iHeartRaves Influencer Campaign Analysis

Section 1: The Brand & Campaign Objective

iHeartRaves: Drive-In Raves Collection Campaign

A brief overview of iHeartRaves:

  • iHeartRaves is a rave and EDM fashion clothing brand that makes fun, trendy, and affordable rave apparel. They saw there was a white space for high-quality, fashionable rave clothing for women and men and thus iHeartRaves was born.

  • They are the number one festival clothing store in the world and aim to empower their customers to express their own personal styles. iHeartRaves is at the forefront of rave fashion and excels in being more than just a festival fashion brand. They have fully immersed themselves in the EDM festival industry and experience by partnering with major music festivals and brands.

  • The iHeartRaves team primarily comprises of avid festival goers and electronic music enthusiasts, which is extremely beneficial to understanding their target market and staying up to date with the latest trends, needs, and desires.

  • Approximate Dates of Campaign: The campaign began in the 3rd quarter of 2020 and is expected to run until the end of the 2nd quarter of 2021 (or until Drive-In and socially distanced events are no longer required).

Objectives of the Campaign:

  • Primary Objective: To sell 100% of Drive-In collection clothing, jewelry, masks, and other accessory inventory within the 2020-2021 music festival season.

  • Secondary Objectives: The tagging and sharing of iHeartRaves products in influencer social media content when at Drive-In Rave events and/or raving at-home activities.

    • Unaided recall of iHeartRaves when recommending fashion brands for Drive-In Raves, and music festival clothing and apparel.

Target Audience

18- 26-year-old females who are in search of rave clothing and apparel for drive-in raves. These individuals stay up to date on the latest trends within rave culture. They follow EDM influencers that include but are not limited to music lovers, DJs, podcasters, shufflers, and social media content creators. This target audience is eager to find new and fashionable rave clothing for drive-in events and music festivals in the future.

Section 2: The Influencer Audit

About @Partyperryy

Content & Messaging of @partyperryy: 

@Partyperry (also known as Perry) is an electronic dance music lover, hooper, social media coach, and content creator. Perry is a health care worker full-time and runs her social media coaching business on the side. She is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada, and is extremely active in the dance music and festival community. Additionally, she is a sponsored influencer for 3 live event companies and multiple fashion festival brands including but not limited to Rolita Couture, Lit Unicorns, and of course iHeartRaves. Perry is extremely positive, all about spreading love and expressing oneself through festival fashion- all of which the iHeartRaves brand embodies. As a full-time worker, festival go-er, and EDM enthusiast herself, Perry is able to connect with her audience on a variety of levels. Perry’s content typically greets her audience, then works in a unique and entertaining way to promote the brand(s) so her recommendation does not feel forced. As she is able to connect with her audience on these extremely personal levels, she has been able to gain the trust and attention of her small but very active community. Genuine connections and relatability to her audience are what give her significant influence when it comes to their festival fashion purchasing decisions.

Original Content Sample from @partyperryy

About @tinydancer_88

Content & Messaging of @tinydancer_88

@tinydancer_88 (also known as Kelcey) is a social media manager, aspiring DJ, and fashion icon within the music festival industry. She is based out of San Diego, California, and holds an extremely influential position in the EDM community due to her extensive festival experience and knowledge of festival fashion and trends. Kelcey is also a part of the Unicorn Crew, which is the iHeartRaves traveling festival crew that aims to empower individuals at festivals and beyond. She promotes a positive, energetic, and stylish lifestyle through her content. A majority of her content entails sharing music, styling festival looks, and connecting with her audience. Being a veteran in the electronic music festival community, Kelcey has mastered the art of connecting with a wide network of music lovers, festival-goers, and other prominent figures in the dance music scene. Her passion for EDM and rave apparel inspires her audience to create and express their own style with music festival clothing and rave accessories. In 2020, Kelcey began creating music which has become the main focus for her brand and content. Although there has been a shift in her content, it is still very relevant to her audience.

Original Content Sample from @tinydancer_88

Section 3: The Campaign Execution and Results

@Partyperryy Analysis

Influencer Requirements

  • The influencer is required to have a social media following of at least 2,000 (iHeartRaves, 2021) and an iHeartRaves affiliate link that provides a discount to customers. This link is also used to keep track of purchases made via recommendation from the influencer (iHeartRaves, 2021).

  • For this specific campaign influencers are required to use one or more pieces from the Drive-In Raves collection, tag iHeartRaves in the post, and pair the content with a personalized caption. They must also direct followers to their unique affiliate link in their bio to measure their impact and results.

