The Evolving Business of Celebrity Partnerships and Events with Allison Statter

Summary

Gloss Angeles – June 19, 2026

Episode Title: The Evolving Business of Celebrity Partnerships and Events with Allison Statter

Hosts: Kirbie Johnson & Sara Tan
Guest: Allison Statter, CEO & Co-Founder, Blended Strategy Group

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the modern landscape of celebrity partnerships, influencer marketing, and the evolving business around high-profile events. With LA native and marketing powerhouse Allison Statter, the hosts explore how authenticity, strategy, and relationship-building remain at the heart of beauty and entertainment marketing. Allison brings a unique perspective, drawing from her decades of experience in talent management and brand strategy—offering candid insight into what really drives successful celebrity and influencer campaigns.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

What’s on Your Face? – The Beauty Rituals Roundup

[02:16 – 05:07]

• Allison reveals her background as a makeup artist and her affinity for evolving beauty routines.
• She details her current beauty favorites:
  • CL (Caliray) Foundation & Primer (by friend Nikki DeRoest)
  • Charlotte Tilbury Bronzer
  • Give Beauty Mascara: “I have like five. I still live for that mascara. I’m a mascara junkie.” (Allison, [03:43])
  • Natasha Denona Eye Shadow
  • Merit Lip Gloss
  • Anastasia Brow Products
  • One Size Setting Spray
• Host comments on One Size’s new oil spray:
  • “It was like just spraying straight alcohol on my face… it burned.” ([04:24], Host 1)

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Allison’s Role & The ‘Super Connector’ Philosophy

[05:07 – 08:22]

• Allison summarizes her work:
  • Blended originated working with emerging brands, now manages Fortune 500 clients.
  • Sees herself as an advisor: “What are you trying to achieve?” is her guiding client question.
  • Uses her network strategically—helped the Rockettes create viral content, e.g., with the Backstreet Boys.
• Distinguishing herself from male peers: “A lot of peers... are getting paid for their Rolodex. I always felt uncomfortable just charging for my Rolodex.” ([07:12])

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The Myth of ‘Organic’ Viral Moments vs. Strategic Planning

[08:34 – 10:46]

• Allison demystifies authenticity in influencer work:
  • “The consumer knows the difference between authenticity and pay-for-play deals.”
  • Draws clear parallels: influencer campaigns are today’s magazine ads.
• On influencer partnerships:
  • Some creators require creative freedom; others will nail a brief as written.
• Example:
  • Charlie XCX for Poppy Super Bowl campaign: “She knows her audience, she knows her fans… When it came to the social rollout, we had to really let her drive that.” ([10:49 – 11:22])

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Reality Checks for Brands Entering Celebrity Partnerships

[11:25 – 12:55]

• Allison’s advice for brands:
  • “You gotta have the budgets not just to pay the person but to activate around the person.”
  • Brands often spend all on talent fees, leaving no room for supporting the launch.
  • “With big, big talent, you really need to know the why of why you're hiring them.” ([12:48])

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Beauty Event Budgets & Decision-Making

[13:07 – 15:17]

• Allison shares real numbers: media events range from $25K to $150K (excluding talent fees).
• Hosts’ perspective on attending events:
  • Relationships, newsworthiness, exclusivity, and agency reputation are key.
  • Dislike for open house events: “I want a purpose of being there.” ([14:39])
• Allison: “We won’t do events where the budget is inappropriate for us to execute it up to our standards.” ([15:18])

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The Celebrity Brand Boom – Biggest Mistakes & the Longevity Challenge

[15:25 – 20:19]

• Allison explains the shift from endorsement to equity:
  • “The fun part is getting to launch. The hard part is staying in business.” ([17:34])
  • Celebrities realized companies (like L’Oreal) made billions from their image while they got fixed fees—now they want in on the upside.
  • Running a business is “another full-time job… that's been one of the biggest reasons that a lot of these haven't necessarily panned out. The oversaturation is wild.” ([18:54])
• Case Study: Rihanna
  • “Rihanna’s been doing this for almost 10 years… she hasn’t put out a record, she hasn’t toured… You can’t do both.” ([19:19–19:36])

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Social Media’s Double-Edged Sword for Celebrities

[20:23 – 24:36]

• Social media as a powerful free marketing tool:
  • “Social media is a free marketing tool for celebrities, period, full stop. So you better have that thing programmed really well.” (Allison, [20:32])
• The struggle for older generations of celebrities vs. digital natives.
• The rise of “HQ pages” so artists can keep their main feed more personal.
• On privacy vs. relevance:
  • Harry Styles cited as an example of authenticity: “He’s just the most authentic. He won’t do anything that he doesn’t believe in.” ([23:17])
• Not every celebrity can (or should) post everything; those who lean in find cultural relevance.

