If your social media feed looks anything like mine, there’s been a recent influx of “get ready with me” and “pack for my trip with me” from groups of influencers who are part of a brand trip.

Brand trips are all-inclusive luxury vacations that brands pay for and sponsor groups of online influencers to go on so they can create content promoting their products.

As if these influencers aren’t already well-off enough, seeing them bombard my feed with bougie Bora Bora-based brand content leaves a bad taste in the mouths of regular folk like myself. 

These extravagant trips have been around since the OG beauty YouTuber days; however, TikTok has brought these trips much more attention in recent years.

Tarte Cosmetics is the most prominent brand hosting these sponsored vacations. 

Other beauty brands and some fashion brands also dominate this area of marketing. Benefit Cosmetics used to be a big brand trip host in the prime of YouTube; ColorPop Cosmetics has recently dipped its toes in the water of brand events with staycation-type trips for influencers. Revolve, the clothing brand, has done exotic influencer brand trips and also hosts influencers at houses in the Colorado Desert during the Coachella music festival, where influencers stay and post about their festival outfits that are head-to-toe Revolve.

The idea of these trips is to provide influencers with beautiful filming locations, several opportunities to shoot new content, and, of course, a plethora of the brands’ products to more or less shove down the throats of their viewers.

The main problem with these trips is this product placement. 

No one is fooled into thinking that someone’s entire makeup and skincare routine is made up entirely of products from one brand or that their entire wardrobe is from one fashion retailer. 

And sure, maybe that’s not the point of the content made on these trips, but the point is ultimately for their products to be sold. 

Influencers already live a lifestyle that is unattainable to most of their audience. 

For brands to send these fortunate individuals on extravagant trips solely to market their products just makes people like me want to buy them even less.

While I love to watch creators grow, get invited on these trips and see some of my favorite influencers meet and collaborate, the marketing side of them is what misses the mark. 

If brands get a percentage of the money made from the number of views on influencers’ videos while on their sponsored trip, then maybe it’s worth it, but if they’re looking to sell more products, there have to be better ways. 

The group that benefits most from sponsored content is the influencers.

Brands are paying creators to make posts in hopes of seeing an increase in sales, but viewers can generally spot sponsored content from a mile away. 

People tend to scroll right past a video once they realize it’s sponsored, and if they do stay to watch the whole thing, most of the time, the view doesn’t translate to a sale.

Just because a 20-something-year-old woman with a million TikTok followers is promoting a product from the beach somewhere with other influencers beside her instead of in her typical setting doesn’t make the product any more appealing. 

Brands could get more creative with how they choose to market their products. 

If they are willing to provide travel, lodging, food and seemingly unlimited free products for 10 influencers and each of their plus ones, they could put the same amount of money toward making their products more affordable in the first place or providing their average, everyday customers with similar experiences. 

Influencer brand trips have the kind of charm and entertainment aspect that allows viewers to feel like they can live vicariously through the wealthy, fortunate creators. 

Yet, they lack the ability to successfully market the brand and its products to the target audience.