We’ve retired OnAir. Welcome to On Brand, a new bi-monthly newsletter curated by Air, where we basically vibe out on #brand. Full description in the footer. If you’re here for Air updates, don't worry, they'll still come once a month (starting next week). |
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Now that you're reoriented…what's up? I hope you like where I'm taking this newsletter. I'm letting loose. So should you. Unclench your jaw, drink some water, etc., all the stuff every SaaS loading page tells you to do nowadays. This week's plot: - The rise of influencer Kate Glavan
- Athletic Greens placing savvy bets
- TikTok, an unstoppable force
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West Elm Caleb, the collateral: This is not a piece about W*st E*m C*leb. |
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Last month, he was The Moment, a 25-year-old NYC furniture designer charged, by the internet, with the crime of “using dating apps.” Specifically, Hinge. The outrage around this moment was more about our dating app culture, and how brands — in their insatiable quest for relevance and clout — should (or in this case, absolutely should not) engage in these strange, post-modern moments. |
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It was Glavan, a 23-year-old podcaster and aspiring influencer in the wellness space, who became the face of this debacle, propelling her to a new level of internet notoriety. She didn’t spark the trend (TikToker @meemshou did) but her inevitably owned the fire. In the week following, Twitter was littered with screenshots of her face, mostly vitriol from her newfound haters. Just weeks before, Kate had produced sponcon with Tinder itself. The first video went up on 1/10/22. She’s true to the NYC app-enabled dating scene, not new to it. One more step back: a month before Caleb-gate, she posted about her supplement routine on Instagram. The stars: Seed, Ritual, and Athletic Greens. |
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All about the brands: This is a piece about Athletic Greens. |
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They’re killing it. #athleticgreenspartner has 32M views on TikTok. At least 27 TikToks have that hashtag, which means an average of 1.18M views each, though we know Kate’s first video with them has 5.2M views. By quickly hiring someone whose internet stock was rising — and who was already an authentic user of their product — they were able to leverage a viral moment without appearing thirsty and pathetic. Glavan’s AG video has exponentially more views than any of their other hashtagged TikToks. You can only assume they juiced it to capitalize on her newfound notoriety. Now that’s what I call #influencermarketing. |
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Key takeaways 🔑 - Influencer marketing can win, but don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
- Athletic Greens has sponsored at least 16 TikTok creators. They spread their bets, then hit it big with Glavan.
- Every business is a media business. This includes influencers. Be omnichannel. Be prolific. This is how you win.
- Athletic Greens also runs OOH ads, runs Instagram sponcon ads (including with Kate!), and they sponsor the likes of Sahil Bloom.
- Influencers are media companies brands can subcontract.
- Want to win? Cover all your bases. Build an internal creative agency and manage a roster of subcontractors. Produce a boatload of content — then make sure you’re managing it right.
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In the know Must-reads, hot takes, and rising trends: |
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Classifieds Marketing + Creative jobs at our favorite brand-forward companies: |
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What'd you think? Do you rate a PASS or a BUY on our new direction? Seriously, I want to know. Got feedback? Just reply to this email: "Dude this was so boring," or “#WestElmCalebWasAPsyOp," for example. In the future, we'll be opening up the floor for pitches (writers will be compensated!), so if you've got a hot idea, I want to hear it. Anyways. Until next time (March 10). — Francis Zierer, Content at Air |
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On Brand is a bi-monthly newsletter where we dissect viral #branded moments, interview marketers and creatives at the most on-it brands, and generally vibe out on the wide world of brands. |
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