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Navigating Privilege & The Realities of Being a ‘Nepo Baby’

[24:59 – 29:33]

• Hosts reference Allison’s father, music executive Irving Azoff. (“Cash the check!” [25:15])
• Allison speaks frankly about her family legacy:
  • “People always thought, like, oh, she just has a job because it’s her dad. Which is why I left… to start my own company.”
  • “My motto is: head down, just keep doing what you’re doing.”
  • Discusses the pressure and privilege: “I don’t abuse it… early years, his relationships were helpful, but now I’ve built so many on my own.” ([27:44])

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Being a Woman in a Male-Dominated Industry

[29:33 – 32:38]

• On emotionality at work:
  • “Our emotion is—and it’s not really emotion, it’s passion.” ([29:41])
  • “We had to almost get loud and emotional for people to hear us… in my older age, I have learned how to temper that, and I’m really proud of the growth I’ve had there.”
• Gender pay gap and industry challenges:
  • Example: Losing a global brand RFP because men made the decision: “I was like, well, that makes sense. It’s three men running the RFP and you awarded it to two male-founded agencies.” ([32:17])

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XOA Fragrance Launch – Allison’s Entrepreneurial Story

[32:52 – 36:15]

• The origin story:
  • Inspired by a hard-to-find French perfume, Allison created XOA to offer her own twist.
  • “It has a lot of really delicious vanilla… that’s why people are like, ‘Who smells like a cupcake?’” ([34:59])
  • Kept launch small and strategic, sells through personality-driven social marketing: “When I promoted, it sells. When I don’t, it doesn’t. Facts, period.” ([34:29])
• The philosophy behind the name:
  • “It’s just XOA. From me to you. You know, I sign all my emails… XOA, if I’ve ever sent you an email, it will all— I can’t help it.” ([36:16])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The fun part is getting to launch. The hard part is staying in business… you have to be okay knowing that one day you might have to close your business.”
  — Allison Statter ([17:34])

• “Social media is a free marketing tool for celebrities, period, full stop. So you better have that thing programmed really well.”
  — Allison Statter ([20:32])

• “People always thought, like, oh, she just has a job because it’s her dad… My motto is: head down, just keep doing what you’re doing.”
  — Allison Statter ([27:44], [29:33])

• Host 1: “I want a purpose of being there. I want to learn. I want to be educated on the product with people.”
  ([14:39])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:16: Allison’s current beauty routine and product shoutouts
• 08:34: Authenticity in influencer marketing—myth vs. strategy
• 10:49: How creators like Charli XCX drive campaign content
• 11:41: Brands’ biggest mistakes in celebrity partnerships
• 13:07: Beauty event budgets and ROI
• 15:25: The real challenge of celebrity brand launches
• 19:19: Why Rihanna succeeds and the ‘either/or’ of brand focus
• 20:23: The impact of social media on celebrity branding
• 24:59: The realities of being “well connected” and Nepo baby stereotypes
• 29:33: Women, emotion, and power in PR/marketing
• 32:52: Launching XOA fragrance—behind the scenes

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

• Candid, warm, and insightful: The discussion is friendly, conversational, and refreshingly honest about business realities, industry pressures, and the hustle behind-the-scenes.
• Empowering & realistic: Both hosts and guest share concrete, sometimes hard-won lessons—particularly about women in leadership, the work of entrepreneurship, and how to negotiate authenticity in a world of “pay-for-play.”
• Industry wisdom: Heartfelt practical advice for both aspiring marketers and beauty brand hopefuls—everything from product launch pitfalls to why strategy (and your network) matter more than ever.

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For links and discount codes, check the episode show notes.

Transcript

[ACAST Announcer]

ACAST powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.

[Brooke Devard]

Hello? Hello, it's Brooke Devard from Naked Beauty. Join me each week for unfiltered discussion about beauty trends, self care, journeys, wellness tips and the products we absolutely love and cannot get enough of. If you are a skincare obsessive and you spend 20 plus minutes on your skincare routine, this podcast is for you. Or if you're a newbie at the beginning of your skincare journey, you'll love the this podcast as well. Because we go so much deeper than beauty, I talk to incredible and inspiring people from across industries about their relationship with beauty. You'll also hear from skincare experts. We break down lots of myths in the beauty industry. If this sounds like your thing, search for naked beauty on your podcast app and listen along. I hope you'll join us.

[Allison Statter]

Glam los angeles hi kirby. Hi sarah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Welcome to of los angeles. Glams. Today's guest is an LA native talent strategist and co founder, CEO of Blended Strategy Group. A female founded marketing and communications agencies specializing in celebrity partnerships, influencer marketing, PR and brand strategy. She spent nearly two decades working in entertainment and talent management, working with major artists including Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera and Jewel, helping broker large scale brand partnerships with with companies like Pepsi and l'. Oreal. Her innate understanding of old Hollywood power structures and the new creator economy make her a credible resource to discuss the evolution of how we're marketed to. Welcome to Los Angeles.

[Allison Statter]

Allison Statter. I'm so excited to be here.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

And you know that she's a Capricorn based on that intro where she does all of the things.

