Uncensored Renegades Why you need to know your e.l.f.ing numbers
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Jan 30, 2026 Kory Marchisotto, e.l.f. Cosmetics CMO known for driving sustained, community-led growth. Kory explains why every marketer must know their numbers. He talks about linking creative work to revenue, making the long-term case for marketing, earning the right to be bold, and a five-step formula for brave, measurable campaigns.
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Always Tie Marketing To Revenue
- Know your numbers and tie marketing activity directly to revenue impact when talking to finance or the board.
- Kory insists CMOs should translate creative work into P&L math and show examples like influencer posts driving 4x product sales on Amazon.
Raise Marketing Budget Incrementally With The CFO
- Build investment incrementally with the CFO by testing and proving what works before asking for large budget increases.
- Kory raised e.l.f.'s marketing from 6% to 24% of net revenue over years using staged increases and ROI analyses tied to 25 quarters of growth.
Measure Brand Over Time Not Just Quarters
- Brands are built over decades but often managed in quarters, so measure long-term brand effects not just short-term metrics.
- Jon and Kory point to e.l.f.'s 25 consecutive quarters of net sales growth as evidence of long-term investment payback.