Good or bad PR for Poppi, social trends and standing out in a luxury setting | Vol.13

Here's your latest dose of Vitamin EE, from the team here at Edson Evers.

It's been another busy, but exciting, month for our team and we can't wait to share updates with you very soon!

It's also been an exciting month in the world of PR, marketing and social, with interesting, albeit sometimes controversial, campaign launches to keep us on our toes!

The big question Junior Account Manager, Emily Macbeth , has explored in this month's instalment is whether all PR is good PR, following the backlash of a recent campaign from US drinks brand Poppi. Digital Executive Gim Perera then looks at how the brand made the most of its airtime during the Super Bowl.

Creative Lead, Jessica Smith , and Junior Account Director, Sarah Bradley , also both take a look into how brands are utilising social media in this saturated market.

It's really not one to miss!

Is all PR good PR?

We often hear the phrase “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”, but is that always the case? Maybe we should ask Poppi…

Launched as a healthier alternative to traditional soda (A.K.A fizzy pop), US brand Poppi wanted to make a splash before the unveiling of its Super Bowl half-time ad.

The uber-Instagrammable brand already had the backing of some famous names - Post Malone, Hailey Bieber, Kylie Jenner and Billie Eilish, according to its website – but pre-Super Bowl they wanted to tap into the influencer market to promote its ad.

So what did they do? They sent out full-size vending machines packed with Poppi products to 32 US influencers. And while this might not seem like a huge deal, the internet’s response was… as you'd expect?

As the influencers began posting with their new machines, the comments became flooded with backlash. People were calling out the insensitivity, with Poppi sending out expensive vending machines to influencers who could assumably afford to buy these drinks themselves.

Instead, commenters wanted to see Poppi send them to schools, universities or hospitals, where the free drinks could be much more beneficial, and it wasn’t long before Poppi was branded “out of touch”.

Rival drink brand Olipop quickly joined the conversation, stating that these machines cost around $25,000 – so if true, Poppi forked out $800,000 only for it to blow up in its face.

But did it? Views of the influencer videos were in the millions, and Poppi was the drink brand on everyone’s lips. There were so many TikTok videos uploaded of people discussing the controversy, and everyone was talking about them, good or bad.

Was this campaign a great idea? Yes and no. Poppi achieved its goal of getting people talking and promoting the Super Bowl ad. But the truth is, people are becoming wiser to seeing large scale influencers churning out product promotion to the highest bidder.

There’s a widespread shift towards micro-influencers and community-led influence, promoting products through people who reflect your brand’s audience, rather than using someone who just “has over a million followers”.

So, if you want to make a big splash in your next campaign, take a considered approach. Work with influencers who look and behave like your customer. After all, customers are more likely to be influenced by people they trust and can relate to.

If you need help creating your next mindful PR campaign, contact us today.

Social trends spotted on my ‘For You’ page

Individuals as well as companies want to be the first to ‘jump on’ the latest trend. Trends are everywhere. Here are a few I’ve spied on my feed recently:

1. Sensory marketing

When done right, it can make a product go ‘viral’, especially if the sensory is to do with food. Food is a key part of people’s everyday life, so why not incorporate it into marketing to create a deeper emotional connection with customers?

Pairing a product with food creates a clever association with everyday routines, along with illustrating the texture or ingredients within products. Food themed trends are on the rise from the likes of ‘glazed doughnut skin’, ‘strawberry girl make-up’ and ‘blueberry nails’, Rhode Skin is one brand that has truly got a stronghold on the use of food sensory marketing of its products.

Rhode Skin aptly names its products around food sensory marketing as well, from ‘Glazing Milk’ and ‘Cinnamon Roll Lip Treatment’. Jumping on the ‘strawberry girl make-up’ trend, saw the launch of its latest product, Strawberry Peptide Lip Treatment, collaborating with Krispy Kreme and its strawberry glazed doughnuts. A great example of cross-industry partnership.

2. Nostalgia marketing

Happy memories are like a hug from the past, and nostalgia is a valuable tool that can tap into bygone eras reminiscent of fond memories. Making your audience feel good about your brand because it reminds them of something they treasure and hold close to their heart.

Nostalgia marketing creates emotional connections and a sense of community that others can relate to, whether it’s the use of an old song, vintage designs, throwback campaigns or pop culture references. By blending these throwback elements with modern messaging, it will invoke the past without making your brand seem outdated.

3. Doodle trend

The perfect way to create authentic content that feels both professional and personal, it leads on from sensory marketing and almost creates a sense of ‘dopamine’ in posts. The doodles capture individual personalities, hobbies and styles that are both playful and sophisticated.

