After nearly a decade Netflix’s Stranger Things is coming to a close, giving brands one last chance to cash in on the show’s monumental success. So far, the marketing and merchandising push is proving to be one for the history books, with featured brand partners across nearly every industry you can think of.
There are Stranger Things coffee makers by Bialetti. A Stranger Things flashlight by Energizer. The Stranger Things LEGO set. Target alone has more than 150 Stranger Things items for sale, over half of which are exclusive to the retailer.
As The Hollywood Reporter joked with the title of its coverage of the campaign, “It Might Be Easier to List Who Netflix Is Not Partnering With on ‘Stranger Things 5’ Merch”.
Ahead of the show’s feature-length finale on December 31, let’s take a closer look at some of the powerhouses behind this marketing blitz: influencers. From full-fledged celebrities to micro-creators, influencers are driving major visibility and value for some of the biggest Stranger Things partnerships.
We used our Klear, our influencer marketing solution, to dig into how creator-brand alignment translates into measurable impact. With AI-powered personalization and campaign management transforming influencer marketing, Stranger Things offers timely lessons on the power of creative fit.
Note: The below data was sourced from Klear and is current as of the publish date.
Stranger Things x CoverGirl: A win for audience and concept alignment
Influencer Jordan Rumsey (@cantbuyme80s_) is 1980s devotee whose content features teased hair, colorful eyeshadow, and mall pics year round. With 347,000 retro-loving followers, this creator was a natural fit for CoverGirl’s campaign promoting its limited-edition Stranger Things collection. In the above post, she used her retro niche to promote the product in a way that felt native to her audience.
Generating $47,000 in Estimated Media Value (EMV), her Reel demonstrates just how valuable not only brand fit but concept fit are to an influencer partnership’s success. For brands looking to replicate this level of alignment at scale, AI-powered creator discovery solutions can surface creators whose tone, style, and audience naturally match the campaign’s creative direction.
Stranger Things x Chips Ahoy: The impact of star power
No question about brand fit here. As the star of Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown is arguably the biggest celebrity to come out of the franchise. With about 66.4 million followers, a co-sign from her is a guaranteed engagement driver for any brand partnership. For example, the above post generated over $2 million in EMV.
Whether partnering with mega celebrities or smaller creators, the key is finding influencers whose content naturally fits the campaign. Tools like Klear’s AI Discovery help brands identify that alignment quickly by analyzing creator tone, style, and audience traits.
For Chips Ahoy!, partnering with Brown supercharged the brand’s visibility among Gen-Zers, the Stranger Things fandom, and even customers of Brown’s own brand Florence by Mills. By pairing her involvement with in-person activations promoted in the caption, Chips Ahoy! made the most of this high-profile collaboration.
Stranger Things x Eggo: A diversified creator strategy
Since the show’s pilot, Eggo has been a key on-screen brand. The character Eleven, played by Brown, is obsessed with iconic waffles, so of course Eggo had to go big with its influencer activations. It took a tactical approach to choosing content creators, partnering with micro, macro, and mega influencers alike.
The results illustrate how vanity metrics aren’t guarantors of ROI. Instead, performance hinges on resonance and influencers whose creative instinct and communities authentically align with campaign needs.
For example, take the above post by lifestyle influencer Julie Sousa (@the_avantgarde_), who has 2.4 million Instagram followers. The post, featuring her creative take on decorating for a watch party, had a reach of 134,500. The resulting EMV, $168,800, is not far off from that of the below post by Sydney Jo (@thatgirlsydjo), who has a much smaller audience at about 330,000 followers.
Jo’s Reel showcased an unboxing and taste test in her signature playful, humorous style, achieving reach of about 396,300, beyond her follower count, generating $163,400 in EMV.
The success of her post demonstrates how creators with smaller but highly aligned audiences can drive performance on par with those with much larger followings. Klear’s AI Personalization and AI Discovery features help brands identify creators whose tone, content style, and audience are the best fit for their goals, making it easier to spot partners likely to resonate.
