Hey friends—I’m hosting a FREE social media webinar next week! Really love how my pals at Paysafe always want to help small businesses, freelancers and teams of one with their initiatives. Come join me for a chat + live Q&A on making social easier for SMBs—I’ll share iPhone tips, how to pick a platform, and more! RSVP right over here.

Until then, let’s talk about:

• Hyundai’s chocolate car

• Stacking a creator on a creator

• Why doing your homework on influencers is important

Hyundai’s Chocolate TikTok Duets

I love when brands get creative with their influencer marketing—not just with the content itself, but with the mechanicals of the process.

Take Hyundai. They made branded content with a TikTok Creator, then partnered for a branded duet with another TikTok Creator, that dueted the original branded TikTok, and they did it with two TikTokers who have a known relationship. That is such a ridiculously cool creative strategy & execution.

Let me back up and explain chocolate cars & chef snark.

Branded TikTok #1: Hyundai x Amaury

Hyundai had a new car they wanted to promote—the IONIQ 6, an all-electric vehicle. With auto, you’ve often got to go wide with your advertising campaigns—sure, you’ve got certain demos, income levels, and personas you’re targeting, but big name broad campaigns are often quite useful.

And that’s how Hyundai ended up making influencer content with a chocolatier. A very, very famous TikToking chocolatier.

Amaury Guichon’s 22 million followers love watching the smiling chef turn desserts into amazingly life-like creations. His work is truly incredible & worth every view, like this viral life-sized Teddy Bear I’d just as happily cuddle as eat.

His offering as a creator is wonderfully simple: if he can turn chocolate into anything, he can turn chocolate into your product. So Hyundai had him create the IONIQ 6 out of sweets. I’ll quote one of the TikTok comments: the only ad I will willingly watch.”

@amauryguichon

I have been challenged by @HyundaiUSA to create their new all-electric vehicle, the #IONIQ6, without the use of a mold! I love the car’s d... See more

It’s SUCH great content. No one cares that it’s an ad because you’re watching a guy turn chocolate into a car. If anything, it’s great that a brand paid for him to make a cool piece of content, and his audience clearly agrees—36.7 million views (some of which I’m sure are paid advertising, but a number that high means Hyundai and ~the algorithm~) both loved the content.

That one piece makes for an awesome influencer case study, but what makes this moment really cool is that Hyundai worked with a second creator, to make content about their first creator. Let’s talk about ChefReactions.

Branded TikTok #2: Hyundai x ChefReactions x Amaury

Self-describing as “that annoying, monotone chef from TikTok,” ChefReactions makes content critiquing other food content on TikTok. His format’s consistent and fun:

• Every piece of content is a duet of another TikTok

• He hysterically praises or critiques the recipes as they’re made

• Every video ends with a score out of 10 + if he’d eat it

Like all creators, some gags and storylines naturally emerge within his content, like his adoration of the aforementioned Amaury. ChefReactions frequently duets the chocolatier, giving scores like 20 million B.C. out of 10 for an 8-foot T-Rex.

So what did Hyundai do?

Hire both of them, have ChefReactions make a sponsored duet of Amaury’s content, and bring them together for some wholesomeness.

Here’s the branded duet:

@chefreactions

#duet with @Amaury Guichon Iconic chocolatier + IONIQ 6 = 🤯 #HyundaiPartner @hyundaiusa #IONIQ6 #ItsYourJourney

So now Hyundai is getting new organic views on Amaury’s TikTok, new organic views on ChefReactions content, and paid views on both, in a format that’s perfect for TikTok viewers. Even with the paid advertising tag, a TikTok scroller isn’t going to yell about a brand in their feed when the content is so true to both creators’ typical content.

One other quick call out—did you catch Chef mentioning he’s an actual Hyundai owner, and has been for many years? Finding a creator who actually uses your product always produces better results in content and messaging.

Again, we could just stop there—but Hyundai made a FULL CAMPAIGN! And I’m still geeking out about the whole thing.

Branded TikTok #3: ChefReactions meets Amaury

Just watch the TikTok. You catch the often grumpy ChefReactions truly floored to be in the presence of an idol. He’s excited to be there! In a video that brings two of TikTok’s biggest stars together!

@chefreactions

@Hyundai USA asked me to go to @Amaury Guichon’s Pastry Academy in Las Vegas and bring the chocolate #IONIQ6 back home to Hyundai HQ #Hyun... See more

Honestly, this type of marketing is why I work in the space and write this newsletter. Smart creative strategy that brings something new to the table, both creatively and mechanically.

What can you learn from this?

Brands: get to know the influencers you want to work with. Know their content, know their tastes, know their backgrounds. The homework Hyundai put into understanding Amaury and ChefReactions on a personal level resulted in highly creative, highly effective content.