Small brands of fashion, cosmetics, stationery or household goods are rubbing shoulders with large companies in the content that some of the main influencers create for their social networks. They are doing it thanks to a very old technique that those responsible have been able to update with ingenuity.
It's about sending them surprise gifts, so that digital opinion leaders can open and comment on them while unpacking gifts from reputable brands. This format, common in 2.0 platforms that are eminently audiovisual, such as TikTok, Instagram or YouTube, even has its own name: PR (Public Relations) Haul. This allows teenagers and young people from around the world to be aware of new developments with a curiosity and fidelity that is difficult to find today on commercial television channels, and even less so in the new streaming offers that have called into question the hegemony of traditional support.
Analysts maintain that the success of this formula lies in the fact that all parties benefit. Companies, especially small ones, can find out exactly how many impacts they are making. And that, in an environment where views are counted in the millions, has a lot of merit.
Influencers like Darcy McQueeny, Kristi Howard (Queen of getting banned) or Kate Bartlett obtain items at no cost and reinforce their role as style references: when working, dressing, getting ready or simply having fun. As for the public, it has direct links to brands, both elitist and popular. That is, what television does not make possible.
This public relations strategy has not taken root in the same way among certain types of 2.0 leaders. Experts reveal that there have been Spanish prescribers who have gone so far as to post on second-hand websites and applications the gifts that have been sent to them by companies that are not yet well known.
The action, as expected, has motivated criticism from less accommodating users, as recalled by Irene, a 15-year-old from Barcelona who is studying in the United States. Be that as it may, it pays for companies with less budgets to take this risk.
They are aware that they could never hope to advertise on conventional networks or pay the fees for product placement that is so common in films and series today, fundamentally, in on-demand audiovisual services, such as Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video or Disney.
Another advantage of this activity is linked to production budgets. A spot requires an investment whose return in the form of sales is not always assured. Furthermore, it is so difficult to keep viewers' attention in the face of content generally considered invasive and annoying that less wealthy firms systematically rule out this route.
On the other hand, the followers of the influencers who best practice PR Haul express such a high interest in the material they spread, including promotional or sponsored material, that it would be a mistake to waste a promising opportunity like this.