[Allison Statter]

Capricorn.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Three Capricorns in a room.

[Allison Statter]

Capricorn.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Yeah, I'm a Capricorn. This is a very Capricorn. January 6th, I'm 11.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

December 27th.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yeah.

[Allison Statter]

See, that's why we all love each other. We get each other.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

We do. We see. We see.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

So Allison, when we start every episode, we ask our guest, what's on your face? What are you loving? What? Makeup, skin care, hair, anything.

[Allison Statter]

Okay. Amazing. I'm actually so happy you asked me this because as I was getting ready to come here, I was like, I hope they asked me what I'm wearing on my face. So my face. It's funny because I, I don't know if you know this about me, but I was a makeup artist in my early 20s when I dropped out of college.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Another job.

[Allison Statter]

It's how I started. I dropped out of college, I came home My parents told me that if I was going to come home, I had to get a job. And I went and got a job at a salon called Art Luna in West Hollywood. I love doing makeup to the point where sometimes I'll get stuck in the chair doing too much. But today I've evolved as well. Where I used to not wear makeup liquid foundation and only wear packed powder foundation. So I was like a Mac studio fix girl. Tried and true for years and years and years and years. And then my good friend Nikki derossic came out with cl and I am addicted. It's all I wear. I wear their primers, I wear their liquid foundation, I wear their blushes, everything. So that is what's on my face. I have the primer, like I said, the liquid foundation. I do use a Charlotte Tilbury bronzer on top. I still use my give Beauty mascara.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

That was the best mascara. It is. I still have one tube.

[Allison Statter]

Oh, I have like five. I'll send you another.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Thank you.

[Allison Statter]

I still live for that mascara. I'm a mascara junkie. Like, I will sit there and I will put a pin to my eyelashes and just sit there and like separate them. I use the Natasha Denona eye shadow. I love her products and I love her content. I love watching her content. It's just so fun to watch how she does the most beautiful work. And then on my lip, I have my merit lip gloss. I'm tried and true, addicted to it. And I have my Anastasia brow on. Obviously, that's all I use. Obviously, yeah. And then I use my one size spray setting spray and I, I am like, I need to go get the oil spray. I'm dying to try it. Have you guys tried it?

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yes. And I felt that it was like just spraying straight alcohol on my face. Like it burned my face. I don't know if I didn't shake it up enough or what. But I remember it works. It works.

[Allison Statter]

Okay, great.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

But I didn't like the experience of it. I felt like it was just a lot of product coming out at once. I didn't like that. I love their traditional setting spray and I love powder. We love powder melt. But for me I was like, I think I'll just stick to a blotting sheet or like. Yeah, a powder.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah. I'm lucky that I don't get too oily. So I haven't ever really needed a lot of oil products. But I am really, I really want to try it. Just because I'm obsessed with him.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Yeah. I think he like totally owns that category.

[Allison Statter]

Oh, he's just, he's so special.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

For those listening who do not know what you do, can you describe your job?

[Allison Statter]

You know, with my background being in talent management, I was in talent management for 17 years, right? So I did it for a very long time. I, when I left and took the leap of faith to start my own business, I really just wanted to be a super connector basically and help clients and brands connect to talent in a more strategic and efficient way. As you all know well, marketing, pr, eventing, it is constantly moving, right? And it continues to move faster and faster. And so as that has happened, I have built a modern day agency that is a one stop shop for our clients. Our clients are predominantly brands, all types of brands. When we started the company, we started in, you know, emerging brands, smaller brands. Over the 11 years we've evolved into now working with huge Fortune 500 brands like JP Morgan Chase and Starbucks and Schwarzkopf and poppy beverages amongst some of our clients, right? And now we really are that strategic advisor. I've been using the word advisor and consultant a lot because that's where it all has to start, right? I say to my clients all the time, what are you trying to achieve? We help them strategize to achieve those goals and we are uniquely positioned to also execute them so we can deliver the strategy and say, okay, here's the strategy. You are welcome to go do this on your own, but if you need the execution of it, we have the infrastructure to be able to do that. A lot of the strategy comes from thinking about my network, right? Like I'll sit there like the Rockettes are a client of ours, they need to do cooler content, right? Like how do we elevate them from a content perspective? It's not just the always on content that they're doing in their studios every day. They have a huge following, they have over a million followers, right? You have artists, you have influencers, you have actors, you have, you have people even yourselves who would benefit from tapping into that network of the Rockettes and creating content with them. So everything that I'm thinking and doing, I am thinking about my network and how do I leverage it to obtain these goals. And if they're not in my network, I'm going to go find the person that we need to do it. I have a lot of peers who are men in the industry who really are getting paid for their Rolodex a lot of the time. And I always felt very uncomfortable just charging for my Rolodex because I think I was always just like, oh, I'll just make that introduction. No worries. You know, and then someone once said to me was like, you. You realize you can charge for that, and that's incredibly valuable. And there a lot of weight comes with me calling and saying, I'm working with this person, you know, Starbucks, case in point. I really was instrumental in helping them show up at Coachella and working with the promoter directly and getting the promoter to trust that I was going to be involved from start to finish in all the details of that whole activation. And that made a huge difference for them.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