Here’s an even more striking example of the importance of creative alignment and brand fit: Photography and videography influencer Conner Chant (@chant_photography) used humor and artistry to share Stranger Things Eggos with his 27,000 Instagram followers.
Chant’s talent for pairing comedy with retro-inspired visuals that align with the Stranger Things aesthetic hit the assignment, and resulting ROI, out of the park. The post not only reached the overwhelming majority of his audience, it also racked up an eye-popping 38.59% engagement rate and about $102,900 in EMV, demonstrating just how well it resonated with viewers.
For brands looking to achieve similar, or better, results, AI-powered brand fit analysis is especially valuable. Creators that creatively align with your brand or campaign may not appear in searches based on vanity metrics. However, tools like Klear’s AI Discovery feature helps brands inform stronger partnership decisions based on factors like relevance, alignment, and resonance that aren’t reflected in follower counts.
Overall, Eggo won big by partnering with highly relevant content creators of all sizes that closely aligned with its audience interests and brand story. Its strategy shows that moving beyond follower count to focus on relevance, reach, and most of all creativity, is key to generating impactful results.
What can marketers learn from the Stranger Things marketing blitz?
Stranger Things influencer campaigns show how highly relevant, creatively aligned influencers are gold for competitive brands. While mega stars like Millie Bobby Brown can activate huge audiences, smaller influencers can punch above their weight with authentic, engaging storytelling.
At the end of the day, the first step to campaign success is seamless brand fit, requiring a personalized approach to influencer discovery and vetting. Klear AI lets brands determine brand fit at scale, expediting your journey from initial idea to creator outreach in three ways:
- AI Personalization learns the nuances of your brand, including voice, audience, tone, and creator preferences. It then shapes discovery results around those qualities.
- AI Discovery delivers ideal creator recommendations along with instant explanations of how they fit your goals, audience, and context.
- AI Outreach enables efficient communication at scale efficient without sacrificing authenticity or quality.
Together, these capabilities help brands build influencer programs with long-term value. See how — fill out the form below to take a test drive.
FAQ: Stranger Things and Influencer Marketing
What makes Stranger Things influencer partnerships so effective for brands?
Successful Stranger Things influencer campaigns combined highly engaged fan communities with influencers whose content resonates naturally with audiences. Mega stars like Millie Bobby Brown drive massive reach. Meanwhile micro and mid-tier creators deliver high engagement rates and strong Estimated Media Value (EMV), a metric automatically calculated within Klear, Meltwater’s influencer marketing solution.
How can smaller influencers drive comparable ROI to celebrities?
Smaller influencers can have tightly-knit, niche audiences, resulting in more authentic engagement. For example, creators with tens of thousands of followers can generate comparable Estimated Media Value (EMV), if not higher, than influencers with much larger audiences. Platforms like Klear, Meltwater’s influencer marketing solution, use AI to help brands uncover these smaller influencers, measure performance, and optimize campaigns.
How can brands identify the right influencers for campaigns?
Using AI-powered platforms like Klear, Meltwater’s influencer marketing solution, brands can streamline influencer discovery by analyzing brand fit, audience overlap, and content style. This ensures influencer partnerships are authentic, contextually relevant, and resonate with audiences.
What is EMV and why is it important for influencer marketing?
Estimated Media Value (EMV) quantifies the monetary impact of influencer content based on reach, engagement, and campaign outcomes. Klear, Meltwater’s AI-powered influencer marketing solution, lets brands automatically measure EMV, making it easier to compare ROI and optimize campaigns for maximum results.
How can brands replicate Stranger Things-level engagement?
Success requires seamless brand fit, creative content, and personalized influencer outreach. Use platforms like Klear, Meltwater’s AI-powered influencer marketing solution, to find the right creators, analyze audience alignment, and track performance. With this data, brands can maximize visibility, engagement, and ROI.
