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As the creator economy continues to grow, brand trips have become a staple marketing strategy for consumer-facing brands, and B2B firms are starting to do the same. Adobe Express hosted a Summit in New York City for 46 creators. As an Adobe Express ambassador, I attended this summit, which focused on marketing and business, covering travel accommodations and offering early product updates, feedback sessions, and networking opportunities. Similarly, Semrush hosted an influencer weekend in 2024 for nearly a dozen creators in London paying for their travel, meals, and experiences. Just like their consumer-focused counterparts, these B2B companies hope hosting creators at exclusive events will lead them to speak highly of the brand, earn them positive coverage, and act as a source of real-time feedback. The big difference with B2B creators is that purchasing decisions in the workplace are often costly. As a result, there is a more nuanced and complex consideration. Brand trips are an emerging tactic in the B2B space. Heres how companies are doing it, the outcomes theyre driving, and the lessons that we can learn from companies hosting them. Why brand trips for B2B creators are gaining popularity The creator economy is expected to exceed, $2.71 trillion in revenue by 2037, according to Research Nester. This is because many influencers have become trusted voices who drive sales, even in complex B2B buying cycles. Opportunities for a brand to connect with relevant creators in person are a way of earning face time and introducing them to the team and product line. It also provides them with motivation and ways to collaborate, as well as hearing feedback from opinionated supporters. Nicole Ponce, Influencer Marketing Team Lead at Semrush says, Theres been a noticeable shift where B2B brands are adopting B2C-style engagement tactics, and brand trips are one of them. Substack and LinkedInwhere I teach marketing development and career development courseshave noticeably prioritized creators, encouraging everyone from CEOs and executives to industry experts and emerging voices to share content consistently. As LinkedIn is growing, B2B creators are starting to be a group of folks you can’t ignore, especially if your product is looking to target the B2B space, says Kate Olmstead, Adobe Express Community & Ambassador Programs Lead. Five years ago, we didn’t have this concept, really of top voices in marketing. LinkedIn creators with 250,000 followers, speaking to the likes of CMOs and VPs of marketing, says Olmstead. How to create a B2B brand trip where both sides benefit Establish what the focus of the event is, whether its the launch of a new product, a discussion on industry trends, or a celebration of a major milestone. It depends on the event, but typically well incorporate either a demo, product insight, or a workflow preview to spark interest. Sometimes its through more curated, two-way conversations, where we share whats launching and invite feedback from creators about what they need or see missing in the market, says Ponce. Typically, companies cover the creators travel accommodations, meals, and experiences in exchange for the creator posting on social media. Neither Adobe nor Semrush required posting to attend, which likely removed pressure for participants (who are likely to share on their own if they enjoyed the event). Olmstead says that Adobes trip aimed to introduce like-minded creators, offer early exposure to new features, and provide a forum for candid feedback. What also likely helps the creators buy in is the association with a big, well-known brand like Adobe. This boosts their careers as influencers and also provides the opportunity to network with others and the chance to stay in an appealing city for free. Invite creators based on relevance and consistency over reach Inviting a mix of creators across platforms, titles, career paths, and audience sizes can help ensure theres interesting conversation as long as theres a set of shared interests. I personally look at whether they create highly engaging, high-quality content and whether their audience is one that our brand wants to be associated with. But its not just about reach or follower count. We also look at how much value they bring to the roomand I mean that literally, says Ponce. We try to curate a space that fosters meaningful, peer-to-peer conversations. So we intentionally balance different expertise levelsfor instance, having a content marketing specialist alongside someone who focuses on paid advertising, she added. Create balanced programming thats educational and entertaining While its important that the brand benefits from hosting a group of creators, its important not to make the agenda too self-promotional or jam-packed. There needs to be room for fun. While the creator expects to learn about the companys products, its also important to be clear on how the event benefits them. You’ve got to have substance to [a brand trip], whether that be through the learning agenda, the educational content, or giving something back to them, in terms of bringing an industry expert that can help them level up their own businesses, adds Olmstead. Brand trips that strike the balance deliver qualitative outcomes like the attendees leaving with a positive impression of the brand, as well as quantitative impacts like social mentions and reach. You might just find that your business benefits.
Category:
E-Commerce
Calls to boycott Etsy are growing since Alligator Alcatraz merch popped up on its marketplace. The term refers to the Trump administration’s new migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades. The detention facility, built from Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers and temporary shelters at the site of a training airport in Miami-Dade County, is in the middle of a natural alligator habitat. It has drawn condemnation from tribal, environmental, and civil rights groups. The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida called the facility part of a broader strategy to expand the abusive mass detention machine, and in turn, criminalize and disappear members of our communities.” It has not drawn condemnation, though, from Etsy, which claims to prohibit “content which directly or indirectly contains violent or degrading commentary” against people over traits like their race, religion, gender, or immigration status. The availability of “Alligator Alcatraz” merchandise on the site has inspired calls for boycotts on social media that have received thousands of reactions. Etsy did not respond to a request for comment. [Screenshot: Etsy] Etsy’s terms of service around discrimination and hateful content are broad, with the term indirectly allowing for enforcement against veiled, coded, and subtle violations. Considering the derisive and violent nature of how President Trump and his supporters have spoken about the facility, “Alligator Alcatraz” seems to fall under the policy’s generous umbrella. When Trump toured the detention facility last week, he joked that detainees would learn “how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.” Much of Etsy’s “Alligator Alcatraz” merch has the look of AI-generated slop, which is at odds with the company’s recent push to highlight human-made products. And it’s not clear how much of an audience there is for this stuff. A 53% majority of U.S. adults disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration, according to a Yahoo/YouGov poll, and Etsy pages for “Alligator Alcatraz” products don’t suggest robust sales, with low views and few notes indicating products had been purchased or put into carts. There’s also competition, with official Florida Republican Party “Alligator Alcatraz” merch and more options on Amazon. It’s clear Etsy understands the art of political subtly when it comes to the left- and right-leaning political categories it organizes for T-shirts with quiet, hidden political messages. For merch celebrating Trump’s new detention facility, though, that understanding suddenly seems lost.
