Updated on November 18, 2024 by
More companies want to add influencer kits to their PR packaging, but where do they begin? This blog lists five steps for building a top-notch influencer PR box.
Sometimes, putting all your eggs in one basket makes sense.
That’s how entrepreneur Sara Blakely elevated her startup undergarment line, Spanx, into a billion-dollar brand. Back in 2000, with few resources to market her body-sculpting pantyhose, Blakely tucked a pair of Spanx into a gift basket and sent it to Oprah Winfrey’s wardrobe head. Soon after, Oprah anointed Spanx as one of her “Favorite Things.”
But Blakely also contributed to another mega-dollar idea: the influencer PR box, a package of select merchandise that brands send to celebrity influencers to test and promote on social media. These custom influencer kits spark creative ways for brands to engage with audiences and boost visibility on social platforms.
These kits have become foundational to the $20 billion-plus influencer marketing industry and are, therefore, a necessity of PR marketing. If curated well, with a video-worthy PR box design and dramatic elements of surprise, one PR influencer box can get your product before the eyes of thousands or even millions of people for a relatively small investment.
Say you’re trying to sell healthy cookies. Giving away samples in a grocery store will get your cookies into the mouths of hundreds of hurried shoppers in a few hours. But if you got Selena Gomez to bite into one of your cookies on Instagram, millions of followers would see it instantly, and they’re paying attention.
That’s what a PR influencer box can do.
Still, you should carefully consider that investment. Nearly one-third of all consumers worldwide said they learned about a new brand via social media, meaning the arena is getting shoulder-to-shoulder crowded. When you enter that fray, your influencer box will be competing against many other brands, each with its own curated influencer gift boxes to make an impact. Creativity is the key to developing PR box ideas that stand apart in a competitive market.
Here’s how to build an influencer PR box that stands apart.
Step One: Fashioning a Box that Catches the Influencer’s Eye
Let’s start with the key elements of a well-designed influencer PR package. Essentially, any kit should include a selection of free products, samples and branded material that plainly reveals product benefits.
This doesn’t suggest the kits should be one-size-fits-all. If you’re targeting a specific social media connoisseur, take time to ensure your kit aligns with the influencer’s favorite things, including experiences, values and indulgences. The great news is custom influencer kits, including the boxes, are entirely customizable (you can even use a basket). Unique PR box ideas—such as themed packaging or seasonal surprises—can make your brand stand out.
Take the packaging. The box should look like a gift, with dimensions that cradle your hottest new products snugly. It should include a “welcome” card (perhaps saying thank you). Depending on your budget, you can stash your product into a custom pouch, which protects from water damage while looking premium.
Throughout the kit design process, be mindful of how to incorporate your brand identity and messaging creatively. Consider brand positioning on the welcome card, in the color of the tissue paper and on the stickers that fasten the paper, on the talking points highlighting your message, and on the box itself. A well-thought-out PR box design can elevate unboxing videos and inspire influencer-driven conversations.
One good influencer PR package example: the beauty brand Pixi prints product information directly on its green and gold packaging beneath each tucked-in product for a ready-made photo opp.
Secure the entire box inside a durable shipping box so it doesn’t get scuffed or damaged in transit.
Step Two: Creating a Watch Party-Worthy Unboxing Experience
How do you know your PR influencer box design is successful? When it doubles as a ready-made film star, AKA a video kit.
Influencers gain traction by unboxing influencer gift boxes and sharing their experiences with live audiences. Your influencer kit must have a “wow” factor.
An excellent place to start is tailoring the unboxing for the recipient. Think: What surprise-and-delight elements will genuinely tickle the influencer – and the influencer’s audience? What will make them smile?
These elements should complement your design as well as compliment the recipient. A variety of product samples and surprises will generate “what’s next” excitement – a BOGO coupon or gift card is generous. Depending on the product, accessories can be slipped in: a pretty dessert plate and napkin for cookies, for example. PR box ideas like these keep influencers engaged throughout the experience.
Most importantly, your influencer PR box should be unpacked effortlessly. Assemble the products to build excitement as the unboxing progresses, with a theme that holds the event together. Your personalized notes and talking points can support the theme.
