9.5% lift in ad recall

The Business Challenge

M·A·C set out to overcome one of beauty marketing’s biggest hurdles: how to move at the speed of culture without losing brand integrity. In a category known for polished, predictable content, M·A·C wanted to prove that cultural fluency could be as iconic as a product launch.

As Brat Summer shifted into Demure Spring, the brand faced a familiar challenge. While social conversations evolved daily, traditional content cycles lagged behind. M·A·C wanted to find a way to authentically join these moments, showing up where culture was happening, not after it had passed. The goal was clear: use trend-led creator content to increase time spent with the brand, knowing deeper engagement drives stronger recall and purchase intent.
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The Insight

M·A·C turned to Fabulate to help fuse data, creators and workflow into a single trend engine that could operate at cultural speed. The insight was that activating trends before they peak is significantly more effective than standard creator content, driving 1.5 times more attention and 90 per cent of ad recall from audiences watching beyond six seconds.

Fabulate’s AI-powered tool, SparQ Echo, identified and forecasted the half-life of emerging TikTok trends, allowing M·A·C to activate creator content precisely when cultural momentum was strongest. By pairing predictive data with trend-fluent creators, the brand could translate what was happening in culture into real-time brand storytelling.
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The Execution

Fabulate partnered with M·A·C to launch a trend-jacking engine that turned cultural insight into creative momentum. Using SparQ Echo, the team identified and forecasted trends before they peaked, then activated a squad of eight creators with 50,000 to 500,000 followers.

Creators were selected not just for their reach but for their fluency in trend culture. Each was matched to formats and communities they naturally belonged to, from nostalgic POVs and comedic “trap a girl with a lip combo” hooks to astrology GRWMs and viral AI POV trends. Briefs were intentionally light to preserve authenticity, allowing creators to bring their own voice to the brand.

Fabulate’s workflow enabled concepts, briefings, edits and approvals to move from idea to live content within 72 hours. As the campaign evolved, creators and M·A·C began co-developing ideas in real time, blending trending sounds with subtle brand cues.

Highlights included standout performances from Sammy Robinson and Brooke Upton, whose content achieved engagement rates four times higher than category benchmarks and six-second view-through rates up to 90 per cent above benchmark.

By blending real-time data, creator intuition and rapid production, M·A·C did not just join trends, it helped shape them, establishing a new creative rhythm for the brand.
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The Results

The campaign outperformed every benchmark and redefined what cultural speed can deliver for a legacy brand.

• +9.5% increase in ad recall, a result rarely achieved by established beauty brands
• 2.2× higher uplift in ad recall compared to standard creator campaigns
• +133% uplift in engagement rate, proving that authentic trend participation sustains attention
• 90% uplift on TikTok category benchmarks, driving the strongest brand outcomes for awareness
• 58.5% reduction in cost per engagement, demonstrating efficiency without compromising creativity

Every metric aligned with M·A·C’s goal of increasing engagement and strengthening brand relevance. The campaign proved that when data, creators and technology combine, brands can move at the speed of culture and still remain unmistakably themselves.
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Client Endorsement

"Partnering with Fabulate on this creator-led campaign for M·A·C Cosmetics allowed us to authentically engage with culture and community in a way that was both innovative and impactful. By leveraging micro trends and creator content, we not only drove brand relevance but also delivered strong brand lift results and meaningful engagement. This campaign is a standout example of how creator partnerships can supercharge brand storytelling and relevance in a trend environment."
— Kate Gildea, Marketing & Communications Director, Australia & New Zealand, Estée Lauder

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