insights Archive - CORQ

Gabby Petito: How TikTok has helped, and hindered, the ongoing police investigation into the blogger’s death

Over the last two weeks the world has been asking the same question: what happened to Gabby Peitio? The budding YouTuber was reported missing after failing to return from a cross country van trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. The couple had been travelling for weeks together and on 1 September, Laundrie returned home to Florida. 10 days later, Petito’s family

Case Study: How Gymshark has mastered the art of influencer marketing to drive revenue, engagement and a loyal audience

Gymshark founder and CEO Ben Francis truly has it all – a £1billion company, a loyal group of friends and followers, and he recently tied the knot with his partner, Robin Gallant earlier this month. Having achieved this all before the age of 30, he’s the epitome of success and entrepreneurship. There’s no doubt that Francis knows what he wants, and how

Detective Tok: How investigative creators are solving true crime, exposing affairs and spotting secret celebrity pregnancies

When Kylie Jenner finally confirmed her second pregnancy, it was already old news. During her first pregnancy, the billionaire beauty mogul was able to keep it a secret right up until the birth of her daughter Stormi, but there was one thing she hadn’t counted on this time round: TikTok. For the premature announcement, Kylie

From cosplay to storytelling: The spook-tacular Halloween creatives on TikTok offering inspiration for interiors, food and fashion collaborations

We are all trying to pretend that Christmas isn’t around the corner and that 2021 isn’t rapidly evaporating in a flurry of weird weather and Met Gala takes. Limbering up in a dark corner is Halloween – and nowhere is there more love for the spooky season than on TikTok. From costume dramas and makeup

UK influencers Amy Hart, Nicole Ocran and Anna Whitehouse give evidence in Parliament about online abuse: Influencer update

CORQ’s weekly drop of news and interesting happenings from the world of digital influence and those defining the agenda across social media. Read on for potential opportunities for your brand and information which may affect your decision making process on who to work with now. To access this article, join CORQ today. Become a member

Marc Jacobs’ fragrance challenge attracts billions of views, TokFest kicks off and the app tests safety features: TikTok weekly roundup

This weekend saw the launch of TokFest, an event organised by the team behind Social in The City and took place at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre. While Tokfest is not endorsed, or affiliated with TikTok, a huge number of its favourite creators were on hand to meet and greet their fans: it was a veritable who’s who

Influencer hotlists

People embodying the zeitgeist.

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From cosplay to storytelling: The spook-tacular Halloween creatives on TikTok offering inspiration for interiors, food and fashion collaborations

We are all trying to pretend that Christmas isn’t around the corner and that 2021 isn’t rapidly evaporating in a flurry of weird weather and Met Gala takes. Limbering up in a dark corner is Halloween – and nowhere is there more love for the spooky season than on TikTok. From costume dramas and makeup

The top tall fashion influencers creating engaging and stylish content for often overlooked shoppers

Definitions for what is classified as tall varies, but brands including Long Tall Sally and Zalando’s Tall Range cater to women over 5ft 8. Paradoxically, many of the models showcasing new collections are above average height but many brands are yet to tailor to taller women. Luckily, these influencers are here to be a source

Eco TikTok: Meet the 10 climate change activists dominating the social media platform for Gen Z audiences

Knowing that Gen Z audiences are both preoccupied and paralysed by climate change, and that TikTok is one of the main media consumption channels, who are the collectives, communities and eco-influencers on TikTok? To access this article, join CORQ today. Become a member now and get your first month free. Start your FREE trial membership

These Y2K trends are continuing to drive engagement on TikTok across fashion, beauty and culture

The Y2K renaissance occurred a couple of years ago, crystallised by Ariana Grande’s recreations of cult 00s movies Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Bring It On and 13 Going On 30, in her Thank U, Next music video. The OG Y2K girls (see here) were obsessed with Juicy Couture and Bratz dolls, and their looks dominated YouTube. But you’d be forgiven for thinking that

News

The need-to-know latest from the influencer space.

