RHODE

Rhode is a skincare and hybrid beauty brand founded by influencer and model Hailey Bieber in 2022. The brand grew directly from Hailey’s public beauty image: glow skin, glossy lips, minimal makeup, and the «clean girl» aesthetic. Because of this, Rhode feels less like a separate celebrity business and more like a natural continuation of Hailey Bieber herself. The brand focuses on simple everyday essentials for skin and lips, built around hydration, skin barrier support, and the effect of healthy, «glazed» skin.

Rhode positions itself as an edited, intentional, and accessible beauty brand. Instead of offering a large product range, it creates a small selection of products that are easy to understand, visually desirable, and connected to Hailey’s recognizable aesthetic. Its main communication strength is this close link between founder and product: Rhode does not only sell skincare, but also sells the beauty mood associated with Hailey Bieber: soft, minimal, fresh, and naturally glowing.

Rhode’s communication ecosystem is built mainly around social media, Hailey Bieber’s personal image, product design, accessories. Instagram and TikTok are the brand’s key platforms: they allow Rhode to show glossy skin textures, lip close-ups, soft minimal visuals, tutorials, GRWM content, and viral product moments. The brand’s communication is very visual and sensory — it does not only explain the products, but makes the audience feel the effect of glow, hydration, softness, and freshness.

A major part of Rhode’s ecosystem is Hailey Bieber herself. Her personal social media presence works as an additional communication channel, because the products are closely connected to her own beauty routine and public aesthetic. Rhode also creates accessories that turn the brand into a lifestyle object. The most recognizable example is the Rhode Lip Case — a phone case with a built-in holder for the brand’s lip treatment. It went viral because it was both practical and highly photogenic, turning an everyday object into a visible brand symbol. Through products like this, Rhode makes communication wearable, shareable, and naturally present in social media content.

Rhode’s main communication channels are Instagram, TikTok, Hailey Bieber’s personal social media, the official website, pop-up experiences, retail presence, collaborations, influencer-generated content, and product design. Instagram works as the brand’s face: it shows glossy skin textures, lip close-ups, campaign images, soft minimal aesthetics, and the overall Rhode lifestyle. TikTok works more as a viral platform, where users recreate Hailey’s routines, test products, film GRWM videos, and share skincare or lip gloss content in a more personal and natural format.

At the same time, Rhode expands communication beyond the screen through creative offline experiences and product design. The brand’s pop-ups are usually built as aesthetic, exciting, shareable events rather than simple retail points. For example, Rhode’s first pop-up beauty experience in New York attracted fans who waited for hours to try the new Pocket Blush and get the viral Lip Case, turning the launch into both a shopping moment and social media content. Another strong case is the Strawberry Glaze Peptide Lip Treatment collaboration with Krispy Kreme, which connected Rhode’s «glazed» language with food culture and Hailey’s already viral strawberry makeup aesthetic.

For this analysis, we use two frameworks: the Elaboration Likelihood Model by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo, and Uses and Gratifications Theory, associated with Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch.

The Elaboration Likelihood Model helps explain how Rhode persuades its audience. The brand uses both rational and emotional arguments, but its strongest communication is visual and cultural. Rhode rarely leads with complex scientific explanations. Instead, it makes products desirable through Hailey Bieber’s founder image, viral product design, limited drops, recognizable campaign visuals, and social media discussion.

Uses and Gratifications Theory helps explain why people actively engage with Rhode content. The audience does not only look for product information. They also use Rhode for inspiration, self-expression, entertainment, and belonging to a beauty community. This is why GRWM videos, unboxings, pop-up vlogs, Lip Case posts, and «glazed skin» recreations become part of the brand’s communication.

Rhode’s communication is built around a strong connection between the founder and the product. On the official website, Rhode describes itself as «edited, efficacious and intentional skincare designed by Hailey Rhode Bieber.» This means Hailey Bieber is not just a celebrity attached to the brand; she is part of the brand’s identity. The brand grew from the beauty image she was already known for: healthy-looking skin, glossy lips, and simple everyday routines.