Category:
E-Commerce
In the age of climate change, many people are trying to consume more mindfully. When it comes to fashion, this often means buying fewer clothes and wearing them longer. But that’s a hard principle to follow with children’s clothing. Kids grow out of garments quickly; they also rip and stain clothes with abandon. It’s tempting to buy them cheap clothes that you won’t mind throwing out after a few wears. And it’s easy to do exactly that when fast fashion for kids is abundant, everywhere from Target to H&M. Now, a new platform wants to make it equally easy for parents and kids to shop secondhand clothing. Rebecca Bahmani [Photo: courtesy Prelove Me] Today, Prelove Me unveils a membership-based platform that allows you to buy and sell used clothing exclusively for kids. And unlike other secondhand clothing websites like ThredUp and Poshmark, Prelove Me doesn’t transact in money but in credits. You get credits for sending in clothes, which you can then use to buy other products on the site. “In the age of fast fashion, it’s easy to think of clothes as disposable,” says Rebecca Bahmani, Prelove You’s founder. “We’re trying to push back against this by teaching them that their clothes have actual value, which they can use to buy other clothes.” The planet is drowning in clothing Some experts estimate that fashion brands produce upwards of 100 billion garments every year, for only eight billion humans. Producing these clothes consumes enormous quantities of raw materials like cotton and oil, and is responsible for up to 8.6% of the world’s global greenhouse gas footprint. There are now many companies like Circ and Repreve that are developing technology that will enable us to recycle old clothes into new ones, which is far less environmentally damaging than making new clothes from scratch. But until this kind of recycling is widespread, a more sustainable approach is buying used clothes. After all, there are already enough garments on the planet to clothe humanity for decades into the future. [Image: courtesy Prelove Me] With Prelove Me, Bahmani wanted to create a platform that would make it easier for families to access secondhand clothing for their kids. To shop the site, you must first become a member. There are three tiers of membership, ranging from $35 a month to $95 a month, that gives you access to between 30 and 75 credits every month. Clothes are priced based on their quality and brand. A Rockets of Awesome bomber jacket is 21 credits, a pair of Vans velcro sneakers is 31 credits. “A membership makes sense because families need to buy clothes for their kids on a regular basis,” she says. “Kids outgrow things quickly, and they have specific needs, like swimsuits for the summer.” Bahmani, who previously worked at a lace manufacturer called Klauber Brothers, Inc., bootstrapped the company. She spent years collecting the initial inventory by asking for donations to launch the site. But the company is also raising funds to allow it to scale, particularly when it comes to automating the logistics of receiving secondhand clothes, uploading them to the website, then sending them out to customers. ThredUp, a secondhand website that generated $260 million in revenue last year, has scaled thanks to its high-tech, highly automated warehouses. [Image: courtesy Prelove Me] To continue growing the platform’s inventory, members are invited to send in all the clothes that their kids have outgrown. They will get credits based on the quality of the garment. Clothes from designer brands and those in excellent or unworn condition will get more credits than those from mass market brands and clothes that show more wear and tear. But the website accepts clothes from all brands, including fast fashion labels like Shein. Bahmani point out that even clothes with a cheap price tag take a lot of resources to make, and it is just as important to keep them out of landfills. Bahmani wanted to make sure that families felt comfortable sending in clothes that are unwearable. Prelove will offer one credit for these clothes, and will send them to be upcycled at a company that produces housing insulation. “We’re trying to teach kids to dispose of clothes responsibly,” Bahmani says. “Upcycling is much better than just throwing them in a landfill. And in time, we’ll be looking at fabric-to-fabric recycling.” [Photo: courtesy Prelove Me] Teaching Kids Good Habits Prelove You’s website is designed to be fun, interactive, and simple enough for kids to use. The number of credits required to buy a product are clearly marked, and it’s easy to “favorite” products. And because it focuses exclusively on kid’s clothes, it is easier for kids to navigate. “Kids often want to be involved with choosing their own clothes,” she says. “We wanted to make the experience fun for them.” More broadly, however, her goal is to help instill more responsible shopping habits in kids. This website is supposed to make shopping pre-owned just as fun as shopping new. It’s also designed to give children a tangible sense of what a circular economy looks like, where clothes are kept in circulation as long as possible. There’s some evidence that young people are more willing to buy thrifted goods than previous generation: 83% of Gen Z is willing to shop pre-owned, and the global secondhand market has increased by more than a third in recent years. But at the same time, young people responsible for the explosion in ultra fast fashion brands like Shein and Temu. Many teens and twentysomethings now buy enormous quantities of clothesor “hauls”from cheap retailers and share them on social media. Bahmani believes that there is still time to shape the shopping habits of younger kids, so they grow up to be the kinds of people who understand the value of clothing and live more sustainably. “If they grow up being excited about shopping preowned, they’re likely to become adults who do the same,” she says.
Category:
E-Commerce
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