Brief:
- Lipton tea partnered with Andy Cohen, host of the Bravo channel's "Watch What Happens Live," on custom videos for the brand's social channels, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer. The "Andy Spills Tea" series borrows its title from celebrity Q&A segments on Cohen's live late-night show.
- "Ask Andy: Advice Unfiltered" on Lipton's Instagram Story features Cohen discussing love, dating, friendships and first-time parenthood. Sitting next to a bowl of Lipton beverages, he provides commentary and responses to fan questions such as, "I'm re-entering the dating scene after a long time. Where do I start?" and "When is the right time to introduce my significant other to my family?" Popsugar's logo appears in the videos.
- Lipton's ready-to-drink beverages are marketed by Pepsi Lipton International, a joint venture between Unilever and PepsiCo.
Insight:
Lipton's branded videos featuring Andy Cohen appear to tap several qualities of social influencer campaigns. Instead of simply pitching the qualities of Lipton's products, Cohen also provides personal advice that aims to add a level of relatability for viewers who may otherwise ignore traditional branded posts. Almost half (43%) of people who follow influencers said authenticity was the top reason to them and their content, per a survey by Olapic. Forty-four percent of respondents said they had considered buying a product or service based on a social influencer post, its survey found.
Lipton's videos appear on Instagram, likely a strategic move as the Facebook-owned platform is key for influencer marketing among brands. More than 68% of marketers said Instagram is the most important social network for influencer marketing, followed by Facebook (51%), per influencer marketing firm Linqia. The number of sponsored influencer posts on Instagram grew 39% to 2 million last year as brands piled into influencer marketing campaigns, pointing to how brands must find creative ways to break through the clutter and stand out among competitors' influencer posts.
The "Andy Spills Tea" video series follows Unilever's campaign last year for its tea brand Tazo that urged consumers to "Brew the Unexpected." The campaign included an overnight camp experience for adults featuring guest camp director and drag star Alyssa Edwards. She is one of the most popular characters on "RuPaul's Drag Race" with more than 1.5 million Instagram followers and a new spinoff series on Netflix.
