Sam Blumenthal

The backdrop for Tophatter’s new approach is gaming’s overall rise in the U.S., which has pushed retailers and brands to experiment with gaming-adjacent platforms like Twitch. (Twitch has nearly tripled the number of monthly broadcasts it has hosted since 2019, bringing it up to 9.7 million monthly streams today.) In-game transactions, called... See more

Young viewers “have a strong connection to our boys; they wanted to dress like them and play along,” Vashketov says. “They believe Vlad and Niki to be their friends. Creating merchandise was a very natural and organic step for our brand.” After selling T-shirts and blankets, the family is branching out. Up next: toy lines from Playmates and Zuru... See more

While the shopping habits of different cultures may differ, younger consumers, regardless of where they live, are similar in how they use social media to connect. Livestreaming taps into that trait because, unlike the shopping channel model, it gives viewers the ability to have a two-way conversation with the host, said Alessandro Bogliari,... See more

• Let Influencers Run the Show. Because TikTok celebrates and rewards creativity, brands eager to stand out on the platform shouldn’t limit influencers’ artistic liberty. Instead, follow Valentino’s lead by letting content creators take the reins when it comes to planning and producing videos. The resulting content will feel more in keeping with... See more

Tophatter’s games are reminiscent of the mini-games that have appeared for the past few years on Chinese e-commerce apps. One of the earliest examples is Alipay’s “Ant Forest,” which was launched in 2016, and gives users points that they can use to plant virtual trees each time they pay for, say, public transit. Most other mini-games, however, have... See more

The brand is joining a growing contingent of beauty brands becoming active with esports and Twitch as gaming use skyrocketed during the pandemic. In 2021, 45% of gamers identify as female. Charlotte Tilbury announced its new partnership with the Girlgamer Esports Festival last week, while in June, NYX Professional Makeup became the official beauty... See more