There was a recent commotion in the performance drink market with the arrival of PRIME, a line of energy drinks endorsed by YouTube favourites Logan Paul, and Olajide“JJ” Olatunji, professionally known as KSI. Announced in early 2022, via a joint livestream, their collaborative project quickly became a hit amongst school-goers—that is, young boys who were already subscribed to the brands “Logan Paul” and “KSI”—and it was soon noticed by football lovers alike, particularly those who follow the English Premier League or support Arsenal, as PRIME now sponsors the club.
With demand mounting worldwide, Paul, Olatunji, and certainly the marketeers of Prime Hydration, LLC saw fit to set their first offerings at a premium price —across the board. As soon as the product had begun to ship globally (Paul and Olatunji are American and British, respectively), prices could reach R 650.00 per bottle in South Africa, available on e-commerce sites such as Takealot.com as of April 2023.
Social media was soon abuzz with commentary about the PRIME brand, its figureheads, the product quality, and the overall “worth” of these drinks; jokes were made about being able to buy the drink on "credit", and people were even mocked if they openly declared excitement or anticipation: yet the dissensus didn’t seem to deter some consumers (or their parents) from buying the drinks anyway. And, when the Shoprite/Checkers Group eventually negotiated a more palatable price for their own customers, a saleable cap of R 40.00 per bottle, there was soon to be found an ungovernable frenzy at the shops.
When brick-and-mortar sales began at the beginning of May, children—with their parents in tow—crushed the aisles at your local Checkers; they proceeded to clear PRIME off the shelves, leaving Energade, Powerade, Play, and Lucozade for next time. Customers caught in the commotion even documented it with pictures and videos that they then posted onto their socials, further fueling public interest.
"This is the edge that influencer-led brands can have over other (even established) brands, particularly in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market, where there is high volume and increased variety, where consumer fealty is not guaranteed, and the game is always changing."
For as long as the associated promoters, or influencers, stay relevant and popular, for as long as consumers themselves participate in the hype, each “launch” can cause a market disruption that may cast regular brands and their usual product offerings as just that,“regular”.
Over the years, influencer-led brands have taken up space across all markets, not only in the fast-moving goods market: although, since the influencer often has to bank on buzz, often has to stay relevant, an FMCG brand or business might very well be their best bet at a ready income.
Take some of reality, and internet personality Kim Kardashian’s offerings for example: in SKIMS (fast shapewear), SKKN (premium skincare), and even the nonextant Kimoji app (social media software), Kardashian has managed to wangle a little more than a billion-dollar business portfolio. Something to note is that it took staying relevant for more than a decade before breaking the billion: she accomplished this by consistently observing her followers (i.e., not resting on the “I’m the most popular Vogue-covering Instagram model” laurel), and staying on top of trends, even if they somewhat belied her personal tastes (hardly a new concept, but hard to overcome for a few); smartly emulating her peers, and drafting the best talent for each of her labels.
While the FMCG brand, and perhaps all other types of brands, have long taken similar steps in market observation, business building and response, the influencer-led label still manages to stay ahead because of the personal, sometimes parasocial, affinity consumers have to the face(s) behind the label. Indeed, in short-bursts, the influencer wins—but in the long run, the established brand can still maintain its market share, maybe even expand it. The combination of content, and commerce is here to stay.
One step the FMCG brand can take to keep abreast of the Influencer and all his influencer friends, is to converse with their consumer. The McDonald’s brand does this well with the use of social media channels such as Twitter: there could be something going on on the Internet that has nothing to do with Chicken McNuggets, yet somewhere deep in a Twitter thread, you’ll find McDonald’s has something to say—often something pretty hilarious. In a way, McDonald’s has created, and cultivated its own Internet personality, its own Influencer if you like, further endearing its customer to its brand.
"Another step is to either integrate into or fully emerge as a D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) brand—cut out the middleman, maintain an “in-house” approach, trade directly with your consumer through the relevant channels like e-commerce… This is, at least in principle, what the Influencer is already doing."