I was going to say, going back to the Rockettes, there was a piece of content they did with the Backstreet Boys.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah. That I was like, yeah, we worked on that.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Allison's behind that.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yeah. I was like, okay, that's amazing. I absolutely love that.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

What is something, though, that you think audiences, when they see it online, they think is authentic and they think that it was just kismet and this came together great, but that it was actually highly, highly strategic. Like, there was a lot of work and effort put into it. Is there an example you can give us of something like that?

[Allison Statter]

I do think that the consumer knows the difference between the authenticity and the pay for play deals. But the reality, and I've said this from the very beginning of when I started blended, when I would have to explain because at the time when we started, influencers were brand new. Like, it had just gone from bloggers to influencers.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Right.

[Allison Statter]

Like YouTubers were just emerging. Like it was a whole new playground of talent. Right. And I would have to do a lot of explaining of you have to pay these people. And it is very much like you're buying a flight of media. You think of it like buying a flight of media. Right. When we used to sit and look at our People magazines and our Vogue magazines and our Vanity Fairs and our lores and Cosmos and all the different things, and you would see the advertising in there. Like, to me, that is no different now than a brand doing a really robust influencer marketing campaign.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

You know, people not in our industry, they'll be like, this seems like an ad. This isn't an ad. Right.

[Allison Statter]

Well, you'll see in the comments. Get your bag, girl.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Right. But that's not that. That's not to say that they're not going to engage or, you know, buy the product, but it has to be a good campaign.

[Allison Statter]

Yes, yes. And I think that's where the influencers and the talent come in, where they give their influence on what they're comfortable with from a creative set or what type of content they're comfortable creating and rolling out as it relates. We also do so much of this work that we know like who are good content creators. Can we literally send the brief and they will match it a hundred percent and we don't have to worry who are gonna, you know, there are some creators and influencers who I'm like, listen, you can work with this person, they're fantastic. You will definitely see a return. But you have to know going into it that you're giving up your creative freedom. They're gonna dictate what the content looks like and the reason you're hiring them and the reason you're partnering with them is for that reason.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Are you able to share an example of who that might be?

[Allison Statter]

Charlie xcx. We just did the Poppy super bowl commercial with her and Rachel Sennett. She knows her audience, she knows her fans, she knows exactly how they're going to react to these types of things. And she was really great at understanding the goal of the content rollout across social. She approved all the creative as it related to the spot. And we hired her creative director, we hired her team, it was, was awesome. And then when it came to the social rollout, we had to really let her drive that.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

You recently launched Ad Collective.

[Allison Statter]

Yes.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Which is essentially a holding company and includes experiential marketing and PR services. Your role includes things like celebrity and influencer strategy. What's the first reality check you give to a brand who wants to work with a celebrity or a high profile influencer?

[Allison Statter]

I think think about again, what's their goal? What is their goal using this person? And then I go back, we do deep dives and I go back and I will tell them like you gotta be ready to lean into this person. Especially if it's a super high profile person. You gotta have the budgets not just to pay the person but to activate around the person. A lot of time you'll see them spend all their money on just the fee and they have all these deliverables from PR days, shoot days, you name it. And they can't afford to use them because they've blown all the money on the upfront. So you're, you know, that's a lot of what we do is like we'll look at the contracts that we're putting in place and we'll say make sure that you're putting and we'll even tell them, you, you know, for an event, it's going to cost X for a media event, you know, and let's siphon off that budget and make sure that this person is going to be able to travel there and, you know, all the different things. So we're really looking at every single thing. But I think with big, big talent, you know, they need a really. I always say, like, you really need to lean into them and you really need to know what. Why you're. The why of why you're hiring them quite transparently.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

We talk a lot on this podcast about the events that we go to as media and the experiences that we get. And we have seen everything from the best of the best to like, quite literally the absolute worst.

[Allison Statter]

Like Firefest.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yes. Like. Like borderline. We were almost there. Are you able to share, on average, what it costs to put on a media event?

[Allison Statter]

You can do a media event for, to your point, as little as you want. Right where we do. I mean, we've executed anything from, I would say on the low end, 25k on the high end, to $150,000. And that's not paying talent, that's not procuring. That's just the invite, Production costs, hard costs, all that kind of stuff. I am very particular. I have ocd. My team will tell you she has ocd. Like, I want every T crossed, every I dotted. The goal is that our attendees have an incredible experience from the minute they get the invite to the minute that they leave the event. I'm wildly impressed with how many events you go to. Like, I could never do that. It is insane. How do you determine which ones you go to and you don't go to?

