By Jess Phillips, Founder and CEO, The Social Standard
Kickstart Q1 by tapping into the first macro-trend of the year, exercise, the New Year’s resolution of 59% of survey respondents. Industries beyond exercise-aligned categories, like gyms, sneakers and apparel, should partner with health-focused influencers to promote their products or services and drive consumer spending.
Industries that can benefit from new years influencer wellness campaigns
Electronics & Audio Streaming Services
Sixty-five percent of gym-goers said they have “no motivation” to exercise without their preferred workout music. Headphone manufacturers like Apple, Sony, Bose and Sennheiser should partner with fitness influencers like Brianna Joye Kohn (1.8M TikTok) on long-term activations like the 4-week pilates challenge. Then they could encourage participants to showcase their transformations like the #beforeandafter trend (27B views), further driving satisfied feelings of personal gains and results. Wearable exercise trackers like FitBit and apps such as MyFitnessPal can also utilize similar campaigns.
As gyms become crowded and treadmill space becomes limited, many runners turn to outdoor workouts. A poll found that almost 20% of runners listen to podcasts while jogging and the average age for half-marathon runners is thirty nine – a demographic that is desirable for paid subscribers of streaming services such as Spotify, Sirius XM and Audible. Long-distance athletes like cross-country national champion, Shalane Flanagan (426k Instagram), reflect this audience demographic and are ideal for promoting premium audio services.
Food Delivery & DTC Brands
Exerting all your energy in the gym leaves little free time to cook, clean and shop. Americans spend an average of 37 minutes a day preparing food, washing dishes and roughly 1 hour per week grocery shopping. To compensate for lost time, consumers will use food delivery services like Uber Eats, Doordash and Postmates more frequently. Survey respondents found that 49 percent of the consumers plan on ordering healthier food this year.
Since the median age of delivery service consumers is thirty-one years old and the median age for mothers is thirty years old, delivery services should partner with momfluencers. Once partnered, they should tap into the #whatieatinaday trend (15B TikTok views) to showcase the variety of healthy options available through their service. Momfluencers can also be ideal for meal kit subscription brands like HelloFresh, Blue Apron and Butchers Box, as they are most popular among Millennials and Gen X’ers, with 63.7% of buyers falling into one of these age groups. Vegan food brands like Beyond Meat should consider Q1 campaigns, as 31% of Americans want to eat less animal protein and more plant-based food in 2023.
Cannabis & CBD
Rest and recovery are essential to physical development and what better way to soothe sore muscles? In a recent study, over 90% of adults reported they enjoy cannabis as a part of their health and wellness routine.
The winter months are a great time to set up long-term partnerships with off-season athlete influencers. The activations can chronicle preparations for an upcoming season or the benefits of winding down from a stressful one. The NFL regular season ends on January 8, 2023 and the NBA will not be testing players for cannabis use for the third season in a row, leaving an abundance of influencers available for cannabis brands.
Vacation Destinations & Resorts
Humans quickly tire of routine and monotony. Roughly 80% of people who join a gym in January quit within five months. Travel resorts should partner with action sports influencers to remind people why they made resolutions, offering unique and fun ways to partake in a healthy and happy life. The #adventure trend (22B TikTok views) comprises videos of people skiing, snowboarding, hiking and surfing. Resorts that target older demographics can use “Granfluencers” (influencers who are older) to promote low-impact activities like snorkeling.
Prepare Your Year for Success
To boost your brand in the first quarter of the year, consider partnering with content creators who are active and have an understanding of the wellness goals of your audience. Find influencers who are genuinely interested and involved in your industry or niche. Invest in influencers to help keep your marketing budget and brand growth strong for the coming year.