UK influencers Amy Hart, Nicole Ocran and Anna Whitehouse give evidence in Parliament about online abuse: Influencer update

CORQ’s weekly drop of news and interesting happenings from the world of digital influence and those defining the agenda across social media. Read on for potential opportunities for your brand and information which may affect your decision making process on who to work with now. To access this article, join CORQ today. Become a member

Instagram unveils new feature that could dramatically boost influencer engagement: The Newsfeed

Facebook is facing backlash over revelations it knew Instagram was negatively impacting teenage girls’ mental health. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company’s studies showed teenagers blamed Instagram for increased levels of anxiety and depression. Although MP Damian Collins is calling for Facebook – who own the app – to be punished for holding back such evidence, Instagram’s

Channel 4 dedicates 24 hours of programming to showcase Black talent with new initiative: Influencer update

CORQ’s weekly drop of news and interesting happenings from the world of digital influence and those defining the agenda across social media. Read on for potential opportunities for your brand and information which may affect your decision making process on who to work with now. To access this article, join CORQ today. Become a member

TikTok overtakes YouTube for average watch time in both the UK and US: The Newsfeed

It’s happened, TikTok is now watched on average longer than YouTube by users in both the UK and US. However, the latter still holds the top spot for overall time spent on the platform as it has more users overall – YouTube has two billion monthly users, while TikTok has around 700 million. Looks like

Campaigns

The creativity driving the industry.

Case Study: How Gymshark has mastered the art of influencer marketing to drive revenue, engagement and a loyal audience

Gymshark founder and CEO Ben Francis truly has it all – a £1billion company, a loyal group of friends and followers, and he recently tied the knot with his partner, Robin Gallant earlier this month. Having achieved this all before the age of 30, he’s the epitome of success and entrepreneurship. There’s no doubt that Francis knows what he wants, and how

Influencer campaigns: Emma Jane Palin teams up with Amazon for interiors and smart tech sponsorship

Welcome to CORQ’s weekly influencer campaign roundup – a snapshot of the most interesting campaigns and the people who are making them fly. Want to receive this straight to your inbox? Email our client services manager Arabella Johnson on arabella@corq.studio. To access this article, join CORQ today. Become a member now and get your first

Influencer campaigns: Victoria Magrath partners with Armani Beauty to attend the Venice Film Festival

Welcome to CORQ’s weekly influencer campaign roundup – a snapshot of the most interesting campaigns and the people who are making them fly. To access this article, join CORQ today. Become a member now and get your first month free. Start your FREE trial membership now Find out more about what you get with a

Case study: the social media strategy behind Wendy’s UK comeback and the TikTok hype maintaining its cultural relevance

When it comes to fast-food burger chains, everyone knows that McDonald’s and Burger King are the places to go. However, there’s a surprising contender poaching third place as the world’s biggest burger: the culprit? Wendy’s. Founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas in Ohio, he named the franchise after his daughter, which lends itself to the

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Post-pandemic influencer marketing: trailblazing through radical change

The future of influencer marketing has been shaped by new consumer behaviours that have emerged since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. From a sharp increase in ecommerce to the growing importance of social commerce, influencers’ position when it comes to driving businesses’ revenue is now more central and crucial than ever. However, influencers and

Sarah Jossel on how to pitch for ST Style and This Morning coverage: “Give me a news angle”

As part of our exclusive online events series, Brand Briefings, we hosted a webinar with Sarah Jossel, beauty director of Sunday Times Style and the resident beauty expert for This Morning. After a year on Zoom, Sarah shared her insights on the future of beauty in a post-lockdown world. Not only did she dissect her thoughts on our

“People want companionship from their homes”- insights from Albert Hill of The Modern House

As part of our exclusive online events series, Brand Briefings, we hosted a webinar with Albert Hill, co-founder of The Modern House and Inigo. Previously a design editor and journalist, he approaches homes from a narrative perspective, something he finds lacking in many typical estate agents. Albert discussed the shifts he’s seen in the property market over lockdown,

Understanding post-pandemic youth culture with Zing Tsjeng, executive editor of Vice

As part of our exclusive online events series, Brand Briefings, we hosted a webinar with executive editor of Vice, Zing Tsjeng. She is also the author of book series Forgotten Women and presenter of BBC Sounds podcast United Zingdom, which explores the nuances of British identity. In the session Zing discussed the issues faced by

Comment

Smart takes on digital culture.

