Starring in videos is no longer just for the social media team

The Mandai Wildlife Reserve, a tourist park in Singapore, posted a video late last year that became a viral hit: two of its millennial-age employees, wearing staff uniforms, described the park using Generation Z lingo. “Pop off, queen,” one of them dryly intones. “Slay,” says another.

- CALUM MARSH

Balazs Balogh, a content creator at DHL, said that once they have the core message creators can bring stories to life in their own way.

(NYT)

“We let our Gen Z intern write the marketing script,” was the video's headline — which quickly became a meme across social media, with dozens of brands offering their own spin.

The trend was part of a broader movement within marketing.

First companies paid social media influencers to hawk their products. Now, they're turning inward: It's not just social media interns popping up all over corporate social media — it's employees with all sorts of jobs, who have been tapped by their employers, sometimes through formal programmes, to help build the brand.

On Lego's official TikTok page, its designers explain their process. An Instagram page run by Delta Air Lines called “Life at Delta” features aviation maintenance technicians running through their daily routines and groups of employees dancing to trending audio clips. Portillo's, the Chicago-based fast-food chain, recently announced that it was creating an internal influencer scheme designed to grow employee followings on their own accounts.

Though the scheme is still new, Portillo's has said it would like to have an internal influencer working at every location.