Aveeno® launched their most successful annual pitch competition to help close the skin health equity gap

Originally launched in 2021 as Aveeno’s Skin Health Startup Accelerator, this year the competition came back for a 3rd year with a new name and an even bigger impact. The StartUp Collective by Aveeno® is an initiative designed to empower Black female-identifying entrepreneurs with a product, brand or technology that meets the skin or haircare needs of Black consumers by providing them with access to grants, mentorships and resources through a pitch competition.

The program has seen year-over-year success with this year’s submissions – the program’s first year without an outside media/production partner – surpassing previous years by almost 3x the number of applicants! This year’s winner, Kristen Dunning of Gently Soap, was officially announced at CultureCon NY on October 7th!

MBCS leads the way for Aveeno® to reach its widest audience yet with a pitch competition all its own

MBCS collaborated with OneVue planning to evolve The StartUp Collective by Aveeno® to extend across multiple touchpoints. MBCS Talent Relations identified 5 Black female entrepreneurs with audiences who would be prime contest applicants that we partnered with to actively share business tips with their followers and promote the competition. As well, we targeted Black publisher e-blasts and a sponsorship with CultureCon to kick off the competition.

MBCS creative and branded content team provided creative direction for all branded assets, developed all scripts, panel discussions and pitch competition talking points as well as coaching and guidance to the pitch judges and moderator to ensure seamless pitch competition flow.