Gabby Petito: How TikTok has helped, and hindered, the ongoing police investigation into the blogger’s death

Over the last two weeks the world has been asking the same question: what happened to Gabby Peitio? The budding YouTuber was reported missing after failing to return from a cross country van trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. The couple had been travelling for weeks together and on 1 September, Laundrie returned home to Florida. 10 days later, Petito’s family

The Evolution of Grace Victory: How and why the influencer has re-branded following her battle with COVID-19

Nobody has made a bigger comeback in 2021 than vlogger Grace Victory. Just like her name suggests, she has proven to be victorious in the face of adversity and illness after an incredibly tough year. In December 2020, while pregnant with her son Cyprus, she contracted Covid-19, which forced her to give birth two months

Influencers’ Met Gala attendance offers fresh looks and faces over “boring” traditional celebrities

Once upon a time the Met Gala – AKA fashion’s biggest event of the year – was reserved for only the most elite and prestigious celebrities, but as Vogue seeks to keep the ball relevant, more and more influencers are slowly being invited to the prestigious, invite-only event – and despite the criticism, they deserve

PewDiePie’s latest drama with YouTuber Dhar Mann marks the start of a new era for the online troll

Felix Kjellberg, AKA PewDiePie is no stranger to controversy, and unsurprisingly he’s once again got himself embroiled in some online beef for no reason, it seems, other than he just can’t help himself. But this time it’s not the derogatory language that’s shocking, but who he’s decided to come for – the good Samaritan of

Trends

Understand the present, forecast the future.

Detective Tok: How investigative creators are solving true crime, exposing affairs and spotting secret celebrity pregnancies

When Kylie Jenner finally confirmed her second pregnancy, it was already old news. During her first pregnancy, the billionaire beauty mogul was able to keep it a secret right up until the birth of her daughter Stormi, but there was one thing she hadn’t counted on this time round: TikTok. For the premature announcement, Kylie

Marc Jacobs’ fragrance challenge attracts billions of views, TokFest kicks off and the app tests safety features: TikTok weekly roundup

This weekend saw the launch of TokFest, an event organised by the team behind Social in The City and took place at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre. While Tokfest is not endorsed, or affiliated with TikTok, a huge number of its favourite creators were on hand to meet and greet their fans: it was a veritable who’s who

“TextTok”: the latest TikTok trend giving audio a run for its money by putting the written word centre stage

Forget about mindlessly scrolling through dance, comedy, beauty and lip sync videos on TikTok, because the app’s latest trend requires a user’s full attention and the ability to read large blocks of text – welcome to “TextTok”. Coined by journalist Kate Lindsey for Embedded, the term refers to the text-based trend that sees users write

Influencers turned detective, the #BamaRush phenomenon and a spinoff app launch: TikTok weekly roundup

This week a report by app monitoring firm App Annie suggested that TikTok has overtaken YouTube in average time spent per user for the first time. The data measures engagement – suggesting that it is higher on the short-form video sharing platform than the OG video platform, however YouTube maintains the top spot for overall time spent

Culture

The evolution of digital storytelling.

Influencer podcast summer roundup: new shows, series returns and trends

The British Podcast Awards 2021 powered by Amazon Music saw over 140,000 votes cast for its Listeners Choice award (ultimately won by RedHanded, the true crime podcast hosted by Suruthi Bala and Hannah Maguire) confirming the growing grip podcasting is gaining on the British listening experience. Other big winners on the night included Fearne Cotton with

The impact of Drag Race UK: how drag queens became the face of fashion in 2021

Drag culture is constantly influencing trends – from audio tracks on TikTok, makeup looks to the very social vernacular itself. While the focus was on the US scene, the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has proved that we are all “UK Hun”. The first series – released in 2019 – was an instant hit, delighting

