Ulta Beauty’s next frontier for retail media: partnerships, not just placements

Since launching its RMN, UB Media, in 2022, the retailer has steadily expanded its proposition, blending first-party data precision with omnichannel activation. Houg oversees not just Ulta’s retail media business, but also its broader enterprise media spend – giving her a rare, dual-lens view across brand marketing and performance.

“What’s driving [the growth of retail media] is the ability to use first-party data to get an understanding of what’s driving our brand partners’ business, what also drives Ulta’s business, and bringing it all together,” she says. “That first-party data access plus closed-loop measurement is when the space really started to explode.”

Closing the loop and opening the funnel

While retail media is often associated with the lower end of the funnel, Houg is clear that UB Media’s ambitions extend further. “We’re piloting connected television and streaming audio right now,” she says. “We have access to audiences, and we can eliminate a lot of waste that you get by just doing more of a mass channel, and measure the results.”

It’s part of a broader effort to build a video offering that balances brand awareness with performance. “We’re thinking about video from a performance lens,” she says.

That same approach is guiding Ulta’s activations tied to key cultural moments. Its recent collaboration with Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour, for example, blends curated influencer content, city-specific beauty looks and exclusive product drops, underscoring its belief in upper-funnel storytelling that connects back to measurable outcomes.

“People want to experiment, explore and see how others are using products,” says Houg. “We’re leaning into that with more influencer-based programs that can be scaled using our data.”

Even campaigns tied to promotional moments (like Mother’s Day or the retailer’s flagship ‘21 Days of Beauty’ event) are increasingly becoming opportunities for creative alignment between Ulta and its brand partners, using shared assets and cohesive messaging to build impact across touchpoints. “We support that at the enterprise level, but then our brands can use the same assets, the same look and feel, and the same creative and do something focused on their brand,” she says. “So it links it all together.”

Business partners, not just media sellers

It’s this shift that Houg sees as a move toward more collaborative planning with brands. “We’re getting briefed in on a business challenge, and we’re helping co-author a support plan for that,” she says. “We sit on so much information about the beauty category. How do we build that understanding of that insight with our brand partners?”

It’s for that reason that, just eight months into the role, Houg is looking forward to building up a team around media strategy and insights and working on shaping UB Media’s approach to measurement to ensure standarization across the board to be able to tell a comprehensive story.

“What we’re trying to do is standardize and bring it all together,” she explains. “Our goal is to have all of our channels measured with the same attribution methodology and omni-level reporting, making sure we can understand not only what people are doing on the site, but what they’re doing in-store as well.”

A self-service reporting tool, called Ad Hub, is currently in pilot to help brands access faster, more transparent performance insights. “Brands want to see what their campaigns are doing in real time,” says Houg. “So we can really let our brands see for themselves, with greater transparency and speed, how the campaigns are performing.”

Loyalty, value – and a unique beauty shopper

With 44 million loyalty members and counting, Ulta’s first-party data is a powerful advantage – but Houg emphasizes the importance of interpreting that data in context.

“One of the most interesting things – that maybe surprises people – is that our beauty enthusiasts really shop high to low,” she says. “They build baskets that are really unique. It’s not like ‘I’m only luxury’ or ‘I’m only mass.’”

At a time when economic pressures are influencing purchase decisions more than ever, Ulta is also exploring how shoppers define value – from pricing and loyalty points to exclusivity and experience. “People might splurge on a luxury lip but then reach for a mass-market skincare favorite they’ve loved for years,” Houg says. “The baskets are unique, multi-tiered. We’re constantly exploring what value means – whether it’s price, points, exclusivity or experience.”

That insight is also guiding how the team approaches personalization and segmentation. A recent Spanish-language campaign, for example, delivered a 3x return on ad spend. “It’s about connecting all the dots... not just the data, but the creative and the context, too,” says Houg.

Retail media’s next strategic unlock

Looking ahead to where the retail media category is headed next, Houg believes it will be driven by tighter integration between data and brand strategy and helping brands move beyond isolated campaigns toward integrated planning and long-term growth.

“We’re trying to grow your brand business at Ulta,” she says. “And this is a lever where we can both make that happen. When you get it right, you can wrap around a consumer with full-funnel messaging and actually see a direct impact on your business.”