Turn Scrollers Into Brand Participants: How Gap, e.l.f., and Hilton Drove Audience Participation
What makes someone stop scrolling and start participating with your brand?
More and more, brands are succeeding at not just “engaging” consumers on social, but actually getting them involved.
Today we’ll look at three brands who are succeeding (e.l.f., Gap, and Hilton), and how they’re driving participation.
1. e.l.f. Power Grip Primer: A giveaway on steroids
Giveaways are a tried-and-true way to drive participation, but how do you take it to the next level? For a recent e.l.f. launch, the product itself was so unexpected, and yet so exactly right for e.l.f.’s loyal fans.
Indeed, the “mega” version of e.l.f.’s iconic Power Grip Primer sold out in just 11 minutes … leaving the giveaway as superfans’ last chance to snag one.
The secret to the exceptional engagement in this giveaway was twofold:
A product that made people gasp … and say “I need one!”
TikTok videos that made people laugh out loud … and spring to action.
Check out the videos we made for the launch post (12M organic views) and giveaway announcement (5M organic views).
2. Gap x KATSEYE: A tidal wave of denim
(Not our work, we’re just fans!)
You may have thought the “dance challenge” was dead, but here comes Gap to defy gravity. They got 576 million views on just the brand-owned content. On top of that, hundreds if not thousands of consumers made UGC content doing the dance or otherwise riffing off of the iconic campaign.
How did Gap pull this off? It was a fantastic confluence of factors, including:
Building on authentic brand equity with Gap’s decades-long history of dance videos
Smart casting of a rising star talent with broad appeal, KATSEYE
An edgy yet still PG-rated song (“Milkshake”), paired with an up & coming, charismatic choreographer (Robbie Blue)
Seeding 400+ creators to kick off the “viral” moment
Kudos to Gap for manufacturing virality in a way that was authentic to the brand.
3. Motto by Hilton: “Guest Quests” you want to be in
We all aspire to produce entertaining content for our brands. How do you take it one step further and make the viewer a part of the action?
For Motto by Hilton, we invited travelers into the narrative, with a "choose your own adventure" format. Motto’s target audience is looking for adventures in their travel, and so we created that experience with Instagram & TikTok content. Beloved creators (like Connor Wood, Hannah Berner, and Kordell Beckham) guide viewers through travel options that mirror real-life adventures.
Will you play badminton in the lounge, or hit up the rooftop bar?
The Takeaway: Audience participation isn't about luck—it's about design. The brands winning aren't the ones shouting the loudest. They're the ones inviting their audiences to play.
