Hey Bud Skincare trades bracelets with Swifties Down Under in a genius marketing campaign

Swift-mania has well and truly caused Australians to break out into song and it’s not just iconic brands like Vegemite and Arnott’s that are jumping on the bandwagon. Smaller brands are also getting in on the excitement as Taylor Swift wraps up the Sydney leg of her Australian Eras tour this weekend — starting from tonight.

Hemp-based skincare brand Hey Bud Skincare, which was officially launched in 2020 by co-founders Fedele D’Amico, Alex Roslaniec and Ollie Watts, has created its very own Hey Bud theme bespoke friendship bracelets.

Armed with handfuls of beads, the Melbourne-based brand handed the bracelets and its new lip balms out to Swifties entering the Swift concerts in Melbourne and went viral on TikTok as a result. 

If you’re a Taylor Swift fan you will know that friendship bracelets are swapped and traded with other Swifties at her tours.

Hey Bud Skincare says its social media campaign has reached nearly 5 million impressions, with one week delivering a 1,500% increase in engagement based on previous campaign periods in its social channels.

So far, this has significantly boosted traffic to its website and translated to sales, with thousands of units sold online and a 30% increase in regular sales data offline.

A huge uplift in followers and viral videos, including videos hitting over 1 million or 2 million views, has also been reported by the brand.

@heybudskincare

We created HUNDREDS of friendship bracelets to hand out at the MCG tomorrow for the Eras Tour night 1! See you there Swifties! @taylorswift #taylorswift #friendshipbracelets #erastour #erastouraustralia #taylorswiftaustralia #taylorswiftmelbourne #mcg

♬ original sound – Hey Bud Skincare

A marketing love story for Hey Bud

Hey Bud co-founder Ollie Watts says while Taylor Swift may not be everyone’s cup of tea, her phenomenal impact is undeniable and all SMEs should be using this to their advantage.

“Taylor Swift’s influence has led to a substantial boost for us, particularly with brand exposure,” he told SmartCompany. 

“Our strategy was to tap into her widespread fan base (better known as the Swifties) with fun and relatable content, which we believe is a reflection of our brand.  

“As a result, we experienced an explosive increase in followers and viral video reach in four short weeks.”

Watts says as soon as the Hey Bud team learnt about the frenzy surrounding the Eras Tour overseas, they knew they had to leverage the momentum.

“Our leading marketing initiative was to create bespoke friendship bracelets that combined Hey Bud’s branding with Taylor Swift’s most iconic songs, including Cruel Summer, Fearless and Shake It Off,” he says. 

“Along with these bracelets, we also gave away thousands of our best-selling Pimple Patches and recently launched Lip Balms, and interviewed many excited Swifties outside the MCG on Friday night.

“The reach our viral TikToks had was unbelievable, with almost one in three Swifties claiming they had seen our videos — safe to say it was a hit.”

With the overwhelming success in Melbourne, Watts says Hey Bud has decided to double down on the strategy and has flown Hey Bud’s two biggest Swifties to Sydney to continue their product giveaway at Accor Stadium. 

“This move is aimed at sustaining the momentum and engaging even more with the Swiftie community,” he says.

Watts says Taylor Swift’s diverse and loyal fan base has been a key driver of her tour’s impact. 

“Her ability to resonate with fans across all age groups and demographics, coupled with the highly engaged Swiftie community, has not only amplified our brand’s visibility but also demonstrated the significant benefits of aligning with culturally relevant events,” he says. 

“For small and medium-sized businesses, leveraging such an enthusiastic and active audience presents a chance to highlight their brand’s cultural relevance, boosting visibility and driving sales.”