Why Marie Kondo Sparks Influencer Marketing Joy

Marie Kondo has (finally) teamed with Poshmark, sparking major joy for the secondhand social commerce retailer, which credited Kondo with its 2019 “boom.”

• Building on that success, the partnership includes a series of TV ads and sweepstakes in which Kondo encourages those tidying up to let their old items “spark joy for someone new on Poshmark.”

So what makes the Kondo/Poshmark relationship work? Two things, actually.

One: Timing. While Marie Kondo helped make Poshmark relevant in 2019, pandemic-driven store closures took online resale to even higher heights in 2020.

• For instance, Goodwill of Greater Washington’s chief operating officer, Michael Frohm, told The Washington Post that donations rose 20% (or “three temporary warehouses”) year over year in 2020.

Two: Authenticity. “Authenticity…is the core of successful influencer marketing, especially for celebrities. [Kondo’s] partnership with Poshmark is a natural extension of her brand,” influencer marketing expert Lindsey Gamble told Marketing Brew.

• “Most brands look to artificially create a relationship between the celebrity and their product or service, instead of leveraging celebrities that already align with their brand,” he continued.

Bottom line: Kondo sweeps other celeb influencers because she’s selling her own philosophy rather than a brand’s.