So, What's Next For Influencer Collaborations?

The partnership between brands and influencers is practically synonymous at this point. Believe it or not, bloggers entered the scene over a decade ago –– I know, it’s scary how time flies. Nonetheless, they’ve completely altered how brands and retailers interact with their shoppers. As the most personalized and relatable marketing tool, there’s much room for growth and innovation. Initially, you may wonder if these partnerships are actually impactful and what exactly happens to them as the industry evolves. Let’s walk you through it.

What We Already Know

We’ve all seen a “sponsored post” –– this is the typical way influencers and brands or retailers interact. This means they’ve partnered up for a one-time or long-term partnership to promote a specific launch or brand through a post. This is a great strategy for driving sales on a singular product or launch in particular but can often be overlooked by followers in a sea of other content. So, brands and influencers are getting more creative and in-depth which leads us to our next point.

What's Next in Collaborations

Taking collaborations a step further, co-designing or creating exclusive capsule collections have become the next frontier –– and this certainly ranges in scale.

Firstly, this can be on a large scale: think the Zendaya x Tommy collections and fashion shows in 2019 as well as the recent announcements of Kendall Jenner becoming the creative director of FRWD and Molly-Mae Hague at Pretty Little Thing. This causes major buzz for the brand or retailers and brings new eyes to their products from these mega-influencers followings.

On another scale, this had been done with influencers who aren’t necessarily celebrities but reign a major presence. Most notably, Arielle Charnas and Rachel Parcell were pioneers in this movement in partnership with Nordstrom. Both of these influencers created exclusive capsule collections with the retailer. Now, they've grown into full-fledged brands.

Plus, being a "face" or global ambassador for a brand is nothing new for celebrities, but this has been another way for brands to create multi-use content as well as tap the engaged audience of an influencer through long-term partnerships that go beyond just creating a product or posting an image on Instagram. A recent notable example of this is American Eagle utilizing Addison Rae as a model in campaigns to spark consumer excitement while simultaneously having her post and drive traffic.

For more information on of-the-moment promotions, be sure to check out our Promotions tab on StyleSage.