence in the industry have been recognized with several accolades. She was named a Top Woman in Marketing in the Idea Guru category by Chief Marketer in 2023 and was listed in PRWeek’s 40 Under 40 in 2017. Her leadership in securing long-term strategic ambassadorships and developing award-winning ad campaigns has garnered billions of impressions and significant media attention.
“In marketing, the ability to pivot and adapt to real-time developments is crucial for staying relevant and effective.”
As a thought leader in the body positive and age-empowerment movements, Sara has been interviewed by prominent outlets such as WWD, The Huffington Post, Yahoo.com, Glossy, Bustle, and Glamour. Before her marketing career, Sara held editorial positions at O, The Oprah Magazine, and Complex. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan and a Certificate in Publishing from New York University. Sara currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Inclusivity is a driving force behind Sara Mitzner’s work. She is deeply committed to ensuring that everyone is represented. This commitment was evident when she began working with Laura Geller. Realizing that their customer base consisted primarily of women over 40, Sara led a shift in the brand’s focus to represent these women more authentically. By featuring women over 40 in their marketing campaigns, social media, and website, and developing products specifically for mature skin, Sara and her team highlighted that aging is a privilege and that women should embrace their age with confidence.
Sara’s leadership style is highly collaborative. She values the input of every team member and encourages open discussions to foster creativity. Her in-house team, which operates like an agency, includes writers, video editors, strategists, PR consultants, and social media experts. Together, they brainstorm ideas, ensuring that the best one prevails. One marketing campaign that stands out in Sara’s career is the recent Cover FX campaign titled “Ms. Irrelevant.” This campaign, a project Sara envisioned for seven years, featured three female professional athletes who were the last picks in their respective drafts for soccer, tennis, and basketball. The campaign highlighted their inspiring stories and showcased Cover FX’s Sweat-Proof Foundation in action. It celebrated the growing popularity of women’s sports and demonstrated the resilience and strength of female athletes.
Sara has faced significant challenges in her marketing career, particularly the shift from traditional media to paid advertising and media spend. Early in her career, magazine features drove sales, and PR and media relationships were crucial. As the focus shifted to paid advertising, Sara leveraged her editorial and storytelling skills to adapt to this new format. She learned to condense her storytelling into quick sound bites and compelling hooks suitable for platforms like Instagram, allowing her to continue driving brand success.
“Balancing creativity with data-driven decisions is not a hindrance but a way to fuel and inform our innovative campaigns.”
In today’s marketing landscape, Sara believes that authenticity is paramount. While authenticity has always been essential, it is now more critical than ever due to the rise of social media. Consumers are more savvy and discerning, quickly identifying inauthentic messaging. Brands must deliver genuine and resonant messages to capture and maintain consumer attention and trust. Sara Mitzner’s dedication to inclusivity, collaborative leadership, and ability to adapt to evolving marketing trends make her a formidable force in the industry. Her work continues to inspire and drive meaningful change, demonstrating the powerful impact of authentic and inclusive brand marketing.
Technology has revolutionized Sara Mitzner’s approach to marketing. By leveraging various SAS platforms, her team can make data-driven decisions and enhance their creative effectiveness. These tools provide valuable insights that directly influence their strategies and outcomes, making their work faster and more efficient than ever before. Engaging with customers is another area where Sara excels. One of the most effective strategies she employs is putting a human face behind the brand. At Laura Geller Beauty, the founder, Laura Geller, serves as a relatable and recognizable figure. This approach resonates particularly well with their target audience of women over 40, as Laura herself is a proud 66-year-old who can relate to their experiences. Incorporating Laura into social media and marketing campaigns has proven highly effective in building a strong connection with their customers.
Measuring the success of marketing efforts is crucial at AS Beauty Group. A dedicated Performance Marketing and Customer Insights Team evaluates various key performance indicators (KPIs) depending on the campaign or program. They conduct brand lift studies and track the creative effectiveness of each marketing asset, allowing the team to build on successful strategies or pivot when necessary. Sara offers valuable advice to those starting in marketing: don’t over-strategize your career or view it as a linear path. Her own journey, which began in fashion and editorial, eventually led her to lead marketing strategies for multiple beauty brands. She emphasizes the importance of being open to different paths and experiences, as marketing often involves taking various routes to reach great ideas.
Balancing creativity with data-driven decision-making is a key aspect of Sara’s campaigns. She starts with thorough research to understand what genuinely matters to customers, using data to inform and fuel creativity rather than hinder it. This approach ensures that their strategies are both engaging and effective. Looking ahead, Sara anticipates a significant rise in the role of AI in marketing. Rather than fearing AI, she encourages marketers to embrace it as a collaborative tool that enhances and amplifies creative ideas, leading to more informed and quicker decisions regarding creative effectiveness.
For personal growth in a marketing career, Sara highlights the importance of the ability to pivot. Staying current with trends and being ready to adapt based on real-time developments and cultural shifts is crucial. Marketing is an ever-changing field, and rigidly sticking to long-term plans is often unrealistic. Being responsive and adaptable is key to success. Throughout her career, Sara has consistently tied herself to a mission rather than a specific company or brand. She has focused on empowering underrepresented individuals, whether through promoting fashion for real women at O, The Oprah Magazine, championing body inclusivity at Swimsuits For All, or advocating for the pro-aging movement at Laura Geller. This mission-driven approach has given her work purpose and guided her career direction.
“Inclusivity is not just a strategy; it’s a commitment to representing everyone authentically and meaningfully.”
Sara Mitzner’s journey in the marketing industry is marked by her dedication to inclusivity, collaborative leadership, and the ability to adapt to evolving trends. Her innovative strategies and commitment to making a positive impact continue to inspire and drive meaningful change in the field of brand marketing.
