Brands are experimenting with deals and exclusives on BeReal

As philosopher Lana Del Rey once said: “Be young, be dope, be proud”...and BeReal.

With more than 50 million downloads across the App Store and Google Play—and other platforms like TikTok and Instagram replicating its features—the Gen Z photo-sharing app has had a big year.

Unlike other social media platforms, BeReal’s feed doesn’t have any ads or suggested posts, which is perhaps why brand adoption has appeared slow. However, brands on the platform told us it’s a good place to form direct connections with loyal customers and convey brand authenticity, even if it doesn’t have some of the features of other social apps.

BeMerry and bright

Ahead of the holidays, Logitech became one of the latest companies to join the app, using it to promote its annual “12 Days of Deals” campaign to a Gen Z audience.

“We thought, ‘You know what? There’s an opportunity here for us to take a little bit of a different approach to this gift guide,” Erika Priestly, Logitech’s VP of global marketing, told us, adding that “it’s where our target is, and therefore we need to be there, too.”

As part of the campaign, Priestly said Logitech posted pictures featuring Elf on the Shelf next to products curated for its Gen Z audience. The hope is to drive email sign-ups and purchases on Logitech’s website, she said.

The limit…does exist

One thing about BeReal: it doesn’t have click-through or measurement capabilities for CTAs. Priestly said that’s led to her team thinking about measurement and value beyond metrics like click-through rates, focusing on things like brand health.

Another limitation of BeReal’s is its friend limit, which means only a select number of customers can see and engage with the brand’s posts. Priestly did not share how many friends Logitech has on the platform, but said it hadn’t reached the limit.

Given its limitations, Tressie Lieberman, VP of digital marketing and off-premise at Chipotle, told us she thinks of BeReal as complementary to the brand’s other social media accounts. Rather than see it as a way of reaching new customers, Lieberman said her team is always thinking about how to make its fans on the platform “feel like they’re happy to be a part of this smaller group.”

One way it’s done that, she said, has been through sharing exclusive codes and content, like when it gave BeReal followers a first look at its “Buy the Dip” campaign or hosted a sweepstakes on the platform for Halloween. Lieberman said the brand has reached the friend limit on the app.

Last month at Marketing Brew’s The Brief summit, American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers also told us that one way the brand scaled its presence on the app was by offering things like daily deals leading up to Black Friday. Priestly said Logitech has experimented with rewards, at one point encouraging followers to tag their Instagram handle for a chance to win a reward.

Overall, Lieberman said BeReal can be insightful from a market research perspective, particularly in looking at conversations in the comments. While many marketers lean on mass reports for social listening, she said, “a lot of the beauty is in mining for insights on a more personal level.”