Influencer partnerships and community collaborations are essential aspects of a successful social media campaign. Whether it’s tapping into notable accounts that resonate with your brand or contracting with micro/macro influencers to support your business goals, these strategic collaborations can assist with social media growth, brand awareness, and community building.
Below are some successful influencer and community partnerships that I have spearheaded to achieve our goals.
Lauren Saddington & Dan Hanbridge
Lauren and Dan were invited to Detroit during the 2024 NFL Draft, and they instantly fell in love with the city, the people, and the culture. In return, Detroit fell in love with them! So much so that they were invited to return for the Michigan Central grand opening a few months later.
I followed their journey and thought about how they could partner with Bedrock Detroit. I identified a partnership opportunity to offer them a one-of-a-kind experience during the holiday season, including staying at ROOST Detroit inside Book Tower, dining at Le Suprême, and all things Detroit has to offer during the holidays.
We contracted with them to showcase all the holiday activations, experiences, and beauty of downtown Detroit during the holiday season. Additionally, I was able to partner with Visit Detroit to provide them with tickets to a Lions vs Packers game, which was an incredible experience and yes, the Lions won!
Their content exceeded our expectations, with over 4 million views and countless positive messages, comments, and feedback from the Detroit community, our partners, and our online community.
Axel Webber
Axel Webber went viral during the COVID-19 pandemic for having the “smallest apartment in NYC,” but I noticed that he recently moved to Detroit and wanted to partner with him.
He tagged our Decked Out Detroit Instagram account when he stumbled upon one of our activations, so I decided that I wanted to approach this partnership with a Gen Z mindset and decided to play off the tagged post. In his post, he mentions, “moral of the story: always stop and talk to strangers,” so I DM’d him with similar messaging, which got his attention and ultimately led to the partnership.
His video has over 830,000 views on TikTok and 371,000 views on Instagram. Even more than those metrics, the comment section was invested in knowing that he now lived in Detroit and our partners at Rollercade saw a large increase in revenue, foot traffic, and awareness surrounding the downtown activation.
He also did an extra carousel of photos, which generated a lot excitement!
Micro, Nano, and Local Influencers
Working with the right influencers is one of the most important parts of a successful strategy. Some of the most impactful partnerships have been from smaller creators who really know their followers and understand what their audience wants to see from them.
Whether it’s showcasing the city during the holidays, featuring one-of-a-kind spots and activations, or educating their audience about their specific niche, this kind of influencer content can drive remarkable results.
Community Partnerships
Collaborating with community partners is a perfect opportunity to tap into a larger social media community.
Justin Varney's Portfolio 