The Engagement Rate

An industry bulletin for marketing pros.

We hope you’ve had a sweet 4th of July! We’ve also just marked the end of pride month which saw my fave memes going around on July 1st. 

Wholesome content 🤗

Is this the youngest influencer in history? Akil McLeod, who goes by Sonny, was announced as the 2024 Gerber Baby after winning their photo contest. The little one is now ranked as Gerber’s “Baby & Chief Growing Officer” with the family receiving $25,000 in cash, free Gerber products for a year and a whole new wardrobe. 

Spotlight! 📸

“Girls just wanna have fun” - Alix Earle starred in The Kid LAROI’s latest music video for his new single “Girls”. 

The biggest L 👎

An undisclosed medical brand was exposed for trying to convince Samara Alam, a beauty influencer based in Toronto, to inflate the truth by claiming her PCOS symptoms had been alleviated without trying the product. She shared her team’s noble response claiming these practices “perpetuate the abhorrent medical gaslighting of women” and closed with a mic drop moment saying “we urge you to alter your approach before the authorities do”. 

Undeniable trend 📈 

It looks like “brat summer” is only just beginning and the sheer volume of green themed memes don’t look like they’re stopping yet. A couple faves so far have included the Princess Jasmine x Jafar Girl Remix and Princess Fiona’s transformation to a brat ogre, duh. 

Hottest creator🤳

This week undoubtedly goes to @crawly_possessed for this post who has been floating around public spaces dressed as… an old knight? Ugh, sometimes it’s hard to explain meme culture and why something is funny in writing so I suggest you immerse yourself in his latest “works”. 

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Is Converse on the cusp of a Gen Z revival? 

Early 2010s-core fashion trends have been slowly gaining momentum and Converse has read the room well, bringing back a cult favorite sneaker and leveraging influencers to try bring it back to its former glory days. 

Remember when everyone had a staple pair of mashed up Converse a decade ago? Long gone are its glory days now with the likes of Sambas, Solomons and Onitsuka Tigers dominating the crep game. Brands face an upward hill when trying to emerge into the zeitgeist so image trying to do it when you’re two feet underground? CMO, Sejal Shah Miller, has been hard at work putting creators at the center of Converse’s engagement to try and resonate with the Gen Z audience, but like many brands, engagement can only get you so far. I see real impact on the streets and the Converse vacuum remains. 

What’s turned the tide for me is its recent release of the discontinued ‘knee high sneaker’ which has been in high demand for its comeback since 2021 with users flooding Converse’s comments section on TikTok. The brand claims they have been working on redeveloping the shoe since 2022 but there was no word - arguably this could have had more impact if there had been a trickle of updates but I can understand the hesitation to not let the hype peak and die out. What’s been great to see, however, is understanding the role influencers will play to finally let the news be heard with the likes of @The.navarose and @SarahMtimet have been showing off their new kicks on TikTok. My one word of caution however is that pretty PR packages can only get you so far. If you want to see the impact of your footwear brand then measure it out on the streets, particularly on the soles of everyone’s feet.