Ever wondered why all the hot people hang out at the same shops and restaurants? That’s because they don’t have to pay for it.
Content creator Lauren Karwoski posted a TikTok in May of everything she was able to get through clicking freebie offers on Neon Coat, an app which connects influencers to businesses.
During one day in New York City, she received a green juice from a gourmet eatery ($9), took a fancy workout class ($40), got her eyebrows laminated ($100), and met a friend for dinner at a Greek restaurant in Tribeca.
All of this was free in exchange for her posting about the various places she visited on social media within 24 hours. Speaking to The Independent, she said these posts can range from an Instagram Story to a full Instagram post or TikTok video.
“I really use the app as a money-saving tool,” Karowski said. “I try to align the offers that I choose with things that I would do on a weekly or monthly basis anyway, to save money.”
When Larissa Drekonja moved to New York City from Slovenia in 2003 to work as a model, she struggled to afford to live. Her tiny stipend from her agency was meant to cover her daily expenses, but she largely relied on agents and promoters to take her out to meals.
Drekonja would try to get her agency to cover extra expenses, like getting her hair done and going to fitness classes — things that she saw as critical to maintain her looks for modeling — only for them to deny her because they couldn’t profit from it.
Once Instagram became popular, Dreknoja noticed that models could create promotional content in exchange for free services, because businesses always want hot people using their products. Thus, the Neon Coat app was born.
Neon Coat was launched in 2017 alongside Dreknoja’s two co-founders, Dan Berger and Noah Siegel, offering a chance for businesses to easily draw in the famous and the beautiful.
To earn a spot, models must have at least 1,000 followers on Instagram, in addition to being able to provide a portfolio link and substantial work done for a modeling agency. Creators and influencers are required to have at least 5,000 followers on either TikTok or Instagram with a high engagement rate.
Neon Coat currently has a little over 13,500 people registered with 250 businesses, the company told The Independent. The app currently only operates in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and London, where businesses pay from $400 to $1500 to post their freebie offers, depending on what type of content they are hoping to get out of the model or influencer.
Content creator Karowksi also highlighted the career benefits of accepting these offers.
“It’s a really great tool for creators that are smaller or maybe not able to monetize yet, because it helps you save money on things you would be paying for anyway,” Karowski said.
She also noted that she’s built long-term relationships with businesses that she first met on the app. One salon liked her social content so much they’re looking to hire her.
Another model, Gillian Dittmer, started using the app to find nice NYC restaurants that would cover her costs after hearing other models at her agency explain it was a way of using their looks to get some free stuff. “I used it a lot when I first moved here because I was a struggling actor. I didn’t have that much money to be going out,” she told The Independent.
Later Dittmer began using it for free haircuts and even a free yoga class.
“I think it is mutually beneficial for the businesses and the models,” Dittmer said. “I myself have recommended a lot of these places to my friends, which I may not have found in the first place if it weren’t on Neon Coat.”
Berger, one of the app’s founders, reiterated the point that models and creators have a choice in what offers they accept, so the marketing feels organic, even if a trade is taking place. Whatever hot people deem fashionable is always going to influence others.
“Truly all the content stems from that creator deciding, ‘This looks cool to me. I want to try it’,” he said.
Source link
