The Engagement Rate

An industry bulletin for marketing pros.

Post of the week…

Influencer & brand wins of the week 🏅

👅Oiiiiiiii

Jen Atkins’ haircare brand, Ouai (pronounced ‘way’) went viral after their team played a game - reacting to hilarious attempts by creators to correctly pronounce the ambiguously named brand. If you want a laugh, check this out! 

🔋What’s that coming over the hill?!

Runner Andy Glaze, known for sharing his daily runs and race training on social media, recently wore a costume dressed as a bottle of Prime, a drink brand owned by Logan Paul and KSI after discussing a potential partnership with Paul on TikTok, for the Los Angeles Marathon. 

^{Sponsored by vidyo.ai}

vidyo.ai: The better way to create viral short videos

There's no doubt that short-form video is the best way to grow your reach on social media today. Growing on socials should not be a difficult task, and vidyo.ai makes it super easy for you.

With vidyo.ai, you can churn out multiple short videos optimized for TikTok, Youtube Shorts, Reels & Linkedin with the click of a button. You can also get metadata like timestamps, chapters, and transcripts instantly.

Each video is highly customizable with options to apply brand guidelines, outros, b-rolls, animated captions, and directly schedule on social media platforms.

Try vidyo.ai for free!

“Everybody stay f****** calm!”, brands pivot marketing strategies post TikTok bill

The dynamic between brands and creators couldn’t be anymore different in light of the potential TikTok ban looming in the States. The numerous rumblings and threats of bans in the past have left many creators/influencers acutely desensitized to the urgency of the matter. Many are just waiting for this to die out… 

However in brand world, sh** is getting real. 

Last year, clothing brand Fruit of the Loom made a significant jump in its marketing efforts on TikTok to reconnect with younger audiences. It tapped into nostalgia, reintroduced its iconic fruit mascots and presented a fresh image to the platform, managing to gain a lot of traction with a demographic the brand had previously struggled to connect with. Even when the company got involved in a smear campaign with allegations of covering a chemical spill in the 70s, its audience pushed back as a community showing just how much it became a growing cult favorite. A whole lot of effort went in for what soon could be a spoiled party. Whilst the brand is not giving up on TikTok, it is like many other brands, having to come up with contingency plans. Many brands will be thinking of ways to diversify their marketing strategies when it comes to connecting with young audiences. And before you think Instagram Reels is the immediate solution, a notoriously saturated platform with content for millennials, you might want to think more carefully about this. 

Other brands that have excelled on TikTok:

🧋McDonald’s Grimace Shake

The fast food chain reintroduced its purple mascot back from the 80s for a new milkshake line. Sales were boosted when a trend of young audiences created absurd and terrifying taste test videos. My favorite was this hereditary inspired post. 

🥤Stanley 

Stanley had a hell of a 2023, gaining a million followers on TikTok that directly translated into a resurgence in sales. 

👄Vaseline

Turns out petroleum jelly can do more than just banish chapped lips. The brand peaked out of its lull with younger audiences making a variety of skincare and haircare routines on TikTok. 

SXSW, the creator economy low-down

SXSW just recently wrapped and the Creator Economy track featured a global community of Creator thought-leaders covering AI, self-produced content, diversity, monetization and much more. Given your work with creators requires reading the room and in case you missed the event, here’s some of the key talking points: 

👉Authenticity is still a talking point 

I mean this clearly must mean that some brands and creators are still not getting this right. Community is only built through trust and being real, especially with Gen Z audiences who can smell bullsh*t a mile away. 

👉Agencies are hiring closer to home 

There’s a growing trend of agencies and brands hiring creators and influencers for their in-house creative teams. It makes sense right? You tend to get better storytelling, formats and innovation. And in-return, these teams can help develop creators’ ‘operational’ skills such as pitching or storyboarding. 

👉AI was the biggest talking point, but little was actually said

Speakers dodged hard hitting questions that addressed concerns of AI making many jobs obsolete or eroding creativity and audiences booed a video where industry experts talked about its pros. 

👉Self-produced content is easier with tech 

Many tech start-ups featured as bespoke solutions for creators to the tediousness involved in self-produced content and in managing business and finance to streamline and enhance your day-to-day. Some stand-outs included Opus Clip, OverSubscribe, Electrify Video and Karat Financial. 

👉”My desert, my Arrakis, my Dune”

Creators are building some serious empires out there, expanding beyond individual content to fully-fledged media companies as their next venture. 

👉Switching up revenue options 

Monetization is obvs the end game for creators. Lots of conversations took place on creative strategies that focused more on community, exclusive content, membership subscriptions and also partnerships with talent management pro’s who are looking to bag you that next big deal. 

👉The TikTok ban discourse is boring af 

No TikTok employee or creator was interested in talking about it. They’ve ridden this rodeo before of ban threats leaving many desensitized to the urgency.