Gigi x Eloise x Ninja πππ°
Case study of what it takes to make a sponsored video go well π PLUS what we read on Substack this week!
Youβve probably been hearing a lot about Poppiβs PR fail with their vending machinesβbut what about when ads go well?? Today weβre here to talk about what went well with this sponsored video from the Queen of Sourdough Herself, Gigi! ππ
π Gigi who?!?
Gigi is Eloiseβs motherβduh! But, if youβre not on sourdoughtok (or foodtok) youβre probaby unfamiliar with the viral sensation that is Eloise the Starter. Gigi got popular on TikTok by posting her sourdough starter journey, from feeding a new starter to current loaves. Generally Gigiβs content is food based, or just really fun and funny. Sometimes sheβs baking Eloise, sometimes sheβs dancing, sometimes sheβs making a mess on the counter. People love her because she doesnβt take things too seriously, and because she says βflakey sea sawlt π€β and throws it over her shoulder for luck (people are so curious about how much salt is by her oven).
Recently Gigi and Eloise hit over 1m followers on TikTok, and shortly after we are seeing Gigiβs first big brand placements. Influencers who are popular from TikTok can be really hit or miss when it comes to brand deals, but weβre happy to report that this sponsorship had just as much fun and flavor as any other Gigi video. Letβs talk specifics:
π΄ Ninja x Gigi Ate This
You can tell Gigi chooses wisely when looking at partnerships because this was the perfect pairing. Not only was it well within her niche, but sheβs used products from Ninja before so it really came full circle. The lead up video, with the recipe, has 4.1m views featuring a little Graza Olive Oil plug, a product sheβs talked about having a discount code in other videos.
The next, Ninja sponsored video, is Gigi showing off their Crispi 4-in-1 portable glass air fryer, cooking the dough prepped from the prep video (the one with with 4m+ views).
This new, more formal sponsorship took Gigiβs primary content categoryβfoodβand allowed her to experiment, baking Eloise in a new way. People love to see new things from Eloise and this was no exception. At 1.1m views and over 100,000 likes weβd say Gigi ate more than pizza pinwheels that dayβand the comments agree!
The 500+ comments are nothing short of the sweetest little group chat, with encouragements and celebrations. From people being proud to watch her get a sponsored video, to comments like βI like that this was natural, not a fake feeling ad.β
Some people have even commented things like βomg another kitchen gadget I needβ (social sells when done correctly!!!) and βyes girl make that dough β.
The comments show that this was truly a β¨masterclassβ¨ in sponsored content. Influencers and brands should be paying attention and taking notes.
People knew it was a sponsored post, but people didnβt seem to care (even though sometimes ads arenβt as popular as regular videos) and even reposted it leaving comments like, βNot me reposting an advertisment π³πβ.
Why are people so obsessed? This is why:
Gigi was herselfβwhich is why people follow her in the first place. Like we said, people love her fun, silly personality and the fact that she always acts like herself. People love that she didnβt change a thing about her content to collaborate with Ninja!
A new recipeβnew content with a familiar face (or whatever the face equivalent for Eloise is) creates interest, and for anyone with their own sourdough starter, they just added a new tool to their tool box when watching this videoβespecially when she endorses the end result as something her βoven couldβve never doneβ.
Gigi is community firstβsheβs created a community that understands her humor, has similar interests and looks out for her videos. This means rather than having followers, she has a bunch of very distant internet friends, which provides a lot more opportunity for happy and supportive comments over an influencer who might put out βhot takesβ that get their follows in a more controversial way.
Trend alignmentβit aligns with and expands on the current sourdough trends in the TikTok baking world, which is where Gigi is probably most known.
As Karl commented on the TikTok, βThe fact everyone is hyped for you having a sponsor says enough about the vibes here. ππβ and we think that sums it up nicely.
Get your bag Gigi!! π°
Below our paywall we will be discussing what Gigi avoided doing wrong that can tank other sponsored ads.
theBlogStackβs Substack Recs π
π° Poppi's Marketing Goes Tarte by
(also linked above!)π° Time Beyond Empire: Dispatch from the Highlands of Chiapas by
π° My Time Offline by
π° Silence, Brand! Deep Dive: The KPI is Spectacle by
π° So the Gulf Can Transition, But People Canβt? by
π° ICYMI: Where Are We Hanging Out? by
π° What I'm not doing this time. by
π° low-energy habits that improved my mental health by
To see more of what weβre reading, check out our notes where we repost quotes and stories from our favorite Substacks.
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