A prime example of an Influencer-led D2C business is James Donaldson’s—or Mr Beast—Mr Beast’s Burger franchise, a virtual restaurant or “ghost kitchen” venture, which has recently experienced great publicity because of its inclusion of the community at large (by utilising and incentivising community kitchens for some of its operations; an inspired approach in the time of COVID, where small businesses were greatly impacted). And, a major example of a non-Influencer-led D2C is the the grossly popular make-up brand Glossier,which has, through coordinated business tactics, and keen consumer engagement, grown its market share over the years. One thing about the FMCG game is that it’s seemingly fair: businesses need to do the work, but also not turn up their nose at the regular Joe slinging his ware on the Internet, no matter how silly he may seem. His method is working, and people are buying; especially if they feel like they helped him create his product.
One advantage the influencer might have over established businesses is that, before he opens his own business, he could safely probe his ideas and/or concepts with his followers. KSI—one half of PRIME—found fame as a controller-bashing, energy-drinking video-gamer, for instance. It makes sense that he developed a sports drink brand; and with 12.8 million steady followers on Instagram, 41 million subscribers across his channels on YouTube, he has at his fingertips an affordable, if not free, data pool. A sizable one to boot: perhaps not quite as sizable, or as multifarious, as the pools explored by legacy FMCG brands like Coca-Cola or Nestlé in their market research endeavours, but sizable enough to lend some confidence in his probes.
A music video from one of KSI Youtube's channel with more than 24 million subscribers
And, it’s also data in real-time for KSI, whereas Coca-Cola, and the like are shifting from a reliance on traditional research tools, which are often dated or retrospective in nature.
While looking at historical trends has its merits, and has indeed aided big FMCGs in maintaining market dominance, it seems that with growing globalisation, markets have become more volatile, more complex, and much less predictable (the acronym VUCA—volatility, unpredictability, complexity, ambiguity—is one way to interpret the globalised market). Not everyone responds to the same messaging or stimulus (this was as true in the past as it is now), and consumer preferences or values can shift overnight, sometimes due to forces that might not be easily predictable (consider: the COVID-19 pandemic; the growing allure of Sustainability, Ethical and Equitable traders).
Brands like Nestlé seem to be complementing their older methodologies with newer ones, going as far as enlisting influencers for campaigns (or clandestinely observing these Influencers and their followers, and then responding with product "modifications"); but is it enough? Is that chunky piece of the market pie, or the sneaky formula tweak enough to beat the trusted Sustainability Influencer with a direct line to a million liegemen; especially when consumers are becoming more at ease with deserting brands that don't immediately espouse their values?
With the recent disruptions caused by PRIME, and other Influencer-led brands such as Kylie Cosmetics and Fenty Beauty, even D2Cs like Jessica Alba’s The Honest Company, legacy brands are being caught with their pants down. Influencers are using the tools at their disposal—even if they are rudimental compared to the elaborate marketing machinery employed by bigger brands—to create, develop and launch marketable products.
With these new market dynamics at play, legacy brands need to be more agile in their research approach if they hope to gather important insights, and maintain their grip.
If a brand isn't going to or is unable to directly engage the Influencer for a collab, at the very least it needs to track his data trail: observe his followers, pay close attention to content engagement, follow his "mutuals" (as in, who/what he affiliates with), and map out cross-sections.
Brands would also do well to foster more experimental methodologies. Encouraging a culture of curiosity with its employees, for instance, especially its marketeers, could do more help than harm: trends could be flagged in a more timely manner, allowing the brand to quickly adapt, and respond.
In conclusion - Influencers are rising to the occasion. Any business, FMCG or not, who refutes or willfully ignores the growing worth of the Influencer—macro or micro—who is slow to transform its marketing methodologies, or re-imagine its products, is in trouble. A few years ago, a single critical tweet from Kylie Jenner meant a $ 1.3 billion plunge in stock for SnapChat. Today, after a live stream announcement, thousands of children around the world are lining up to actually buy the energy juice that their favourite YouTubers are selling.
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