As we wrap up 2020, we are seeing a rise of mainstream brands collaborating with social media platforms and influencers. From Vogue making their presence known on TikTok, to Maddie Ziegler becoming the face of Kate Spade’s newest fragrance, the influencer marketing industry is at an all time high. Additionally, traditional stars like Paul McCartney and Travis Scott are expanding their ventures with new collaborations and new ways to promote their music.
Celebs & Entertainment
Travis Scott Creates Tequila-Inspired Hard Seltzer
Shortly after the major success of Travis Scott’s partnership with McDonald’s, which according to Ad Week led to national product shortages after the chain debuted his signature meal, Scott continues to expand his network. Staying in the same lane as food and beverage, the rapper has teamed up with Anheuser-Busch to launch his very own agave-based hard seltzer. Coming in March 2021, the new drink will be called Cacti and will be the first of its kind by launching with a celebrity partner. To align with Scott’s personal brand even more, the tagline for the campaign will be “Down-to-Earth ingredients. Out-of-this-world flavor” referencing Scott’s otherworldly themes in his music.
Paul McCartney Dropping New Album
Keeping up with the trend of surprise dropping albums like Taylor Swift did with ‘Evermore’, Beatles icon Paul McCartney is ending out 2020 with a bang by dropping his newest album “McCartney III” on December 18th. After being an anxiously-awaited sequel to the trilogy of his self titled albums, “McCartney” and “McCartney II”, which had gotten mixed reviews at the time, the singer is bringing a whole new sound to the new album. To promote the album, McCartney spoke with Howard Stern, as well as getting creative by having an exclusive video clip on the Talk Shop Live app for fans to interact with.
Brands & Industry
Instagram Adds New Tools to Reels and Stories
In attempts to continue to be a forefront leader in the photo-sharing social media realm, Instagram has recently launched new tools to enhance their Reels and Stories features. These new tools include having the ability to add additional voice or music clips to Reels clips, a watermark that will be added to each Reels video, and a more accessible ‘edit’ option to Reels. As for Instagram Stories, a Camera Booth mode was added that allows for multiple photos to be taken in sequence, a Multi-capture mode, and a Color Filter mode that enables users to customize the intensity of filters. These enhancements seem to be a combination of what competitor social media platforms already have, a notable example is TikTok.
Facebook Looks to Take on Cameo by Implementing a Competitor
After major success that the celebrity streaming app Cameo sees every year, Facebook is in the works of creating their own. Cameo allows for people to pay for celebrity shout outs for yourself and to give to others. From Caitlyn Jenner to Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameo has a variety of celebrities and influencers to choose from, and with Facebook’s massive influence, it will be interesting to see what celebrities would partner with the social media app. According to Social Media Today, the app is reportedly being developed by Facebook's NPE team, which would likely see Facebook build a separate app to compete with Cameo directly. That would reduce Facebook's scale advantage, but even so, being integrated with both Facebook and Instagram could still be a major lure, and could help Facebook establish an immediate competitor for Cameo's business.
Campaigns
E.l.f. Cosmetics Become First Beauty Brand on Triller
It is no secret that beauty brands are making their way onto social media and using their platforms to promote their products. With the rise of video sharing apps, cosmetics brand e.l.f. has teamed up with Triller becoming the first beauty brand to be on the platform. This collaboration comes shortly after e.l.f. launched a challenge on TikTok incorporating an original song that ended up going viral. Because of this success, e.l.f. released a five-track holiday album, ‘e.l.f. the Hauls’, accompanied by a mini-music video series for each song exclusively for Triller. To gain more traction, popular influencers including the Bad Wiggies, Loren Gray, and Michael Le are all seen in the music videos.
#MakeItVogue Campaign Celebrating Fashion History with The Met
Now more than ever, luxury brands are noticing the importance of social media, and more specifically TikTok. Currently being the hottest social media app, brands like Vogue are making their presence known on the platform. With the new fashion challenge #MakeItVogue, inspired by the Met’s new exhibit, they are encouraging users to take inspiration from styles that defined the centuries. The hashtag currently has 1.6 billion views including content from notable influencers like Emma Chamberlain, Jasmine Chiswell, and China Anne McClain. Vogue also encouraged viewers to duet their original audio and use the hashtag for a chance to be featured on Vogue’s TikTok page.
Influencers
Influencers Used to Help Promote COVID-19 Safety
In efforts to keep pushing safety measures due to COVID-19, state governments are looking at every way to increase social distancing and mask use. Some states like New Jersey are integrating the use of influencer marketing to support the cause. Creating the #MaskUpNJ campaign is New Jersey’s way of emphasizing the importance of staying safe during these times, while having social media influencers active on social media. Influencers have implemented posts with the captions “wear your mask” and “download the contact tracer app”. According to the Influencer News, these efforts have produced positive results so far. Sumaira J. Khan, a nano-influencer with over 16,300 followers, stated that almost every response to a photo she posted of her child and herself wearing a mask was positive.
Maddie Ziegler X Kate Spade NY
From being a dancer to becoming one of the most popular social media influencers, Maddie Ziegler has been seen expanding her talents by collaborating and partnering with different brands. Aside from her recent collaboration with the cosmetics brand Morphe, Ziegler has most recently become the face of the new Kate Spade fragrance. Introducing the fragrance and partnership, Kate Spade released a video via Youtube with Ziegler dancing in New York. Ziegler told Allure, “The dance was very 'do your own thing, let your body express however you're feeling, I already relate New York with joy and energy, and that's how I also feel about the perfume.’" Combining Ziegler’s dance skills and her positive persona she showcases online with the fragrance makes for a successful collaboration.
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