THE NAME OF THE (BEAUTY) GAME IS INFLUENCER GIFTING PRE-LAUNCH.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (rock = social media), your Instagram and TikTok feeds have probably been flooded with influencer content about two Beauty launches: Kosas and Summer Fridays. You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal? Influencer gifting happens all the time.” You’d be right, but these two cases are different. Why? Because these products were sent to creators WAY before they were announced (or even teased) on social media to the general public. Let’s take a look.
KOSAS’ REVEALER CONCEALER
On December 27th, Kosas wiped their Instagram feed clean, writing: “...now we’re getting ready to light up your 2024🤭✨.” It was soon revealed that the post was part of the teaser for their new launch: new shades in their beloved Revealer Concealer. Kosas
During the entire week after, Kosas posted BTS clips of their campaign shoot along with screenshots of consumer requests to build excitement. While their followers were guessing in the comments, creators like Serena Kerrigan and Kirbie Johnson began posting unboxing videos and reactions on their reels and TikTok. (Their light bulb-shaped PR packages were next level.)We had the chance to chat with Hailey Hendricks, Senior Manager of Influencer Marketing at Kosas, about their influencer strategy for this campaign and beyond. Here’s what she had to say:
PEOPLE BRANDS AND THINGS: What was your approach to influencer partnerships for this launch?
HAILEY HENDRICKS: For partnerships, first and foremost I always look to talent who authentically love the product and organically support us. An additional layer for this campaign was targeting talent who have told us in the past that they loved the Revealer Concealer formula, but couldn’t find their perfect shade. The win back story was a fun content concept to brief and it’s really exciting to see people finally find their perfect shade match with the launch of these new cool and neutral shades.
PBT: Any big goals for Kosas this year related to influencers or your community?
HH: We have so many exciting plans for our influencers and community this year. While we want to continue to grow these groups, a big goal for us will be deepening influencer relationships in a meaningful way. Our partnerships are never just an agreement. We want to get to know them and we want them to know us. And it’s more than just knowing which products they like or what they want to see from Kosas in the future, it’s keeping up with their personal lives and milestones. We want them to know we see them as a human being and maybe even a friend, not a transaction.
SUMMER FRIDAYS’ LIP OILS
Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland’s brand Summer Fridays took a similar approach to Kosas for their upcoming drop. On January 18th, they’re launching 4 shades of Lip Oils: Soft Mauve, Pink Cloud, Blush Dreams, and Rosewood Nights.We first discovered these details NOT from the brand, but from influencers who posted content with the Lip Oils they had been gifted:
Angela Park Peyton Mikolayek Tatyana Lafata
The brand has even taken over the TikTok search result for “Lip Oil.” In other words, when consumers search for “Lip Oils” on the platform, “Summer Fridays” is the first brand name that appears underneath, and UGC from the brand’s influencers is among the first set of content to appear.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
PHEW, that was a lot to unpack. Let’s end with a couple of key takeaways: Dominating TikTok Search is Key: TikTok users are increasingly using the platform as a search engine. Showing up on the top results is KEY to engaging not just with your audience, but expanding awareness as well.
Build Hype through Influencer Gifting: Putting products in the hands of influencers pre-launch enables the brand to feel more relatable, increases excitement, and builds organic word-of-mouth marketing. It also creates FOMO - when the product drops, consumers will be eager to buy what they haven’t been able to get their hands on.
Listen to What Consumers Want: Both Kosas and Summer Fridays actively listen to their community and use their feedback as data to inform decisions about product development.
ANY THOUGHTS? EMAIL (OR DM) US: PEOPLEBRANDSANDTHINGS@GMAIL.COM.