It’s the perfect mix of DIY charm and strategic branding. You could be capturing a ‘girl dinner’ on a weekend away, or you might be on a PR trip trying a new product, doodles add real-time thoughts and feelings to your post.

Authenticity and personalisation capture an audience’s attention and gets them interested…so what story are you going to tell next?

Touchdown across digital touchpoints

Probiotic soda is the latest gut-health fix fizzing into the mainstream, with functional drinks set to hit $306 billion by 2029. Enter Poppi, putting the fun in functional and Amazon’s top-selling soft drink. What started as a homemade brew at a farmer’s market turned into a Shark Tank triumph. Now, after starring in the most-watched Super Bowl ad of 2025, it has landed in 29 million households. The ad’s concept was simple yet striking. With vibrant scenes and lively characters, Poppi eliminates the struggle of choosing between taste and health, making it the obvious pick over high-calorie sodas.

But a Super Bowl ad isn’t just about airtime. It’s what happens next that counts. Poppi saw Google searches skyrocket 100x, social engagement soar 250%, and TikTok followers jump 70%. Its $8 million half-time slot featuring Alix Earle earned the highest impact score (25) on YouGov.

Some might say the hype will fizzle out, but Poppi played the long game. Before the Super Bowl even kicked off, they built momentum with giveaways, influencer teasers, and game-day buzz, including a pap snap of Eagles player Saquon Barkley casually holding a can of Poppi to hint at his game-day prep. On the big day, they sent 32 influencers fully stocked vending machines, sparking both excitement and debate. All press is good press, right? (See PR insights!)

To convert curiosity into clicks, Poppi designed a high-impact homepage with game-day banners and exclusive competitions. On socials, its influencer army kept the conversation flowing, with Alix Earle sharing behind-the-scenes content with her 7M fans. Poppi content is flooding the feed, even two weeks after game day.

A winning digital play is about being everywhere. Poppi ran channel-specific giveaways, from Instagram exclusives to a Super Bowl 2026 contest, hired big names with big followings, and solved a classic consumer problem in the TV ad. To execute a 360 campaign, you have to consider the past, present and future. How do you grab someone's attention with an eye-catching campaign and not create a seamless transition from interest to conversion?

Making luxury brands relevant in the digital age

Standing out on social media is not an easy task. And it's even more difficult in an industry where being creative and memorable is needed to stay relevant and in demand.

French luxury fashion brand, Jacquemus, seems to always get this right, with the brand's creativity shining through in its marketing efforts.

And one thing the brand has really mastered is utilising social media to get in front of its target audience. Whilst high-end fashion and targeting the masses don't naturally go hand in hand, the brand's creative approach to social storytelling has allowed them to appeal to the average social media user, whilst still maintaining a 'luxury' brand identity.

The most recent campaign for the fashion brand saw a brand partnership with tech giant, Apple. The partnership introduced the brand's newest collection, La Croisière, showcasing 'Just a normal day at Jacquemus ateliers', all exclusively filmed on the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Of course, particularly for luxury fashion brands, you'd expect the highest quality filming equipment to be used on a photoshoot of this level, so it's fantastic promotion for Apple to showcase the quality of footage achieved on a smartphone - all in just one take.

But the decision to film this campaign on a smartphone also shows a wider shift. Whilst luxury brands have traditionally wanted to appear 'out of reach' for the average consumer, this is just another example of how these high-end brands are prioritising 'social-first' content to tell a story.

In this particular case, Jacquemus is giving users the chance to see inside one of its ateliers, albeit a fictitious representation, following suit with other brands who give users a 'behind-the-scenes' look at their business to feel more authentic.

And this isn't the first time we've seen a switch to social-first content from a high-end brand. Last year, Burberry created some fantastic short videos with British icons, from actress Olivia Colman to footballer Cole Palmer. It was less about what clothes they were wearing, but more about creating humorous videos that are truly reflective of the brand. Olivia Colman trapping her Burberry scarf in the door of her classic Range Rover was an inspired idea.

I personally love the recent Gucci collaborations with social media star, Delaney Rowe, too. She's built a huge following replicating cliche movie trailers, and Gucci jumped on this to dress her in its best pieces as she runs through the streets of New York in her latest skit.

It's great to see these luxury brands utilising social media in unique ways. Of course, these brands are aiming to sell their clothes, accessories and lifestyle pieces, but just showing a lookbook or fashion show of its latest collection just won't resonate with the traditional social media user. We're in a digital age where audiences are clued up on when they are being sold to, so these 'old fashion' sales pitches just aren't going to cut through the noise in today's social media landscape.

Want to discover ways in which we can tell your story on social media? Get in touch with us today.