The Curation Takeover: At Locker, We’re Betting on UGC (User-Generated Collages)

If you’re a marketer, you’ve felt the meaning of “quality content” change over time. For example, when I was a content marketer at an AdTech startup, I preached the fact that “content is king!” Yes, those memes still haunt me. At the time, the imminent death of the third-party cookie (which may never die!) heightened demand for more compelling creative. If you didn’t invest in your creative capabilities, whether in-house or with an agency, you risked your brand’s imminent death, too.

When the pandemic hit, which coincided with the explosion of TikTok, something unexpected happened. Brands realized that not only can anyone create “quality content,” but for?in-house teams?that could no longer meet in-person,?at-home creators?could become a vital (and viral) extension of their team.

Influencer marketing became mainstream, stealing budgets from legacy channels like Linear TV and out-of-home (OOH). Today, however, influencer marketing is losing share to an even more compelling channel: consumers. Peer-to-peer marketing, aka?good ol’ word of mouth,?has achieved scale.

Enter: the curation takeover, and why Locker is betting on user-generated collages (UGC).

Kira Mackenzie Jackson , an investor and advisor, has touted curation-as-a-service (or?CaaS, as she calls it ). She says, “given the influx we’ve seen around content, creators, and companies - curation?has?to be the next frontier in differentiation and monetization. Market curation is filling this consumer desire for passion and purpose behind purchasing… but what’s fascinating to me is this growth in talent-led curation and ultimately how it supports personal brand.”

But Kira is not the only one noticing the democratization of curation. Jack Appleby , from Future Social at Morning Brew , shared a?viral post on LinkedIn ?acknowledging the fact that CapCut , the video content creation app, has now surpassed TikTok on the App Store charts. “Do you get how wild that is?,” asks Jack. “The average human is so interested in being a creator that they're teaching themselves to edit video!”

Another one of my favorite LinkedInfluencers, Joanna Williams , Co-Founder and CEO of Moore Collective, has been?calling it for months : “content is THE connective tissue for everything this decade & if American mass fashion doesn’t organize around this and put it at the forefront of everything and if they don't care about it deeply, they will miss out on the most powerful fashion customer in history: Gen Z.”

According to Joanna, as creativity democratizes thanks to tech like CapCut, retail brands are uniquely positioned to lean in to their own customer’s creativity or get left in the dust.

“Fashion brands aren’t competing with the 17k fashion brands / retailers Lyst tracks, they are competing with every girl & her phone,” says Joanna. “Regular people drive commerce now. Fashion needs to stop thinking about product alone and plan their businesses around content and creators.”

"Fashion brands aren’t competing with the 17k fashion brands / retailers Lyst tracks, they are competing with every girl & her phone."

Another LinkedInfluencer, Noah Z. , says: “Creators are reshaping the world away from mass fashion brands and advertising and it all starts with?short form video and Gen Z girls ?- if you aren't obsessed with understanding their communities and niche needs and constantly delivering in real time you won't make it.”

Instead of competing with consumers for influence, brands should arm everyday shoppers with CaaS tools, helping consumers monetize their taste and personal style.

Bringing it back ?to Kira, "this is not only why Amazon storefronts are so successful, but it’s why Locker and Like to Know It (LTK) work, and also why influencer-led storefront platforms are coming to the forefront, with the OG being Oprah and her Favorite Things.”

What is Locker, a social shopping platform growing from its users’ creativity, doing to empower our (mostly) Gen Z, female community members?

We’re obsessed with our community members’ aspirations, which led us to launch a new free tool this week: collages.

To be clear, shoppable collages aren’t revolutionary. Millions of shoppers loved?Polyvore until it was shut down ?in 2018 by Ssense. According to ex-Polyvore user and?TikToker Sharkbaitsu , “the utility of Polyvore wasn’t just the boards you created, but it was also the things you commented on, things you liked.” Therefore, given the virality of social commerce, it’s now time to offer consumers free tools that enhance their creativity and curation.

Given the virality of social commerce, it’s now time to offer consumers free tools that enhance their creativity and curation.

“Imagine a mood boarding tool within Ssense of just things you can shop on the Ssense website. Imagine a world where you can have a community of people with similar taste within Ssense, and maybe even earn affiliate revenue if someone shops your board.”

Thankfully this TikToker doesn’t have to imagine any longer - we built it at Locker.

In less than a week since our Collages soft launch on social media, thousands of new and old Locker users have made and shared their shoppable collages featuring products from Ssense all the way to eBay.

Packing for an upcoming trip, or maybe re-doing a bedroom in your home? Locker collages are the perfect tool to visualize your style, and they’re for everyone. We’d love for you to let us know your feedback on our new collage feature. Feel free to shoot me a DM with your thoughts and be sure to check out some of?my most recent collages on Locker here.

We can’t wait to see you unlock your creativity and personal style while shopping with confidence.

Mary Grace Scully

Director of Growth Marketing at Locker & avid collage-curator

#LockerRoomTalk #socialcommerce #content #contentcreator #curation #CaaS #collage