Viral brands: how Starbucks and its baristas became TikTok royalty

Over the past 50 years, Starbucks has become a global icon known not just for its green mermaid logo and frappuccinos, but for being trendy. It started with celebrities in the 2000s – Britney Spears and the Olsen twins were never without their venti drinks. Then, throughout the 2010s, Starbucks-focused content was a goldmine for

What is Discord? Everything you need to know about the thriving Gen Z platform

The audio revolution continues apace as you can barely move for social media giants launching live audio propositions. Rushing to compete with Clubhouse, the social chat network that found itself at the centre of everything during lockdown, Facebook, Twitter and Spotify have all introduced audio rooms within the past month: Facebook with Live Audio Rooms,

Reports

In-depth research across the digital landscape.

Clubhouse and the audio revolution: key influencers and drivers of this trend

The race to capture consumers’ hearts via their ears has been on ever since Clubhouse started to show significant traction in 2020. The platform emerged during the first lockdown and produced a raft of native influencers who seemed to instinctively understand what it takes to make live chat content work. Not only were users tuning

The home report: digital stories about living in 2021 and key influencers

The past 12 months have elevated the home above everything else. It’s where we live, work and play. The spaces we call home have changed – adults have drifted from cities back to their parents’ homes. Urban families have relocated for more square feet and a natural environment. Rooms which were previously dedicated to eating

Influencers 2021: a digital culture, trends and creator forecast

The coronavirus pandemic accelerated adoption of influencers as routes to communication, entertainment and sales across many verticals. These individuals and their platforms are key when it comes to successful ecommerce via traditional websites and social commerce via tools such as Instagram and TikTok. Understanding the people and stories who are dominating and creating serious ripple

ASA guidelines

Insights on the regulation of influencer platforms.

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Influencers who repeatedly flout the ASA guidelines have been named publicly

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has followed through on its promise to name and shame influencers who repeatedly ignore guidelines on how to signpost commercial content. The first individuals to be singled out on a new dedicated page revealing repeat offenders are Chloe Ferry, Jodie Marsh, Lucy Mecklenburgh and Chloe Khan. According to the regulator,

ASA influencer guidelines: CORQ’s masterclass for brands working with influencers

In 2018, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) released a set of guidelines for influencers working commercially with brands and since then, these have been enforced by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA). A second edition of these guidelines was published in 2020, and essentially, these rules seek to ensure that consumers are aware when influencers

Influencers and brands breaking ASA rules could end up in court

Influencers and brands who don’t comply with guidelines on signposting commercial content clearly could end up in court and face fines. After an investigation into influencers’ rigour in following its mandatory guidelines, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) noted it discovered “disappointingly low compliance” and is ready to enforce severe sanctions if the situation does not

Influencers must use #ad despite Insta’s paid partnership rollout

Instagram has revealed new plans to flag sponsored influencer content when it is not labelled clearly as advertising, following an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). This includes rolling out its “paid partnership” header but brands should be aware they risk action from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) if influencers fail to use

Influencer Marketing 101

Foundation knowledge for influencer marketers.

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Influencer marketing 101: glossary of influencer and social media terminology

Social media platforms are a world of their own and the influencers who dominate the different communities in each one have a language which reflects this. Here are some key terms, which are not only referenced on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and TikTok, but are – in some cases – becoming part of

Influencer marketing 101: six details that should be in every brand’s briefing template

Having a perfectly constructed influencer briefing template means that no matter what the project is or who is coordinating it, the expectations of your company when it comes to talent producing content will be uniform. It will also ensure that even if a junior member of staff is tasked with communicating with the influencer, they

Influencer marketing 101: what are the risks associated with influencer marketing?

The risks associated with influencer marketing are numerous and ever increasing. This is due to the nature of this kind of advertising – people are innately volatile and using their lives as commercial platforms will inevitably throw up unexpected issues. Since CORQ was developed in 2017, we have been tracking the areas that make influencer

Influencer marketing 101: how much do influencers cost for brands to work with?

The biggest recurrent question about influencer marketing? How much do influencers cost – what do they charge and can this be categorised by audience size or industry. The short answer is no – there is no standardisation when it comes to influencer fees. Unlike display advertising, when you work with influencers you are not booking