Influencer Marketing: How We’re Moving from Social Media into Real Life

“Social media is boring, I’m leaving!” — at first glance, this increasingly common phrase might seem alarming for those working in influencer marketing. But professionals collaborating with influencers know exactly how to respond: “Then we’ll see you in real life,” we say.

Brands Are “Going to the People”

Working on social media every day, diving into algorithms, and analyzing campaign results has made it clear: in recent years, more than ever before, influencers and brands are not afraid to step into the real world, build genuine connections there — and only then, if needed, bring them back to social platforms.

Brands are “going to the people” together with influencers — for example, through activations in physical stores or treasure-hunt–style gift drops at parcel lockers. Influencer marketing strategists are keeping pace by initiating more live meet-ups and events that create mutual benefits for both content creators and brands.
Here are a few examples of how this works in practice:

Around the World — with Famous Brands

Or — to probably the world’s favorite festival, Coachella, with Douglas.
Douglas packed their bags for influencer friends Karolina Meschino and Dovilė Tiriūtė. Our team contributed to this project across all three Baltic countries.

Brand-initiated trips are becoming an increasingly common practice worldwide. They help forge strong bonds between influencers, their audiences, and the brands themselves. It’s easy to see why: real experiences and adventure-filled journeys are far more engaging than polished photo shoots, while brands gain countless opportunities to shine in different contexts.
For example, by creating themed merchandise, dressing up influencers in it, and giving fans a chance to win the same items — just like Douglas did.

Gifting on Another Level

A genre classic: unboxing videos are beloved by both followers and brands.
But in recent years, to avoid getting lost in a sea of gifts, brands have started taking bolder steps — turning gifts into real communication events.

For example, American lemonade makers Poppi, in their Super Bowl campaign, unleashed creativity that broke all the rules — and sometimes even doorframes. They sent influencers actual vending machines filled with Poppi drinks and installed them in their homes.

You’ve probably noticed that Lithuanian influencers are also increasingly moving away from simply unpacking a cardboard box — sometimes the box becomes a real chest, and sometimes the gift is delivered not by a courier, but by the brand’s mascot stepping straight out of the screen and into real life.

A friendly tip: when rewarding influencers, don’t forget your customers.
Bringing influencer marketing into real life offers a chance to return to the “customer first” philosophy, creating experiences and content that resonate, engage, and build friendships with both current and future buyers and users.

Face to Face with Shoppers

Our client Marina Rinaldi has been inviting their long-time customers to new season presentations for several years now. Live events with entertainment and gifts serve as a way to thank UGC creators and brand fans for their engagement.

Yes, planning an event, preparing gifts for participants, and ensuring a seamless experience costs more than packing and shipping another influencer PR box — but we love to measure returns, and events definitely deliver.

The success of live events and activations is measured not only by press coverage and social media shares but also by the brand associations they build — with people, emotions, real-life encounters, and new opportunities that emerge down the line.

Let Friendship(s) Win

Although we love to kick off long-term collaborations with influencers through in-person meetings, new influencer marketing campaigns are usually coordinated the good old way — via email.
However, when building communities — especially ambassador communities — we use other strategies too.

For example, the presentation of Lidl’s new campaign took place in a virtual meeting format, with all ambassadors invited to participate. It was another opportunity to connect, strengthen ties, and motivate each other.

Our partner Aistė Stalmokaitė summed up our motivation for initiating such projects perfectly:
“In recent years, the word relationship has become a key term in our work. This year, we even included relationship-building as one of the strategic directions in our agency’s strategy. For brands — especially large companies — building that relationship with creators and their customer communities can be difficult, and that’s exactly where we come in to help.”