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

I think relationships are a big one. If we know the publicist or know somebody from the C suite is going to be there that we definitely want to get in front of, we go. If there's like a newsworthiness to it or an exclusivity to it, we want to be there.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Sometimes it's like, location, like, if somewhere we haven't been before, that sounds fun. Or if the event just sounds really fun and we know that it's being hosted by a brand or an agency that does well. Like, that's more likely to go.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

We're less likely to go to open house type things where it's like, drop in from this time to this time.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah, those are hard.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

I don't want to do that. Like, I want a purpose of being there. I want to learn. I want to be educated on the product with people. Yeah. And connect with the people that, like, are going to tell me about that product.

[Allison Statter]

That makes sense.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

I also Think it puts into perspective, too, for us, like, I mean, we go to so many of these events. It's. It's still a pretty penny, like, oh, totally, 20, 25K. Like, that's a lot. Especially for, like, smaller brands too, like, that are just, like, trying to get media in the room.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

It is an expense. It's not, you know, it's not something to scoff at.

[Allison Statter]

Right.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Yeah. And that's not even including, again, like, talent. If you're paying people appearance fees, things like.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah, that's not even.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Right.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah. I mean, we won't do events that the budget in is. Is inappropriate for us to execute it up to our standards.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

For sure. Yeah. Okay. Allison, you have helped us, many celebrity, many a famous person launch a brand. You've also seen, like, us so many. What is the biggest mistake, in your opinion, that famous people make when launching a brand?

[Allison Statter]

It's an interesting conversation to have because I talked a lot. I. I used to talk a lot about this now, and now I'm not as much, but celebrities were getting paid a couple million dollars dependent back in the day right now. Obviously, those fees have gone up tremendously for the level of celebrity. And some people, I say this all the time to my clients when they're like, what do you mean she won't do it for a million dollars? Doesn't. Million dollars? I'm like, she no. Like, she can do that in 20 minutes at a private. Down the street, you know, like, so there's a lot of that that goes into that, and that's shifted a bit. But, you know, when you have a big company like a l', Oreal, who is making billions and billions of dollars globally, and they're using people and IP and those people, let's even say they're getting paid $10 million to do that, but the company is making billions and billions, but they're selling their products off of this ip. That's really, I think, when the talent figured out, like, wait a minute, I want to participate in the upside on this. Why am I the one actually selling it? And I have a ceiling on how much I'm going to make. And I think that's really what the impetus of all these celebrities who were continuously getting those deals, especially in beauty, I would say beauty and liquor were like the two big ones, and they figured that out. And so they were like, okay, we're just gonna do this on our own. And then I think a lot of these people started to do it on their own. And then we're like, oh, Wait, this. I have to run a business, right? Running a business is incredibly difficult. You know when my favorite thing is when people are like, I'm just going to start a brand on my own, I'm like, good luck with that. You know, it is so hard. I tell people all the time the fun part is getting to launch. The hard part is staying in business once. Everything else, everything else. When someone once asked me, what's the best piece of advice you can give me when I want to start my business? And I was like, you have to be okay knowing that one day you might have to close your business because in like you have to keep at it. And it is incredibly difficult. And I think that a lot of these celebrities whose day jobs and full time jobs are being musicians or actors, actresses, athletes, you know, that's where they're exerting all of their energy. That's what they're, that's, that's why they're able to have these brands. And then when you add on running a business on that, that's really difficult and that's really hard. And I think that a lot of people realize that is like, oh shit, I ha. I'm making X Amount in Sephora, X Amount in Target. But in order to do that, I have to keep doing photo shoots, I have to invest more money, I have to show up to these meetings and rally my team and inspire people. It is a another full time job. And I think that that has been one of the biggest reasons that a lot of these haven't necessarily panned out. And I also think it's just because the oversaturation is wild.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Right. We talk a lot about Rihanna and Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber. Halsey's another one that Lady Gaga as well. Maybe not as much as like the aforementioned women, but they really show up for their brands.

[Allison Statter]

Yes.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Like Rihanna's been doing this for almost 10 years at this point. And if there's a huge launch, there's some event and she's present.

[Allison Statter]

Correct. But she also hasn't put out a record.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Right.

[Allison Statter]

She hasn't toured.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Right, Right. You can't do it all.

[Allison Statter]

You can't do both.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Right?

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Right.

[Allison Statter]

She's also Rihanna, so she can do, she can invest all her time in Fenty beauty and Fenty hair and Fenty skin and Savage. And she probably knocks out photo shoots like a pro. She's had three babies in those 10 years. Businesses do get to a place where they can effectively start to run themselves in a way, especially if you have the right bench of people running them with you and partners. But she hasn't been able to put out a new record and go on the road and tour globally and successfully have Fenty thrive.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Right. She was putting all her eggs in that basket.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

In order to get it there.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

So interesting. I love the business side of this stuff.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Do you think that social media has made celebrities less special or less effective at moving the needle for things like brand awareness?

