The Ulta Beauty Beauty World launch is a textbook example of how excitement turns into backlash when PR fundamentals are ignored.
For those unfamiliar: Ulta announced Beauty World, a highly anticipated event promising masterclasses from top beauty industry leaders, free merchandise, and exclusive experiences with over 200 brands. Naturally, anticipation was high.
Then the rollout happened.
Nearly 3 million people sat in a virtual queue for over an hour, only to learn that tickets had sold out and that only 3,000 tickets were ever available. To make matters worse, reports suggest priority access was given to influencers, high-engagement creators, and industry insiders over loyal, high-spending customers.
The backlash was immediate and intense.
What stood out to me personally is that many of the critiques came from makeup artists and beauty professionals I worked alongside years ago. I spent several years in the beauty space with brands like Tarte, Mally Beauty, and HUM Nutrition during the height of the Shape Tape and influencer boom. Seeing respected artists publicly voice frustration says a lot.
So what went wrong? Several critical PR failures doomed this campaign from the start.
1. Lack of transparency
If tickets were pre-allocated to influencers and high-impact creators, that needed to be communicated upfront. Period. At this price point, secrecy breeds resentment, especially when influencer marketing is already a trillion-dollar economy and many creators are well-compensated through brand deals. Loyal customers felt misled, not left out.
2. Technology breakdowns with no real-time communication
Users reported waiting in queue long after tickets were sold out, with zero notification. That’s not just frustrating, it’s avoidable. A simple system alert or queue update would have mitigated much of the anger.
3. Silence when accountability was required
Perhaps the most damaging misstep is what followed: corporate silence. While frustration has played out publicly for days, customers have received little acknowledgment, explanation, or accountability. What’s worse, this reportedly isn’t the first time Ulta Beauty World has faced similar issues. A prior event in San Antonio allegedly experienced comparable breakdowns.
That pattern matters.
As a PR professional, I understand that technical issues happen. Anyone who’s dealt with a Zoom outage knows that. What defines a brand isn’t the failure, it’s the response.
What should have happened instead:
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Proactive transparency about ticket allocation
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Real-time communication during the queue process
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Immediate acknowledgment and a clear post-mortem after the failure
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Demonstrated tech improvements, especially after a prior event issue
Because the biggest casualty here isn’t one event.
It’s trust.
And once trust erodes, even the strongest brand equity has to work overtime to earn it back.
What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments! MSN Article: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/ulta-beauty-world-2026-when-3-million-customers-chase-3-000-tickets-a-pr-case-study-in-what-not-to-do/ar-AA1UGI7h