Rather than sitting at home and watching your favorite influencers unbox gifts from their all-expenses-paid brand trip, now the rest of us have a chance to feel like an influencer for a day.
Last week, Brandon Edelman, the same TikTok creator who recently went viral for sharing his $768,000-a-year salary, launched his very own “Bran Trip,” his version of the ubiquitous influencer brand trip.
Attendees were chosen via video application using the hashtag #thebrantrip. Three of Edelman’s lucky followers and their plus-ones were then transported to their own suites at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia for the weekend. The trip included tickets to a Phillies game, facials, and an IV lounge for recovery from the night before.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an influencer-hosted trip without gifting from 30 different brands. This included outfits from Abercrombie & Fitch, initial necklaces from Ferko’s (a Westchester County-based fine jewelry company), a $349 CryoGlow LED mask from Shark, and Béis luggage to carry all those gifted goodies back home, Edelman told Glossy.
While influencer fan meetups are nothing new, these events have evolved from the thousands-strong gatherings of the 2010s, where excited fans queued for hours for a quick hug and a selfie with their favorite influencer. Now, influencers are inviting followers to—and building community in—intimate settings that align with their personal brands.
“Just like some influencers have been taking their followers out for dinner, I want to take you to a workout class,” New York-based influencer Danielle Pheloung posted in April. The next month, Pheloung hosted 25 girls at the heated workout studio Fuze House in Tribeca. The event was on-brand for Pheloung, whose early morning workouts are a staple in her videos. After the free class, each attendee left with a bag full of items gifted by some of Pheloung’s favorite brands like Smart Sweets, Lancôme, and Ouai.
These fan meetups are part of a larger shift in the creator economy and beyond, from online to offline. “For years, creators chased virality online, but these days, influence is about access, not scale,” said Casey Lewis, writer of After School, a newsletter about youth consumer trends, in a recent Substack post. “Follower count matters less than who actually shows up.”
Often dubbed the “loneliest generation,” Gen Z has figured out that the secret to making friends is organizing their own third spaces and meetups. According to a new study from Eventbrite, 95% of Gen Zers and millennials are interested in turning online interests into real-world interactions.
Brands are noticing this shift, and platforms are stepping in to help facilitate meaningful community marketing opportunities. Last month, the youth research firm dcdx launched Offline, a platform connecting brands with real-life communities to cohost and sponsor events ranging from microcommunity activations for dozens to meetups of hundreds. As Offline founder Andrew Roth told Forbes: “Just as the Influencer rose to fame, so will the Host.”
