palm springs california — Once upon a time, a photo with Coachella's Ferris wheel was the most iconic Instagram status symbol to come out of the two-week concert. Then came Revolve Festival's carousel swing. The fashion e-tailer's carnival ride became a flex that separated influencers and A-list celebrities from the masses and meant attending the invitation-only event held on the first Saturday of Coachella each year.
This year, the swing is gone. Revolve Festival, held on the lawns of the Parker Palm Springs Hotel, has been significantly scaled back, and not just because it has moved back from two days to one in recent years. The number of guests at the party, known for its ability to attract attendees such as Timothée Chalamet and the Kardashian family, has also fallen to 1,200 from a peak of 5,000 in 2022.
Dressed in shorts, tiny crop tops, see-through dresses, and cowboy boots, influencers lined up for Havaianas flip-flops, Key sunglasses, and other festival-worthy merchandise. A photo booth distributing the cult Peptide Lip Treatment by Hailey Bieber's beauty brand Lorde was by far the biggest draw. In a bar stocked with 818 different margaritas and vodkas, Red Bull rocked a singalong to performances of the Ying Yang Twins' “Get Low” and Ludacris' “What's Your Fantasy.” Celebrity appearances include Bieber, who also sponsored a frozen yogurt stand encouraging people to add chocolate chip and peanut butter “Haley's Way” toppings, as well as Megan Fox, Emma Roberts and Charlie. – D'Amelio was also included.
But the downsizing of the event partly reflects how much of the Coachella hype has faded. And his Revolve, an influencer known for flashy events like festivals that he helped invent marketing, is exploring new ways to leverage his social media hype to sell clothing. Masu.
It became increasingly clear that something needed to change. In recent years, Coachella parties have been talked about not only for the music and looks, but also for the long lines and ubiquitous advertising. The form of influencer travel, in which social media celebrities are sent to exotic locations or special events, frequently causes backlash and, worse, boredom.
Revolve's net sales, which exceeded $1 billion in 2022, fell 3% last year. His 2023 Revolve Festival generated about half as much earned media value, a measure of online attention, compared to his 2019, according to influencer marketing platform Creator IQ.
The company is responding by expanding its focus from festival outfits, party dresses, and beachwear to everyday categories, including office wear and beauty. Its marketing, too, has certainly been toned down compared to its pre-pandemic heyday, if not exactly solid. Overall marketing spending fell from $181 million in 2022 to $171 million in 2023, according to regulatory filings. Revolve has sent influencers on a trip to the Super Bowl and a visit to a pop-up store in Aspen this year, but has yet to take the company's signature #revolvearoundtheworld global brand trip.
“We already have some trips and events planned, but we don't know if we'll do them the same way as last year,” said Raissa Gerona, chief brand officer at Revolve.
Founded in 2003, Revolve went all-in on influencers in the early 2010s and experienced rapid growth.
The company was one of the first e-tailers to host influencer trips, generating aspirational content from upscale locations such as Dubai and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It also became synonymous with bringing its aspirational aesthetic to Coachella, sending its first group of influencers to the California desert music festival in 2013, at the height of his corolla era. That led to his creation of Revolve His Festival in 2016, which has ballooned into a full-fledged two-day independent music festival that has hosted performers like Cardi B, SZA, and Travis Scott over the years.
“Raissa created the whole 'Revolve Around the World' thing. She's a genius in that regard,” said Shine Talent Group, an influencer management company whose clientele includes influencers who attended the Revolve Festival. said Megan Levy, Director of Talent Acquisition. “This started a whole new wave of influencer marketing.”
Sales were increasing year by year. Revolve went public in 2019 at a valuation of $1.2 billion. Unlike other e-tailers that held initial public offerings around the same time, the company's sales and profits continued to grow, with annual compounded revenue increasing by 22% since the IPO. By late 2021, the company's stock price had more than doubled.
But it wasn't until the following year that the first cracks in Revolve's strategy began to appear. In 2022, the first Revolve Festival since the pandemic faced a new culture of outspoken Gen Z TikTokers. After the festival reached capacity on its first Saturday back in session, disgruntled influencers took to short video platforms to rant about being denied entry. In 2023, Revolve has reduced the size of the festival to 3,000 people and shortened the duration of both days.
Influencers who attended Saturday's Revolve Festival seemed pleased with the larger guest list and ease of logistics.
Model Marianne Fonseca, who handed out products from her body care brand Gente Beauty to influencers, said: “I thought it was perfect because it wasn't crowded, but there were definitely a lot of people and everyone was having fun.'' “I was there,” he said. This year it will be featured in Revolve's gift suite.
Even the biggest influencer events, like Revolve, don't have the same marketing impact. Other brands, such as his makeup line Tarte, have also come under scrutiny for their influencer journeys for showcasing unconventional lifestyles, lack of diversity, or both. Beyond the controversy, consumers seem to be getting tired of seeing social media celebrities frolicking on the beach or at Coachella. Gerona herself said that traditional influencer travel feels “outdated” these days.
“This trend for festivals and large festival brands is similar to the emerging consensus around influencer travel. [attention] It’s good for the brands in question, but there’s more negative sentiment,” said Alex Rawitz, director of research and insights at Creator IQ.
Influencers have also evolved beyond the 2010s Instagram aesthetic. Amy Song, one of the influencers known for leading the Coachella influencer fashion craze and a regular at the Revolve festival, launched her own independent luxury line last week, so Song of Style There will no longer be any fashion collaborations with Revolve.
Revolve is doing its own style transformation.
While their activations often center on event-based attire such as festivals, parties, and vacations, influencer travel has become more focused on everyday wear such as activewear, blazers, and basics. said Gerona. This also applies to the company's collaboration strategy, which remains strong today, with the company just appointing Marianne Hewitt as creative director of its in-house label L'Academie, which offers suit separates and work-appropriate clothing. is.
Location choices have expanded from tropical hotspots to cities, and last year's destinations included Singapore, Tokyo and the Netherlands. These trips increasingly leverage local talent to drive Revolve's international sales, rather than flying American influencers to overseas locations. The trip to Singapore attracted influencers from all over Asia, and last year's trip to Mexico attracted influencers from all over Latin America.
The company is also focused on expanding high-growth categories such as men's clothing, home goods and beauty, with net sales increasing 49% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of last year, according to its latest earnings report.
“We've traveled a lot over the last 10 years, which has been a lot of fun and obviously very important and extremely important to the brand. “There are a lot of them,'' Gerona said.
The new approach has some converts. Analysts at TD Cowen upgraded their outlook for Revolve stock in March, citing “early signs of improvement.” To return growth to 2022 levels, Revolve “will need to maintain its existing Gen Z and Millennial base while reaching new customers as they age,” the analyst said. List et al.
The old Revolve isn't going anywhere. Song She may have been done in collaboration with Revolve, but influencer girlfriend Camila Coelho attended her Revolve Festival wearing looks from her collection with the retailer.
And Revolve will be kicking off its first afterparty at Stagecoach, the country music festival taking place at the same venue as Coachella later this month. Approximately 1,000 participants are expected, including many influencers.
“Festivals have always been our symbol and just part of what we do, because we have been doing this for a long time,” Gerona said.