[Allison Statter]

Yeah, I think I, I have been saying this since I started blended and since my management days. Social media is a free marketing tool for celebrities, period, full stop. So you better have that thing programmed really well. Because they rely, especially musicians rely on their record labels to promote them and put the money behind promoting a record. They rely on their promoter to put the money behind promoting the tour to sell tickets. Right. Pre social media, they were putting radio ads up, they were putting posters everywhere, they were running ads on tv, they were running ads before movies. So when social media came out for traditional celebrities, I think it was the greatest gift because they can now promote everything. They can own their own marketing channel. And the bigger it is, the more they're going to be able to for free, directly market to their fans and their followers. So I think that social media has been a blessing in that way. I think where it hasn't necessarily been a blessing is how hard it is to do that. And again, they have day jobs so like to be thinking about, especially like my generation, the 40 plus artists and women, you know, the younger ones, they throw content up, no problem. They know how to speak to that audience, the digitally native audience that they've born and raised that way. But for the older ones, not older, but like, you know, the, the, the older millennial, whatever we are, it's harder because you have to think about it. Right. But at the end of the day, I genuinely feel like it's a blessing because they can speak to their audience so directly, so authentically. They, especially when they have a big audience, you know, like a lot of artists and people, especially musicians now they have HQs. So when they do brand deals, they won't, a lot of people won't post on their brand pay on their owned page, but they'll have like an HQ page that they'll post on.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Interesting.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah. And that HQ page is like all the information that you need on that artist there. When their movies coming out, when their shows coming out, if they're going to go on the road, if they're putting out a book, like they use that as their source of information. So that they can, like, keep their personal one more just, you know, in line with them.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

They're artistic on brand.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Is there a celebrity of our demographic

[Allison Statter]

of this old that you think does that. Well, Harry Styles.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

What. What does he do that you think

[Allison Statter]

he does really well? I mean, he's just the most authentic. He won't do anything that he doesn't.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Yeah.

[Allison Statter]

Believe in, you know, he's not out there, like, posting his personal life on his ig.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Well, that's what I was gonna say. That's kind of like the. The impetus of me asking this question, like, have celebrities become less special? Because everybody now is posting everything about their lives online. And in order to have social currency, you have to be relevant online. And granted, Harry Styles is extremely relevant online. Yeah, but he's not, like, wouldn't got a hot dog like he was back in 2014 when he was with One Direction, you know? I mean, like, he's become more privatized.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah, well, when you're that famous, you have to hold something sacred. Right?

[Brooke Devard]

Right.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

But he's running marathons publicly, just not posting about it.

[Allison Statter]

We do Kevin Bacon social.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Oh, he.

[Allison Statter]

I love crushing it. Yeah. Crushing it. But we're crushing it because he's crushing it. Right, Right. He has.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

They have to want to do it.

[Allison Statter]

They have to want to do it, and it has to be natural, you know, and it has to be. You have to be comfortable with it. Like, Kevin, our girls will be like, hey, this is trending. This move is trending. Like, do you and Kira want to, like, try it? And within, like, an hour, they'll send back a video and crush it, you know, but not everyone can do that.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Right.

[Allison Statter]

So I think. I think to answer. The short of your answer is, is, like, it's going to be what they make of it. If they lean into it and they're. They have fun with it and they create relevant content, it's quite honestly going to make them more culturally relevant and keep them part of the conversation as opposed to not.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Allison, you said that you were distinct from your competitors because of your network. I would personally be remiss not to mention that your father is the Irving Azoff. Hello.

[Allison Statter]

He's the cutest man alive.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

You told me that he will sign off on emails. Ctc.

[Allison Statter]

Ctc.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Cash that check.

[Allison Statter]

Cash the check.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

I love that.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Absolutely obsessed.

[Allison Statter]

Yeah. Sometimes it's ctfc. Cash the check.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yes.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Is he Capricorn?

[Allison Statter]

No, he's not. His birthday's December 12th. I don't even know what Sagittarius Okay.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yeah. Little fire sign.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Okay.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Okay. So much respect to Irving, your father.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

All the respect.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

But what's the unspoken downside of being perceived as well connected?

[Allison Statter]

You mean a Nepo baby?

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Well, I mean, if you want to

[Allison Statter]

put it that way. But you. I'm happy to answer it.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yeah. You said you're well connected, but, like, I was thinking of it more of the sense of. I'm sure people are hitting you up all the time, like, can I get concert tickets?

[Allison Statter]

Oh, I joke that Emily, who's my chief of staff, who's been with me forever, I don't know, my life without her, I'm like. We're like Emily's Tickets.com, you know, because. Yes. And here's the thing. First of all, it's funny that you're like, the Irving Aoff. My father is so humble, and to me, he's just my dad, you know, I think that when you're in it, you don't understand the magnitude of it. Like, you know, I went over there the other day, sat down on the couch to watch a basketball game with him. We're sitting there cuddling and holding hands, which might be weird to people, but, like, that's my dad, you know, like, he raised me. He was my soccer coach.

