As Quoted in: Glossy

The NFL season rolls around in the fall, and with the football season comes one of the biggest musical events of the year: the Super Bowl Halftime Show. In September 2022, it was announced that Rihanna would be the Super Bowl Halftime performer, sending football, music and beauty fans alike into a frenzy. 

Combining one of the most popular sporting events with a globally known superstar into one event has ignited a million hot topics; what will Rihanna wear, what might she play—and the list goes on. But on the brand side, one query keeps popping up: what is Fenty Beauty’s game plan?

Our Principal and Founder Bilal Kaiser spoke with Glossy to share his thoughts on Rihanna’s upcoming Super Bowl performance—and what her Fenty empire might gain from the 2023 show. 

“Done the right way, an organic product-led perspective and music perspective can be tastefully combined as one big pop culture Zeitgeist moment around the Super Bowl.” – Bilal Kaiser

Read the rest of Bilal’s take and Glossy’s story here!

Agency Guacamole Celebrates 5 Years with Company and Capabilities Expansion, 3-City Tour for B.L.N.D. and Limited-Edition Candle Launch

We're turning 5! Check out the press release below to find out what we’ve been up to:

Agency Guacamole, a Los Angeles-based communications agency supporting leading beauty and lifestyle brands, celebrates its fifth year of business and announces the expansion of its company and capabilities; the growth of its Beauty, Lifestyle and Nurturing Diversity (B.L.N.D.) initiative with a national three-city tour; and the introduction of a limited-edition candle scent created as part of the five-year celebration.

“I cannot believe it has been five years of growing brands, producing award-winning events and partnering with influencers and content creators,” said Bilal Kaiser, founder and principal at Agency Guacamole.

“When I started the company in 2016, I wanted to take a new approach to building brands. The vision was to tell a story wherever the consumer was—whatever platform, whatever medium—to build a loyal following. I’m thrilled and honored that we’ve been able to do what we love for five years—and learned so much, especially in 2020—and that we’re able to grow our platform on diversity, inclusivity and representation as a key pillar of who we are as an agency,” he added.

Unlike a traditional PR agency, where creative and strategy lives with the firm and all campaign fulfillment gets outsourced, Agency Guacamole has its own warehouse to handle influencer program execution, sampler box send-outs and mailer fulfillment under one roof. In 2021, the company doubled its office and warehouse footprint at its Los Angeles hub, which in addition to a larger warehouse includes a content studio and additional seating for the growing team.

“The expanded warehouse will allow us to not only grow our partnerships with brands to create fun and engaging influencer campaigns, but our in-house pack-and-ship team can continue closing the loop to actually get our clients’ products to each content partner at scale,” said Kaiser.

“Additionally, with the continued uncertainty around the pandemic, our team can produce turnkey ‘event-in-a-box’ concepts for our retail partners, allowing them to execute small-to-medium scale activations across the country.”

Agency Guacamole’s Beauty, Lifestyle and Nurturing Diversity (B.L.N.D.) initiative, which started in 2018 and has taken place in New York City, Los Angeles and virtually, will go to three cities this year: Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles. The goal is to bring together key opinion leaders, industry execs, content creators/influencers and editors to talk about inclusivity within the beauty industry.

The first event in Atlanta took place on Aug. 31 with the theme of “One Year After 2020, Where Are We Now and Where Do We Need to Go to Make Our Industry More Inclusive?” Moderated by Atlanta-based TV and radio personality Ms. Juicy, the panel was well-rounded with insights from Jayria Woods; Atlanta-based beauty content creator; Olivia Hancock, Byrdie beauty editor and founder of the POC-focused beauty podcast “The Hue Report”; and Cora Miller, founder of the multicutural-focused haircare brand Young King Hair Care

“I’m still on cloud nine after such an amazing event with some of the most hardworking and talented people in the industry,” said Cora Miller, founder of Young King Hair Care, a grooming brand intentionally crafted for young men of color. “Thank you to Agency Guacamole and Bilal Kaiser for bringing us together and putting on an event to highlight and amplify underrepresented voices in the beauty and lifestyle space.”

Over the past five years, Agency Guacamole has been a key partner to top beauty and lifestyle brands, concepting and executing countless successful social media, event, influencer and public relations activations across the country. The LA-based agency’s work has won numerous industry awards including the 2021 #BizBash500 List, Muse Creative Awards, AVA Awards, Hermes Awards and Bulldog PR Awards. Founder Bilal Kaiser received the prestigious Joseph Roos Community Service Award from the Los Angeles Chapter of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA-LA) in 2019.

And in true #TeamAG fashion, which entails expanding the bounds of what a traditional agency is, Agency Guacamole is introducing a limited-edition 5-Year Anniversary Candle created in partnership with LAIT Candles, an LA-based, female-owned artisanal candle company.

“I’ve been collaborating with Agency Guacamole for several years and to say I’m proud of their accomplishments is an understatement,” said Jennifer Rhee, founder and creator of LAIT Candles.

“I’m so grateful that I get to play a part in creating a special, custom candle scent for their five year anniversary. It not only stands out on its own as a delicious fragrance that Bilal and I developed together, but the whole concept underscores how Agency Guacamole is different from other firms—they’re constantly coming with creative concepts to inspire and engage their community.”

The exclusive 5-Year Anniversary Candle was inspired by California, nature and travel, among other things, and has notes of sea salt, damask rose and driftwood. It will be rolled out as part of an exclusive VIP gifting initiative launching in Q4.

With a five-year recap of wins comes a new vision and new goals for the next five years. Coming off the heels of the first of three B.L.N.D. events, a fifth-year celebration and exciting activations and initiatives for our clients underway, Team AG is thrilled to see what the next five years hold.

“We’re incredibly grateful that amidst unprecedented times we’re able to share some good news with our peers, clients and supporters,” Kaiser noted. “The last five years have been quite the journey of growth, and I’m excited to continue the momentum with our community in the years to come.”