Secret compartments can also incorporate surprise elements into the box. Take the Google Store PR “box.” The influencer kit is actually several odd-shaped boxes assembled like a jigsaw puzzle, each containing a separate item, including a Nest Cam and smartphone.
Step Three: Selecting the Perfect Products for Your PR Box
PR packaging starts with knowing your audience and their preferences. This ensures you fill the kit with goods that appeal precisely to the influencer’s brand identity and messaging. The best influencer PR packages offer thoughtful products that resonate with the influencer and align with trending conversations.
Timing matters a lot here. Newly launched products are natural fillers for influencer gift boxes, but so are brand anniversaries, especially for nostalgic products (with packaging reminiscent of the original). Also, keep an eye out for changing influencer interests that would encourage them to get involved in a trend your product supports (upcycling, adopting the Keto diet).
Seasons and seasonal events, too, are an opportunity. Taco Bell’s SOS Kit, for example, contained everything one back-to-school influencer needed to make tacos in her dorm room. Taco Bell ensured the influencer told viewers they could purchase the boxes themselves.
Whatever you plan to pack, set a budget—not just to cover the cost of the items and the boxes but also the shipping (which will correlate with weight and number). If your budget is limited, don’t scrimp on quality. Instead, send only a few boxes to carefully chosen influencers.
Step Four: Strategizing Your Influencer PR Box Success with Good “Buzziness”
For many people, the joy of having something is in the waiting. So, when scheduling your influencer PR package release, plan how to build buzz beforehand and the timing for measuring its success afterward.
This is practical. Your influencer might receive multiple influencer gift boxes a week or daily, and a heads-up could prevent your kit from getting lost in the competitive crush of shipping boxes.
Many social media celebrities, including influencer coach Austen Tosone, prefer that brands send alerts before shipping packages. The notice can come as an email with an air of mystery, followed by your own social media campaign that teases the arrival of the PR box or product launch, tagged to the influencer (if the influencer agrees).
Once the PR influencer boxes are on social media, you’ll require an excellent data-tracking mechanism to gauge the volume and sentiment of responses (likes, shares, comments). Engage with the posts yourself and look for trends in how the influencer formats your content, including images and messaging. Your influencer might share the data from those specific feeds, especially if you offer to share your insights.
If you lack the resources, third-party providers can manage this task at a potentially lower cost than doing it in-house.
Step Five: Picking the Team to Bring Your Influence PR Box to Life
As these steps demonstrate, managing a custom influencer kit campaign can be expensive and time-consuming if you lack the necessary tools. If you have limited resources and suspect your influencer campaign will distract your team from other priorities, it might make sense to research third-party services that can build targeted prospect lists, develop the creative content, and track the results.
You have many choices among influencer marketing agencies and platforms, such as Upfluence and LTK. Ensure their scope of services includes all the resources you’ll need for the PR influencer box campaign launch, as well as your next campaign steps. Make a list of specialties, from creative to data analytics. Incorporating custom influencer kits into your strategy can help create standout campaigns with long-term impact.
For example, some third-party firms have data structures that can read influencer signals across social platforms at a broad scale for a seamless build. Harte Hanks developed a social media program for a tech company, and our social-listening experts designed a model to identify, rank, and prioritize client leads. The program resulted in a 289% increase in new buyers.
However, suppose you’re confident in your organization’s resources, and your influencer PR box campaign is limited to just a few recipients. In that case, creating the work in-house might make better financial sense. This is especially the case if you have an excellent creative team.
Refer to your budget (step 3) to see which option is right for your campaign. Talk to peers and get their feedback, as well. Your approach, in-house or third-party, should empower you to achieve your goal.
Ready to Make an Influence?
An influencer PR box can turn your hot product into a brand with Spanx-like potential if you diligently attend to all the necessary elements. This will take time, but the time will pay off.
And it will pay off beyond dollars. An effective influencer PR box will do the talking for your brand so that you can focus on product development and your next hot launch.
Learn more about how Harte Hanks Fulfillment can help amplify your brand experience with market-leading sampling and kitting services.