[ACAST Announcer]

He.

[Allison Statter]

He's just everything. And I realize the magnitude of his career and his accomplishments, and I've been along for the ride, so I just have a different. I sit in a different seat, and I have a different perception of him and of it. What I will say is I worked for him for 17 years, unintentionally, when I was my makeup artist. And he called and he was like, you need to come work for me for two weeks. And I was like, absolutely not. I will not be the boss's daughter. I will not be in the music business. Hell, no. He's like, I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. And I was like, what? He never says that. Two weeks turned into 17 years, and it was the greatest gift of my life. And I. I reflect on it, and I look back on. He wanted to set me up for success, but that didn't come with. It wasn't easy. People always thought, like, oh, she just has a job because it's her dad. Which is why I left. Working for him to start my own company was because I really, for myself, had to prove to myself and to people that I didn't have that job because of him. I. I'm capable and I'm smart, and when you work for your family business the pressure that comes with that is so big, you know, like it, you don't want to disappoint your parents in life, let alone then you go and you work. You don't want to disappoint them in your work either when you work for them. And I, I acknowledge my privilege, you know, I acknowledge that I did get my foot in the door in some instances because of him. And I do acknowledge that I can call him and say, who do I call for this? And he'll put me in touch with them. Like, I, I'm very well aware of all of that. I don't abuse it. And I think that in the early years of my career, yes, like, his relationships were very helpful to me, but now I've built so many on my own. Me winning the client to begin with, that's my own doing. That's myself putting myself out there, networking, hustling, proving that I'm capable of doing the work. And with 11 years under my belt, I, my, I would hope the work speaks for itself. And I think that's a lot of it. I, I welcome the Nepo baby conversation. I actually was, a couple years ago, I was talking to a friend of mine who's a book publisher. I was like, I think I should write a book on being an EPO baby. And she was like, that's never gonna be a conversation. And I'm not kidding you. Like, two months later, the whole Nepo baby conversation just exploded. And it's hard, you know, it's really hard, hard to carry that because I do think that there is a huge stigma that comes with the privilege and you got to embrace it. And you just kind of have to turn and tune out. You have to turn it off and tune it out. And just, I, my motto is like, head down, head down, just keep doing what you're doing.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

So you work in an industry full of men.

[Allison Statter]

Oh, yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Do you think successful women have to be more emotionally guarded?

[Allison Statter]

I mean, I think we all, as women work, period, in a male dominated world, no matter what industry we're in, we are always told, oh, you're. Women are so emotional and they're this and they're that. And. But I think that our emotion is. And our. It's not really emotion. I think it's passion. And I think it's really when you're passionate about the work and about your job, I think that that emotion comes with that passion and then it comes out in some of the communication I have for many years. Like, I reflect on my 20 year old self all the time. And I think back to some of the conversations I had, even my 30s, you know, and I think back to some of the meetings I was in and some of the conflicts that I had. And I'm not always proud of how I showed up in those, but I do think it was genuinely because I. I just didn't feel heard. We had to almost get loud and emotional for people to hear us and listen to us and not that they did, they sometimes didn't. And. And I would get even more emotional and even more frustrated about it in my older age. I have learned how to temper that, and I'm really proud of the growth that I've had there. It's a really hot topic for me. I am incredibly supportive of women in business. I am of young women. And how do they start out? Strong. And I, you know, we always joke that I might not have a daughter, but I have like 25 of them because my whole company is women. It's hard. It's hard to see the pay gap. It's hard to see some of the. My competitors that are men, that have way bigger businesses that I have and have been doing it for a lot less time. Their entry point, their budgets, where they're getting their budgets from. It's a very hard thing. And we were currently, we were just recently in a big RFP for a global brand, and we were. They were awarding it to two agencies. We were one of four, and we ended up not getting it. And it was the first time that I actually wasn't like, super bummed about not getting it. They really wanted us to bring our fees down to a place that I wasn't comfortable with, that I was just like, I know our value. I know my value. I know the value of my network and my relationships and my ability to deliver for them. And we would potentially be losing money as opposed to making money on how I would have to staff it and the whole thing. And when we got on the zoom with them and they told us who won it, I was like, well, that makes sense. It's three men running the RFP and you awarded it to two male founded and run agencies. And the look on their face.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

I love that you said that to them. That, like, gave me a little bit, a little shiver, like, yeah, love it. It's like a movie moment. All right. On top of your work with AD Collective and blended strategy Group, you have your perfume.

[Jameela Jamil]

Yes.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Xoa.

[Allison Statter]

Yes.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Which is a fragrance that you wore, baby. I saw Allison at a Schwarzkopf event and Went up and gave her a hug, and I said, what the hell are you wearing? This was last year, the year before it. I've talked about this fragrance on the podcast before.

