Celessa Baker, Vice President of Marketing Cooperation at Sephora USA, is committed to reshaping the way Sephora communicates with consumers, focusing on establishing non-traditional partnerships in the fields of sports, music and celebrities. Baker’s approach to collaboration has always started with linkedin private messages, combining her passion for beauty and marketing with her diverse background to create an unconventional and remarkable alliance.
Celessa Baker and her team start sending private messages to those who interest her on LinkedIn or Instagram every morning. “They could be well-known athletes who have spoken at the conference, or the CEO of a coffee shop, or the tour manager of a rising star,” said Baker, vice president of marketing cooperation at Sephora. “Whether it’s sports, celebrities or music, as long as we consider a suitable partner, we will venture into all fields.” Beck and her team are dedicated to creating unconventional partnerships for this beauty retail empire – alliances that exceed expectations. Recent examples include the three-episode documentary series “Musical Faces” produced by Sephora, which was launched on Hulu in January. In the series, musicians Chapelle Roan, Victoria Monet and Becky G created unique makeup looks and explored themes of art and beauty. Also in January, Sephora announced a multi-year partnership with the newly established women ‘s professional basketball league Unrivaled, which includes a beauty salon for the league’ s venues in Miami. In April, Sephora revealed that it had acquired the naming rights for the 31,000-square-foot venue of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyrie team in Oakland. The Sephora Performance Center is the home court of this professional women’s basketball team. Its courts, changing rooms, lounges, as well as fitness and training facilities will all adopt the Sephora brand logo. “We went to great lengths to find these opportunities to enter the market first,” Baker said. All these collaborations began with direct marketing (DM). I realized that we had to cast 100 nets to find 10 good opportunities and eventually lead to a sudden rise to fame. Eleven years ago, Baker joined Sephora as the senior integrated marketing manager of the makeup department. After that, she was promoted continuously and held positions such as vice President of Marketing for makeup and hair care brands. Eventually, she got the opportunity to focus on market cooperation. Her career path is quite distinctive. Before joining Sephora, she was engaged in men’s wear, sports marketing and broadcasting industries.
Despite this, entering the beauty industry ignited her long-standing passion for makeup – a passion that can be traced back to her multicultural, mixed-race and immigrant childhood. Beck was born in the Middle East. His father is a Black American and his mother is Iranian. When she was one year old, she came to the United States with her family. They first settled in San Francisco and later moved to Riverside, Los Angeles. Her father is in the telecommunications industry while her mother runs a beauty salon. “My mother is my source of inspiration,” said Baker. She didn’t know how to comb my fluffy and curly hair, so she went to a beauty school to study. She eventually worked in a beauty salon and later ran her own. Beauty is an inherent trait in her culture – fine eyeliner, heavy lip makeup and blush. I grew up in my mother’s beauty salon since childhood and witnessed the transformation of women from entering the salon to leaving it. I watch my mother dress up smartly every day. Iranian women always dress up smartly when they go out, even if it’s just to visit their neighbors. From this perspective, I understand that beauty is a form of self-expression, a way to display vitality in various ways.” Beck studied biomedicine at Chapman College in Orange County and later switched to physical therapy. After that, she began to research how to complete her college studies as quickly as possible with the credits she had earned – and eventually obtained a degree in organizational design. But a more important thing happened during her college years: she became obsessed with music and got an internship at the largest city radio station in Los Angeles. That experience shaped my career and broadened my horizons, allowing me to see the outside world. “I never thought music could be a career choice, let alone marketing and entertainment,” Beck said. She eventually became the marketing director of the internship radio station and said it was there that she “truly fell in love with marketing”. Before the era of social media, I had to reshape the entire brand, learn how to make advertisements, think about how to connect with consumers, and create sales plans and innovative promotional methods. Her current husband was living in San Francisco at the time. Through her connection with Steve Harvey, who was then launching a suit collection at Men’s Wearhouse, Baker joined the retail group as the marketing director. Beck keenly realized that she was now “in Sephora’s backyard” and felt the appeal of working there.
“For me, this is motivation – Sephora’s signature charm and the allure of being a part of it,” she said. The diversity of beauty is exactly the same as my background in entertainment. It is fast-paced, highly disruptive and dazzling. It is colorful and full of vitality. When I joined Sephora, influencers and content creators were emerging, and they were exploring how to use social media to expand and expand their marketing messages. This is very exciting.” When Baker and her team were looking for potential partners, she always kept one goal in mind: How can beauty become a bridge for interpersonal communication? How do brands – and retailers – reach consumers where they are? “Nowadays, the customer experience is more like an all-round experience,” she said. The funnel of the past was, “I’ll tell you who I am first.” Then I’ll come back and tell you what we do, to attract you with our existing products. Finally, I will lead you into the store. But the situation is changing. Seeing consumers interact with brands in various ways, brands need to be everywhere. For this reason, Baker constantly seeks unexpected and disruptive partnerships – which in itself requires significant media investment – and delves into the team’s shared email to search for potential customers: those who may lead trends, set trends, or have a positive impact on the spirit of The Times through their words and deeds. This enables us to expand our business beyond traditional beauty consumers and interact with our audience in a unique way. I’m not just a beauty enthusiast, and so are our clients. This is why Sephora should serve consumers “everywhere”. This is the essence of cooperation. My belief is that your value depends on the deal you made last time.
Post time: Aug-22-2025