At the same time, Rhode gives consumers simple product reasons to trust the brand. Its communication often mentions hydration, peptides, skin barrier support, dermatologist testing, and visible glow. This helps the brand avoid looking like only a celebrity aesthetic project. Rhode sells a lifestyle, but it also supports it with clear skincare benefits.

One of Rhode’s strongest tools is turning products into media objects. The best example is the Rhode Lip Case, a phone case with a built-in holder for the brand’s lip treatment. TIME included the Lip Case in its Best Inventions of 2024. The product became viral because it made the lip treatment visible in everyday life: on the phone, in mirror selfies, in bags, and in TikTok videos. In this case, the accessory works as mobile advertising.

Rhode also builds launches as complete visual stories. A strong example is Lemontini Peptide Lip Tint, released as a limited-edition summer product in 2025. WWD described it as a $20 limited-edition tint in a glossy yellow tube, with a sweet citrus cocktail scent. The campaign did not promote it only as a gloss; it created a full «lemontini summer» mood through color, scent, packaging, and Hailey’s campaign imagery.

The same approach appears in the Rhode Summer 2026 collection. The launch introduced Pocket Bronze, Highlight Milk, new Peptide Lip Tint shades, Peptide Lip Shape shades, a Pocket Brush, and branded accessories such as terry bags, towels, and phone cases. Vogue described the collection as built around a bronzed, glowing summer look, while Page Six noted that it included Rhode’s first bronzer and three limited-edition summer lip tints: Colada, Macadamia Butter, and Honey Mango. This shows how Rhode does not launch products separately; it creates a whole seasonal world around them.

Rhode is also good at choosing campaign faces that match the cultural moment. In 2026, the brand chose actress Sarah Pidgeon for its spring collection. This was a timely choice because Pidgeon plays Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy in Ryan Murphy’s Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. The spring collection included new Pocket Blush shades such as Teacup and Candy Apple, new Peptide Lip Tint shades, and new Lip Case colors. Rhode used Pidgeon not just as a model, but as a reference to the current return of 1990s minimalism and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s style.

Collaborations also help Rhode create cultural moments. In 2023, the brand launched Strawberry Glaze Peptide Lip Treatment with Krispy Kreme. The product connected Rhode’s «glazed» language with Krispy Kreme’s Strawberry Glazed doughnut and Hailey Bieber’s strawberry makeup trend. The collaboration worked because it felt natural to the brand: skincare, food culture, and social media beauty trends came together in one clear idea.

Offline experiences are another important part of Rhode’s communication. In June 2024, Rhode opened its first IRL beauty experience in New York for the Pocket Blush launch. Business of Fashion reported that fans waited for hours to try the blush and experience the brand in person. Pop-ups like this do more than sell products: they create photos, videos, queues, reactions, and social media content. They turn a launch into an event.

Overall, Rhode’s communication works because every channel has a clear role. The website explains the products, Hailey Bieber gives the brand recognition, TikTok and Instagram spread the visuals, accessories make the products visible in daily life, collaborations create newsworthy moments, and pop-ups turn online interest into physical experience.

Rhode’s communication strategy is effective because the brand does not separate product, founder, visual culture, social media, accessories, collaborations, and offline experiences. Each launch becomes more than a product release. It becomes a story, a visual mood, and a reason for people to post.

The main strength of Rhode is that its communication is easy to understand and easy to share. A customer can discover the brand through Hailey Bieber, see a product on TikTok, buy a lip tint, carry it in a Lip Case, visit a pop-up, and post the whole experience online. This creates repeated contact with the brand across different channels.

However, Rhode should not rely only on virality and the founder’s image. For long-term trust, the brand should add more simple product education: short explanations about ingredients, skin barrier, hydration, and how to use each product. This would strengthen the rational side of the brand without damaging its visual appeal.

Rhode should also continue developing offline experiences and collaborations, but keep them selective. The strongest campaigns work when the reference feels natural: Lemontini for summer, Krispy Kreme for «glazed, ” Justin Bieber for playful Spotwear, or Sarah Pidgeon for the return of 1990s minimalism. If Rhode keeps choosing cultural references that fit the brand rather than random collaborations, it can stay relevant without losing its identity.