Brand building · Episode 67 · Season 4 · ·
Reimagining an Icon Without Losing What Made It One
Christie Sclater, SVP of Global Marketing at Clinique, on what collecting Absolut Vodka ads in second grade, working inside Apple Retail, and building experiences at Estee Lauder taught her about the intersection of creativity, strategy, and connection, and how she is reimagining one of beauty's most iconic brands without losing what made it iconic.
Christie Sclater, SVP of Global Marketing, Clinique. In conversation with Justin Cooke.
Reimagining an Icon Without Losing What Made It One
0:0036:00Why reimagining Clinique starts with 1968 and why simplicity is the hardest and most important work in brand building
Christie Sclater has a career that moves between disciplines in ways that seem discontinuous until you understand the thread: Gallup for behavioural economics and the science of how people make decisions, Apple for the discipline of connected design thinking across every brand touchpoint, Estee Lauder for luxury brand experience, and now Clinique as SVP Global Marketing, reimagining one of beauty's most enduring brands.
In this conversation she explains why the Clinique founding story from 1968, a Vogue article asking whether great skin can be created, is as modern as anything being published today, why simplicity is not a sign of a simple brand but of deeply rigorous pre-work, and why she believes Clinique's dermatological heritage is its most powerful and most underutilised asset.
What first drew you into marketing?
“When I was young, like second grade, I started collecting Absolut Vodka ads. I did not know what vodka was. I did not know what marketing was. But I knew this was telling me a story and I loved watching the story unfold. I fell in love. I got hooked. Then I started following Apple campaigns. The combination of creativity, smart thinking, and connection really drew me in.”
The origin story of a marketer: not logical but deeply felt.
Tell me about the Clinique founding story
“Clinique was founded in 1968 by Dr. Norman Orenreich and Carol Phillips, who wrote an article in Vogue in 1967 asking, can great skin be created? You can still read that text and it is about as modern as anything. With a twice-daily routine of cleansing, exfoliating, moisturising, everyone can have great skin. Everyone deserves a second chance. That is as true today as it was in 1968.”
The founding story is both the historical anchor and the contemporary strategy.
What did Apple Retail teach you?
“Apple does something so uniquely well: connecting the dots across every element. Design is not just the product. At Apple Retail, every detail was thought about from the way the team member greeted you at the door to the architecture to the communication. And an equal elevation was given to the team member experience as to the customer experience. Every person in the store is part of the brand.”
Connected design thinking applied to every human touchpoint.
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Become a Voice →Why is simplicity the hardest work?
“Simplicity means you have done the pre-work. It means you are delivering the best experience to the customer at the end. It is so hard to make things simple. People do not realise that. They say, oh, but we are a simple brand. And I say, yes, but there is hard, messy work to do to get to that place.”
The paradox that simplicity requires the most work.
How do you reimagine an icon without losing what made it one?
“We are not creating a new brand. Clinique has a 55-year history with the founding principle intact. My job is to express that principle in a way that is relevant for a new era. We have not been expressing the dermatological heritage loudly enough. That is the most powerful thing we have and the most underutilised. That is what we are changing.”
The brief for the transformation in one sentence.
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Read the full transcript
Lightly edited for readability
Justin Cooke Tell us about your path to Clinique.
Christie Sclater I collected Absolut Vodka ads in second grade. Got hooked on the story. Studied marketing, went to Gallup for behavioural economics, then Apple Retail where I learned that design is not just the product: it is every touchpoint. Then Estee Lauder, then Clinique. Not a logical path. But the thread is: I believe in great brands that build experiences bigger than the products they sell.
Justin Cooke What is your brief for Clinique?
Christie Sclater To understand the future, you have to start with the past. Clinique was founded in 1968 on the principle that great skin can be created. Everyone deserves a second chance. That principle is as modern as anything today. We have not been expressing the dermatological heritage loudly enough. That is the most powerful thing we have. Simplicity means you have done the pre-work. It is so hard to make things simple.
