Nov 10, 2026 · Masters of Scale · 5 min read

Disrupting Markets by Serving the Overlooked Consumer

Tubi and Elf Beauty leaders discuss how targeting underserved demographics drives growth. Learn how zero-distance customer engagement and challenging industry conventions create brand loyalty and market share in competitive sectors.

Business Strategy Marketing Entrepreneurship

The takeaways

Target Overlooked Consumer Segments. Identify demographics ignored by market leaders to build a loyal base that rivals cannot easily replicate. This strategy allows for rapid growth in white space before expanding into mainstream markets.
Implement Zero-Distance Customer Engagement. Leaders must engage directly with consumers via live streams to bypass traditional feedback loops. This approach accelerates product development and builds deep emotional trust with the brand.
Challenge Industry Conventions Boldly. Avoid competing on the terms of established giants by creating new market categories. Differentiate through provocative messaging and inclusive representation that resonates with underrepresented groups.
Leverage AI for Personalization. Use artificial intelligence to reduce friction in content discovery and enhance user experience. AI should serve as an enabler for human creativity rather than a replacement for human connection.
Bridge Traditional and Digital Ecosystems. Integrate legacy industry strengths with modern digital platforms to create unique value propositions. This hybrid approach allows for scalable distribution while maintaining authentic community ties.
Prioritize Human-Centric AI Philosophy. Position AI as a tool that empowers human creators and customers. This stance differentiates the brand in a tech-saturated market and reinforces core values of inclusivity and trust.

Strategic Positioning in Underserved Markets

Tubi and Elf Beauty have achieved significant market disruption by targeting consumer segments overlooked by industry leaders. Both companies identified a gap between available offerings and consumer desires, specifically focusing on demographics that major competitors ignored. By positioning themselves as champions of the underdog, they built a loyal customer base that extends beyond their initial target audience. This strategy allows them to compete effectively against larger, more established players by operating in a distinct market space.

Zero-Distance Engagement Model

A core operational strategy for both brands is the elimination of distance between leadership and consumers. Elf Beauty’s leadership actively participates in live streams to gather real-time feedback, which has accelerated product development cycles and strengthened brand trust. Similarly, Tubi uses direct fan engagement to inform content decisions and greenlight projects. This approach transforms customers from passive consumers into active participants, creating a community-driven growth engine that is difficult for traditional competitors to replicate.

Challenging Industry Norms

Both companies have successfully challenged long-standing industry conventions. Elf Beauty entered the Super Bowl with provocative, inclusive advertising that highlighted corporate governance disparities, while Tubi streamed the Super Bowl for free to demonstrate the viability of premium free content. These moves were not merely marketing stunts but strategic assertions of brand identity. By refusing to play by the rules of established giants, they created new narratives and attracted media attention that amplified their reach.

AI and Human-Centric Innovation

The leaders emphasize a human-centric approach to technology. AI is viewed as an enabler for personalization and creativity, not a replacement for human connection. At Tubi, AI helps solve the paradox of choice by improving content discovery. At Elf, AI supports human-led innovation. This philosophy ensures that technological advancements align with core brand values of inclusivity and trust, maintaining the emotional connection that drives customer loyalty.

Conclusion

The success of Tubi and Elf Beauty demonstrates that sustainable growth can be achieved by serving overlooked communities and maintaining authentic, direct relationships with consumers. By combining strategic positioning with bold, unconventional marketing and a human-centric technology philosophy, these brands have created durable competitive advantages in their respective markets.

Key insights

Targeting overlooked consumer segments allows brands to build a loyal base that larger competitors ignore. This strategy creates a defensible market position in white space.

Market Strategy →

Impact: Enables rapid growth and differentiation in saturated markets by focusing on underserved demographics.
Zero-distance engagement, where leaders interact directly with customers, accelerates product development and builds deep trust. This bypasses traditional feedback loops and reduces time-to-market.

Customer Engagement →

Impact: Increases customer loyalty and provides real-time market intelligence that drives innovation.
Challenging industry conventions through provocative and inclusive messaging differentiates brands from established giants. This approach captures media attention and reinforces brand identity.

Brand Marketing →

Impact: Generates organic media coverage and positions the brand as a cultural leader rather than just a product provider.
AI should be used to enhance human creativity and personalization, not replace human connection. This human-centric approach maintains emotional resonance with customers.

Technology Strategy →

Impact: Improves user experience and content discovery while preserving the authentic brand voice that drives loyalty.
Bridging traditional industry strengths with digital platforms creates unique value propositions. This hybrid model allows for scalable distribution and authentic community ties.

Operational Strategy →

Impact: Leverages existing industry assets to enhance digital offerings, creating a competitive advantage that pure digital or traditional players lack.

Action items

Identify and target consumer segments that are currently underserved by major competitors. Develop products and messaging that specifically address their unmet needs.

Impact: Creates a loyal customer base and establishes a defensible market position in a niche that larger players ignore.
Implement zero-distance engagement strategies by having leaders participate in direct customer interactions, such as live streams. Use this feedback to accelerate product development and decision-making.

Impact: Reduces time-to-market for new products and builds deep emotional trust with the customer base.
Develop provocative and inclusive marketing campaigns that challenge industry norms. Use these campaigns to differentiate the brand and capture media attention.

Impact: Generates organic media coverage and positions the brand as a cultural leader, enhancing brand awareness and loyalty.
Adopt a human-centric AI strategy that uses technology to enhance personalization and creativity. Ensure AI tools support human connection rather than replacing it.

Impact: Improves user experience and maintains the authentic brand voice that drives customer loyalty and differentiation.
Integrate traditional industry strengths with digital platforms to create hybrid value propositions. Leverage existing assets to enhance digital offerings and community engagement.

Impact: Creates a competitive advantage by combining the credibility of traditional brands with the agility and reach of digital platforms.

Quotes

“We're a symbol of the overlooked and a champion of the underdog, and they roar with courage when you find them.”

“The best way to do that is how do we get in front of the most amount of people in the shortest amount of time?”

“Our AI philosophy is human-centered. Human first, human last, AI in the center as an enabler of the humans.”