The match between iHeartRaves, the objective, and the audience

iHeartRaves’ is all about inspiring individual creativity and self-expression through rave clothing and festival fashion at EDM events,” (iHeartRaves n.d.) aligning perfectly with Perry’s brand that promotes expressing oneself through their festival fashion. By showcasing pieces from the Drive-In Rave collection and encouraging her EDM enthusiastic audience to purchase, Perry is contributing to the success of the campaign objective. Her audience is constantly looking for unique music festival apparel, making it an ideal match for this campaign.

Example of content produced for the Drive-In Raves Campaign 

Showing off a piece from the collection, paired with a personalized message about a drive-in rave, Perry strategically resonates with her audience. This content was then featured on the iHeartRaves product page to show how this piece can be styled and paired with other products from the campaign.

 Drive-In Raves Campaign: Success or failure?

  • Based on engagement (likes, comments, and tags) with iHeartRaves affiliated content, this campaign has been successful so far. Perry’s audience is constantly praising her trendy style, initiating a desire and brand recognition for iHeartRaves. Additionally, an increase in tags and mentions of iHeartRaves on Instagram further supports the notion that the campaign has been successful.

@Tinydancer_88 Analysis

Influencer Requirements

  • The influencer is required to have a social media following of at least 2,000 (iHeartRaves, 2021) and an iHeartRaves affiliate link that provides a discount to customers. This link is also used to keep track of purchases made via recommendation from the influencer (iHeartRaves, 2021).

  • For this specific campaign influencers are required to use one or more pieces from the Drive-In Raves collection, tag iHeartRaves in the post, and pair the content with a personalized caption. They must also direct followers to their unique affiliate link in their bio to measure their impact and results.

The match between iHeartRaves, the objective, and the audience

iHeartRaves’ brand is known for carrying the hottest rave wear trends and aims to inspire individual creativity through fashion within the electronic dance music community. Kelcey’s audience consists of a wide variety of EDM enthusiasts, festival-goers, and rave fashion trendsetters, matching up with the target audience for this campaign.

Example of content produced for the Drive-In Raves Campaign 

Kelcey shows off an iHeartRaves look from the Drive-In Raves collection on Instagram paired with a positive, fun, and personalized message to her audience. This content is then used on the product page to show the full outfit and suggest other Drive-In Raves pieces

 Drive-In Raves Campaign: Success or failure?

  • Based on engagement (likes, comments, and tags) with iHeartRaves affiliated content, this campaign has been successful so far. As more Drive-In Raves are taking place, there has been an increase in tags and mentions of iHeartRaves in UGC. The future of festivals is evolving, and iHeartRaves has made it clear no matter what raving will look like going forward, they will always be there to provide high quality, fashionable, and affordable rave clothing to their customers.

User Generated Content that has tagged @iHeartRaves in the past 24 hours 

(Taken March 7th, 2021)

Section 4: Recommendations

What Worked for This Campaign

  • The utilization of influencers was extremely beneficial to this campaign. A majority of influencers in this campaign were already iHeartRaves customers or brand ambassadors. Not only did this minimize the time and effort it took to find these influencers, but it also gave iHeartRaves the opportunity to leverage their brand community in order to connect with the desired target audience for this campaign. 

  • The tagging of @iHeartRaves in influencer content is another reason why this campaign has succeeded the way it has thus far. When the influencers apart of this campaign specifically state why and what they love about their selections from the Drive-In Raves collection, their audience is much more likely to listen to their recommendation.

  • Both @PartyPerryy and @Tinydancer_88 were excellent influencer choices for this campaign. They both have an active following on Instagram, are truly passionate about EDM, festival fashion, and they know who their audience is and what they are looking for. The reason they have such an active and engaging audience is because these influencers have mastered the art of putting themselves in their audiences shoes. By understanding what their audience is thinking and they are able to use storytelling techniques to communicate the desired message in a way they will listen to and understand.

What didn’t work for this campaign

  • Although iHeartRaves attempted to make the best out of a global pandemic, some may not feel safe enough to attend drive-in rave or socially distanced events. Due to this campaign heavily relying on the assumption that their audience would feel safe attending an in person drive-in event, they may have missed an opportunity to reach a subsection of their target audience.

Suggestions to further the success of the Drive-In Raves campaign

  • This campaign has been successful so far, and is expected to continue doing well as the 2021 festival season begins to pick up and more events take place. One recommendation that could further the success of this campaign would be to organize a giveaway with Drive-In Rave brands such as Insomniac’s Park ‘N Rave series, as well as local influencers that are able to attend drive-in events. This giveaway could include items such as tickets to drive-in raves, e-gift cards to iHeartRaves, face masks, glitter, and snack packs in an effort to increase unaided recall of iHeartRaves when recommending fashion brands for Drive-In Raves.

Section 5:References/Bibliography

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