Makeup brand Tarte has received masses of backlash online for their recent influencer brand trip to Turks and Caicos.
The overall goal of brand trips is for people scrolling on social media to see influencers using new products while on a lavish vacation, and then want to buy these products themselves.
Instead, these trips have caused major problems for brands.
The Tarte trip fueled dissention among fans because many privileged influencers got to go on an all paid vacation. Most popular influencers’ opinions are based on sponsorships and aren’t genuine, so their reviews of products aren’t nearly as authentic as a smaller influencer’s would be.
Despite previous backlash, Tarte decided to do another brand trip, this time to Dubai. Some Tarte critics claim that the brand is “tonedeaf,” disregarding their target audience and their requests. Ignoring these claims, the company went ahead with their Dubai plans.
Much of Gen Z feel these brand trips are disconnected and out of touch. They don’t support the brand for far fetched trips but for their originality. Fans are left not understanding the approach from brands’ PR teams.
Junior Sophia Foad shared her opinion on brand trips, “When you bring together a bunch of influencers in the same profession, fans are definitely more likely to check out the brand that is funding the trip. However personally I would like to see a more authentic experience from influencers who are offered to go on these excursions,” Foad explained.
Tarte’s brand trips have not always received so much criticism. In 2013, the brand had a lot of success when their shape tape concealer was popularized after a brand trip to Bora Bora introduced it to a larger audience.
The recent disconnect seems to be due to fans being unable to relate to these brand trips in any way. Despite this, Tarte founder and CEO Maureen Kelly, told Business Insider in an email that the company has, “always believed in the power of genuine connections over flashy advertising,” and rather than spending millions on ads, they “invest in relationships.”
Foad advised Tarte to focus on their audience saying, “Seeing an abundance of stereotypical “perfect” women all together on a brand trip can be demeaning to young girls who struggle with self confidence. Allowing personality and authenticity on brand trips would definitely be, in my opinion, better for the viewers.”
The fast fashion company, Shien, decided to try a more authentic approach to brand trips by taking a group of less known influencers. But similarly to Tarte, they missed the mark and received a large amount of criticism.
Tarte has had more than just problems connecting with their viewers. Many issues arose from their use of private jets. To get the full effect of a luxury trip, Tarte flies out all their influencers in private jets. This has caused concerns for environmentalists who are troubled by surrounding Tartes environmental impact.
Shein has been facing similar problems. The fast fashion brand has been called out for their environmental issues, including water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, excessive material waste and carbon dioxide production.
Shien’s different approach to brand trips was taking influencers to manufacturing facilities in South China. The company hoped to restore their image and to show that rumors about poor working conditions in their factories were not true.
As expected, influencers made posts sharing the secure and amazing facilities at Shien. Additionally, they said the workers were happy and not overworked. People were quick to call out the influencers and the brand for greenwashing.
Senior Morgan Russmann shared her opinion with Shien’s controversy, “I know about the allegations but I don’t really know about the details. I’ve heard rumors about what could be going on but it’s not enough to make me stop buying from them.”
For the most part, brand trips are becoming ploys to show off the company’s money, attempting to make the influencers’ followers yearn for their new products. Companies still haven’t seemed to nail their audiences and what they are looking for in new product launches, ultimately making these trips more controversial than beneficial.
