As Drenten points out, this can be a quick way to gain relevance for brands that may not have the mega-marketing budgets of their larger partners. “They don’t have Super Bowl commercials for these tips,” Drenten says. “They can cost-effectively gain attention in the media and among consumers—quickly.”
When less is more
Scarcity is also key to the sold-out collaboration between Kraft Heinz, Burt’s Bees and the like, which borrows from the limited-edition “drop” model popularized by streetwear brands. This model allows brands to promote their products on social media days, weeks or even months before the product becomes available – and once it’s gone, it’s gone.
“Brands can tease products, which keeps consumers coming back; then they can actually drop the product; finally, they can encourage consumers to post about them,” Drenten says. “They get this before-while-after content on their social media channels, which encourages user-generated content. It’s a reciprocal industry cycle.”
The cycle worked for Kraft Heinz: the product didn’t just sell out in 10 minutes; Fontenele also notes that the campaign increased sales by 52% and trialled Heinz’s entire range of pasta sauces, making Heinz the top brand in market share during that period. The Heinz x Absolut campaign garnered more than 500 million media impressions on social media in 30 countries, including 7.1 million organic impressions on TikTok alone, per Fontenele.
That’s good news for marketers, who are communicating with consumers more intimately and casually than ever before. Still, as long as the cycle continues of chronically online consumers and brands struggling to maintain their popularity, another troubling line of lip balms seems inevitable.