SAN JOSE DEL CABO—In April, direct-to-consumer intimates and apparel brand Knix hosted Club Knix, a two-day immersive experience that took place at a boutique hotel in Mar Del Cabo in San Jose del Cabo to celebrate the launch of its 2024 swim collection.
Unlike other influencer events and brand trips, which often cater to a select group of social media stars with huge followings, Knix invited customers (and their guests), along with a mix of influencers and ambassadors. Some brands like makeup company Tarte have encountered backlash, particularly on TikTok, for hosting over-the-top influencer trips that feel exclusionary. With this trip, Knix aimed instead to foster connection.
The brand trip concept was inspired by Knix's Confidence Tours, which were held in Toronto and Los Angeles in the fall of 2022.
Customers, ambassadors, and influencers of the brand were invited to participate in the Confidence Tours by walking on a catwalk in their Knix bra and underwear with their bestie. During the events, 80 guests were offered hair and makeup, along with light bites and beverages and a photo booth moment.
For the recent trip, Emily Scarlett, senior director of communications, partnerships, and social media at Knix, explained that the brand put out a casting call to select customers from the community and held a competition for community ambassadors, as well as selecting new and long-term influencer partners.
“Throughout our selection process, we felt strongly about inviting individuals of all different shapes and sizes and from different backgrounds with incredible stories that we felt strongly connected to,” she added.
The guest list included 10 influencers, 10 ambassadors, and 10 customers along with their plus ones from across the U.S. and Canada for a total of 60 guests. “The intention behind this trip was to provide an empowering, memorable, and uplifting experience reflective of who we are as a brand not only for our partners but for our customers as well,” Scarlett said.
Programming included a human connection workshop, a posing workshop, a photo studio shoot, a runway show, daily dinners, and Pilates and yoga classes, as well as a cacao ceremony to honor the tradition of the Mexican culture.
Unlike other brand trips, which require a certain level of social media activity from its guests, Scarlett said that it was important to the brand that the guests get the most out of their experiences, “so we did not set any expectations around posting. Through this approach, we discovered that guests were incredibly present throughout the programming of the trip, and we saw a large volume of voluntary posting from all attendees post trip.”
So far, the experience has generated over 21.7 million impressions and more than 1,000 posts from attendees.
“It was important to Knix to host a brand trip that embodied our mission, brand values, and most importantly our community,” Scarlett said. “Our community—inclusive of our customers—is what drives our innovation, mission, and everything that we put out from our brand. We saw tremendous success from this trip by staying true to who we are rather than leaning into the typical brand trip model that has been historically part of brand activations.”
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