While some gifts keep on giving, others, as certain brands have learned, can keep on taking. Extravagant influencer trips, like Tarte’s ventures to Bora Bora and Dubai, and large-scale influencer offerings, like Poppi’s decision to loan vending machines to creators ahead of the Super Bowl, have prompted consumer backlash, causing some brand marketers to reevaluate whether big-name creators are the best recipients for lavish gifts or trips. As a result, some brands, including beauty brand Cocokind and beverage brand Vita Coco, have turned their attention to customers with community-oriented getaways and giveaways.
Last year, hydration packets brand Waterboy and makeup brand Refy took customers on trips to Mexico and Spain, respectively, and in January, Cocokind took seven customers on a trip to Napa Valley. “We found ourselves having these conversations around our [influencer] mailers and other costs and expenses while simultaneously seeing all these conversations happening around influencer trips,” Maria Maciejowski, Cocokind’s CMO, told us. “We decided to redirect the budget and create this unforgettable experience for people who’ve supported us the most over the years.” Based on the success of the initial trip, Cocokind is planning to bring a different group of customers on a trip in June, Maciejowski said. “At the end of the day, those are the people who are showing up for you every single day. They deserve equal, if not more, recognition than people who have a platform.”
For its first and second trips, Cocokind encouraged customers who regularly purchase, review, or share products to apply, regardless of their follower count. “It really wasn’t about their social presence,” Maciejowski said. “It was about seeing their authenticity and enthusiasm for the brand.” Those who were selected received a call from Cocokind’s founder and CEO, Priscilla Tsai, who picked them up from the airport and provided gifts like hand-packed lunches and necklaces once in Napa. “She was just so eager to spend as much time with them as possible,” Maciejowski said. “It really is about the connection and the one-to-one.” Attendees received released and unreleased Cocokind products and spent time with the brand’s VP of product development, who gathered feedback and insights on product features like texture and fragrance, Maciejowski said. The trip was tied to the release of the brand’s Electrolyte Water Cream moisturizer and allowed the brand to not only treat some of its most loyal customers, but also hear their insights. Cocokind used social media to promote the trip, posting content like room reactions and notes from a product concept brainstorm, which Maciejowski said was a way to show other customers that the brand values their input. Cocokind’s social team also made a point to distance itself from flashier marketing tactics, noting in posts that no yachts, caviar, or private jets were involved.