Coachella, once dubbed the ‘Influencer Olympics’, is about to be staged for the first time since 2019. A lot has changed in the interim, not least the explosion of TikTok. Sedge Beswick, the CEO and Founder of the innovative influencer marketing agency SEEN Connects, unpacks what this means for live events, influencers, and brands.
Sedge Beswick, CEO and Founder, SEEN Connects
April 2019 could have existed in an alternative universe, and I wouldn’t be surprised. The weather was warm in Indo, California, Ariana Grande had reunited ‘NSync, and it was months before the first case of Covid would hit US soil. It was also (mere) months before a single platform (spoiler: TikTok) would disrupt social media, changing the face and feel of influencer marketing, as well as the way that we consume content.
Back in 2019, the last time Coachella was staged, 37% of people had never heard of TikTok. Over the subsequent years, usage of the app has snowballed and now has 1B+ monthly users (for context it had 381M in 2019).
With its unspooling vertical video-first For You page, TikTok has reconditioned social users and forced other platforms to adopt its features (looking at you, IG Reels). It operates fundamentally differently from its nearest competitors as it’s not about who you know and follow. The app has an algorithm that focuses on grabbing your attention within 0.03 seconds before you swipe on, which has meant creators have had to get creative about stopping viewers’ thumbs from flinching. The rawer and zanier the opener, the more likely we are to stop and watch.
Along with pushing influencers to publish less glossy static imagery and more ‘authentic’ unedited footage, the Chinese-owner app prioritizes sound. Every TikTok has a soundtrack, whether that’s a voiceover or trending track. It’s meant that the platform has become an outsized player in the music industry as it’s a key source of music discovery.
TikTok’s helped rechart old hits, push new releases to #1s, and secure record contracts for the platform influencers. Behind the scenes, the labels are now feeding upcoming releases to influencers to help leverage their networks to make a song trend (and then top Spotify). It will come as little surprise then that in correlation, we’re now listening to more musicthan before – in the US consumption grew by 11.6% between 2019 and 2020.
Coachella goes with influencer marketing like peanut butter with jelly. The two don’t need each other, but they are better together. For brands, these two weekends in the desert are one big UGC opportunity, giving them ample celeb content to plug the gaps between their seasonal SS and AW collections. Back in 2019 (when the influencer marketing space was worth $6.6B) it was dubbed the 'Olympics of Influencers', now the industry is worth $10B. There’s no reason to doubt this year will be any less fuelled by branded partnerships, after all, Revolve, Stock X and Levi’s have already been announced as party sponsors.
With the average of Coachella attendees, according to Nielsen syncing up with the age of 62% of TikTok users, and the feed prioritizing engagement rate over the number of followers, the main difference will be who has cut through this year. Traditional glam shots under the famed Ferris wheel won’t cut it. Now the app allows for live streams and its newlyminted quick, disappearing ‘Stories’, the stage is set for this year’s Coachella to be documented on TikTok like never before.
Between music enjoying rising social importance and our post-pandemic world, live events matter more than ever, (2022 is being dubbed 'summer of love' because of the return of festivals), the stage is set for a festival season like no other. Not got a ticket? Don’t worry, thumb your way through TikTok to never miss a beat.
Read more in Seen Connects' 2022 Trend Report here.
Award-winning public relations and digital marketing company First and Last PR hosted “Cake & Cocktails: Untold Stories from Today’s Biggest Leaders in Beauty & Business” virtually on March 30th through Hopin. The influential conversation was led by Julee Wilson, Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan magazine with music from DJ C DeVone. The successful event had over 300 attendees who had the opportunity to hear stories and real-life tips from leading businesswomen and executives. This hybrid event including the backdrop was produced by fellow woman-owned business, Johnson PR and Events.
Get a taste of each conversation below, and watch the full live-streamed event here.
“Cake and Cocktails” began with Stephanie Scott-Bradshaw who is the CEO & Communicator-in-Chief of First and Last PR, an award-winning PR and digital marketing agency, celebrating the firm’s 10th year in business. Stephanie started the conversation off by talking about where she got her work ethic from which impacted her to start her business. “I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit; my grandfather had his own company growing up, he had an exterminating business. My brother and I would go on exterminating jobs – we saw that work ethic at an early age,” she shared.
The first segment of the event, “Finding Your Why”, featured Nadiyah Spencer, Founder & CEO of TinkyPoo, a highly absorbent and inclusive baby care brand, Jamyla Bennu, Founder and Mixtress of Oyin Handmade, an all-natural haircare and personal care brand for women, men and babies, and Jasmin Foster, the Founder & CEO of Be Rooted which is an inclusive and empowering stationary brand. All of these resolute businesswomen gathered and shared what empowered them to start their own company. “I realized that there isn’t enough diversity in the diaper industry – I wanted babies to know that they're beautiful, they're unique, and how special they are,” explained Spencer.
The second segment, “Ready, Set, Launch” discussed the importance of self-care and how it was possible to launch a brand during the COVID-19 pandemic. Briana Williams, Founder & CEO of LipLoveLine, an empowering lip color and care products and Kat Canizares, Chief Marketing Officer of Pot d’Huile, a CBD-only line of luxury products for face and food, shared their brand stories with the audience. “Dealing with several different health issues and low-self-esteem, one of the things that made me feel most beautiful was my lip gloss. Lipstick and lip products became a simple and reliable way for me to feel beautiful without wearing a full face of makeup all the time,” shared Williams.
The final section of “Cake & Cocktails” included Nicole Murphy, Founder & CEO of yFOY, a clean, vegan, skincare and wellness brand, along with Rachel James who is the founder & CEO of luxury vegan, cruelty-free and nontoxic (10 free) nail lacquer and nail care brand, Pear Nova. The two founders talked about being a strong mother but also prioritizing yourself in order to run a successful business and get things done.
“I have four daughters, they’re young black women. I want them to be strong and have that mentality that they can do it. It is very important that I succeed at my business because I want to inspire them every step of the way, so it is important that they see that,” explained Murphy.
