St.Tropez staged the first TikTok beauty festival, four days of live glow

Launch St.Tropez's 2022 products, including Tan Tonic Glow Drops and the returning Luxe Whipped Creme, through creator-led education rather than ads.

Borrow a festival's line-up logic for TikTok LIVE: four days of named hosts — tanning 101, beauty hacks, live product tests — viewers ask and shop in real time

From 14-17 March 2022, hosts including global brand ambassador Ashley Graham, skincare expert Hyram, Glamzilla and 'skin-fluencers' Melissa Tovar and Dani Nicholls ran tutorials, live Q&As and 'Tanned and Tested' product trails, with exclusive offers to shop directly.

Viewers got on-demand, personalised advice and shoppable education from creators they trust; the article reports no attendance or sales figures.

In March 2022 social agency Cult teamed with tanning brand St.Tropez to host #GLOWFEST, described as the world's first TikTok beauty festival — four days of LIVE broadcasts on TikTok, 14-17 March, offering tanning and skincare tutorials and Q&As from experts and beauty creators.

The line-up borrowed festival logic: St.Tropez global brand ambassador Ashley Graham gave a 'Tanning 101'; skincare guru Hyram and Angelo discussed skincare and tanning; Glamzilla ran through beauty hacks; 'skin-fluencers' Melissa Tovar and Dani Nicholls trailed products live in 'Tanned and Tested'. Viewers could ask specific questions about application or ingredients in real time and shop the brand's 2022 launches — including Tan Tonic Glow Drops and the returned Luxe Whipped Creme mousse — with exclusive offers.

Cult associate strategy director Alex Manning called TikTok LIVE an intimate, raw form of social conversation with unusual room for interaction between followers and hosts. St.Tropez cited a 2019 IAB study finding 87% of consumers had been inspired to purchase by an influencer. No attendance or sales figures are reported.

Naming hosts per slot gives a brand's live-stream schedule the pull of a festival bill people plan around.

Live Q&A converts product education from a monologue into the personalised advice viewers would otherwise pay for.

Shopping inside the stream collapses the gap between seeing a tutorial and buying the product it features.

A 'first festival' frame earns coverage and a claim to own the format before competitors try it.

Festivals work because of line-ups; the same curation turns a brand's live-streams into an event people schedule.

The four-day festival ran 14-17 March 2022 on TikTok LIVE. No attendance or sales figures are reported.