A Look Into Community Events From High-Engagement Brands

In the digital age, brands are constantly seeking innovative ways to connect with their target audiences. Community-based influencer events and pop-up shops have emerged as powerful tools for fostering stronger engagement and building lasting relationships with consumers. 

Four brands have taken it to new heights. Goop set up shop in Amangessett with French beauty staple Caudalie in a pharmacie-themed pop-up. Saie Beauty hosted influencers in a forested Catskills cabin board games, yoga and beauty tutorials. Sakara Life and Jolie teamed up for poolside vinyasa and green smoothies. What can we learn from these examples, and their high levels of social engagement?

Authenticity and Engagement

Audiences often view their chosen influencers as more authentic than traditional advertising. Through their storytelling and personal experiences, influencer recommendations will strongly resonate with their followers. Events provide a platform for direct interaction between influencers and their audience, pulling back the curtain for intentional behind-the-scenes content. This two-way communication can then foster a greater sense of community involved in the event than the party present. 

Influencers With Reach and Credibility

Influencers often have highly targeted followings, ensuring that brand messages reach the right people. Saie Beauty notably had attendees that were anywhere between 10K and 200K followers at their Catskills weekend – likely meaning they believed it would be most effective with niche audiences. This is a very different strategy from the likes of beauty giants like Tarte Cosmetics, who ship beauty’s biggest talent across the world. Sakara and Goop, in a similar fashion, prove their messages can be amplified to wider audiences without a flashy budget. When a trusted influencer gives product endorsement, it can significantly impact consumer purchasing.

Experiential Marketing

Events offer a unique opportunity for consumers to interact with the brand and its products in a memorable way. This is especially true for DTC brands that rely heavily on digital mediums to showcase their brand identity. The details matter here: where can you apply your branding? Is there an opportunity to create exclusive merch? How will you keep the talent entertained and socializing?

 Positive experiences at these influencer events can lead to organic, word-of-mouth growth. When choosing the right talent, it’s important to prioritize brand loyalty and influencers that push the culture forward in their communities. 

Capitalize on Culture

The events with the highest engagement know how to capitalize on trends to push their brand story forward. Lifestyle participation and nostalgia are current trends that receive positive consumer response. Goop Pharmacie took inspiration from French beauty trends, and Saie touched on summer camp nostalgia. All three examples aligned themselves with New Yorkers who prefer to trek upstate or out to the Hamptons for the summer, participating in the buzz created by J Crew, LL Bean and Ralph Lauren Polo. Personalized canvas totes for each event was the most obvious example of closely following trends: they recognized the identity capital tote bags are having this year.

By leveraging these factors, events like Goop Pharmacie, Camp Saie and Sakara x Jolie have been able to successfully utilize influencer events to build brand awareness, drive sales, and cultivate loyal customer bases through memorable and impactful campaigns – without taking a hit to their budgets.

Ryann can be found on LinkedIn