[Allison Statter]

It wasn't out yet.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

No, it wasn't. You were like, it's my own. So tell everybody about Xoa. What are the notes and smells? Tell the story about how it came to fruition.

[Allison Statter]

So I was really inspired to launch my own fragrance and create xoa. It was a pretty simple one at the beginning. It started really simple, which was that I had loved this one fragrance that I wore every day that I had bought at a beauty supply. That that beauty supply obviously went out of business. And I then had to go find it online, was buying it on Amazon, buying it in bulk, and I would wear it every day, tried and true, no matter what. And I would get so many compliments wherever I went. I'd be walking down a street, I'd give someone a hug. I'd walk into a restaurant, I'd be in an elevator in my office. Oh, my God, you smell like a cupcake. You smell so good. What is that? And it was this French brand. I could never pronounce it. So I'd have to be like, here's like, a screenshot of my Amazon cart. This is what it is. So I knew I was converting. I was like, oh, people are going, and strangers are actually going and buying this. Then I thought to myself, you know, with all of my resources and everything that I do within my company, why wouldn't I just do this myself and put my own twist on it and make it my own fragrance? And I have so many learnings, right, from all the different businesses that I have been part of that some of them have done incredibly well, some of them have not done well. And I was like, I have all these learnings. I have all these resources. I'm gonna do this myself. And listen, like I said, used every learning. I was super conservative. I'm not gonna. I didn't do a huge PO to begin with. You know, I still. I'm still doing this in very small drops, monitoring, you know, when I promoted. It sells. When I don't, it doesn't. Facts, period. Right? I know that if I'm not going to talk about Xoa on my socials for three weeks, I most likely will not be selling bottles for three weeks unless it's my repeat customer who comes back to buy a second or a third or a fourth bottle. And I wanted this to be something that I could control and something that I Could bring to other people and have them smell really delicious. And so, you know, it's. It has a lot of really delicious. Vanilla is, I would say, the. The biggest note that comes through in it. That's why people are like, who smells like a cupcake? You know? Apricot.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Apricots. What comes through for me.

[Allison Statter]

Interesting. Isn't that interesting how the notes come through differently? Yeah, vanilla comes through for me.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Yeah.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Not a traditional vanilla for me. Oh, really? See, for me, that's why I love it, because it's not a traditional vanilla fragrance.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

But I wouldn't say it's, like, sweet like a cupcake, but it's, like, it's much more elevated than that.

[Allison Statter]

It's an elevated cupcake.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yeah.

[Allison Statter]

It's not like a.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

It's a sprinkles cupcake.

[Jameela Jamil]

It's a sprint.

[ACAST Announcer]

I know.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

I'm like, what the hell?

[Allison Statter]

Left and right.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

LA institution.

[Allison Statter]

Candace Nelson person.

[Jameela Jamil]

I know.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Bless.

[Allison Statter]

But yeah, so. And it has a tiny hint of a floral, which is what I put in to kind of twist. Put a twist on it, because I don't want to just, like, dupe the other one. Right. So it does have a tiny hint of a floral in it. And when everyone's like, what are you gonna call it? Like, what brand name?

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

I'm like, I'm not.

[Allison Statter]

It's just xoa. Like, from me to you. You know, I sign all my emails. No matter the most professional email, I can't write sincerely. I can't write from. I can't write thank you. No matter what. It's xoa. Like, if I've ever sent you an email, it will all. I can't help it. Like, it literally now is. That's just what it is. And I was like, I'm just gonna call it XOA because it's, like, for other people. It's from me to you, Allison.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Thank you for coming on Gloss, Angela.

[Allison Statter]

I love it here.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

I think we have a code,

[Allison Statter]

you guys. Everyone go get your. Your xoa. Yes. These ladies are so gracious to have me on.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Oh, my gosh.

[Allison Statter]

I'm obsessed with both of them.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

We're gonna double check on the discount.

[Allison Statter]

Great.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

But code glossangelis. You can use it to get a little discount on XOA and try it for yourself.

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Our show notes. We'll have the.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Yes, we'll put it in the show notes.

[Allison Statter]

Great. Amazing. And I can't wait to check my Shopify.

[Brooke Devard]

Yay.

[Allison Statter]

Thank you for having me.

[Gloss Angeles Host 1]

Amazing.

[ACAST Announcer]

Foreign. Powers. The world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.

[Jameela Jamil]

What if you laughed all through your commute? Or if you heard the funniest story while at the gym?

[Gloss Angeles Host 2]

Well, now you can.

[Jameela Jamil]

I'm Jameela Jamil, and guests on my new podcast, Wrong Turns, share their most mortifying and hilarious disaster stories. I'm talking people like Mae Martin, Bob the Drag Queen, Katherine Ryan, Jake Johnson, Margaret Cho, Simon Pegg, Penn Badgley, and so many more. So listen wherever you get your podcast. Wrong Turns Where Dignity Goes to Die

[ACAST Announcer]

ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.