How ‘influencer gifting’ is ‘key’ to Meghan’s lifestyle brand PR drive: ‘Slow drip’ of posts by celeb pals who’ve been sent her American Riviera Orchard jam ‘keeps fans guessing who will be next’ (as expert suggests even Harry could get involved)
It has been nine days since Meghan Markle began rolling out the first pots of jam to her celebrity friends marking the beginning of her latest business venture, American Riviera Orchard.
The Duchess of Sussex strategically sent out jars of the strawberry preserve, made from fruit grown in the Californian enclave of Montecito, to a specially-selected group of friends and celebrities.
Over the past week and a half, however, there have only been a trickle of posts, with just eight of the 50 ‘jamfluencers’ sharing a snap of the product to fans on social media.
Yet while critics of the estranged royal may be quick to question why only a few of Meghan’s latest circle of friends have promoted her business, PR gurus told MailOnline the slow ‘drip’ of posts is ‘the key to success’.
Andy Barr, PR expert and founder of 10 Yetis, said that Meghan’s product launch is a ‘classic move’ straight out of the marketing playbook – adding that it was ‘no surprise’ after the Duchess hired a crack team to help with the launch.
Prince Harry and even Meghan’s mother could also be used as a tool to boost the brands reach, culture and brand wiz Nick Ede has claimed, as fans continue to guess which celebrity face could be next.
Meghan Markle has been strategically sending out jam jars to her celebrity friends ahead of her brand launch
The Duchess of Sussex strategically sent out jars of the strawberry preserve, made from fruit grown in the Californian enclave of Montecito, to a specially-selected group of friends and celebrities
Prince Harry and even Meghan’s mother could also be used as a tool to boost the brands reach, culture and brand wiz Nick Ede has claimed
He said: ‘The key to success is to try and keep the story running for as long as possible. Get the news of the launch out there, tick, then keep drip feeding more information every few days in order to keep people interested.
‘Most campaigns in the modern era are accompanied by ‘influencer’ gifting, but I would suggest that Meghan Markle’s influencer network is slightly more grand than most.
‘Her little black book of celebrity contacts will be the thing of PR dreams and so her first product launch was always going to be a huge media success. The true test will come with her follow up products and keeping people interested in what she is doing.’
Each of the jars have been numbered one to 50, playing into the ploy to boost intrigue about the lifestyle brand.
The numbers 13, 17 and 19 are amongst those already been sent out with culture and brand expert Nick Ede suggesting Prince Harry or her mother Doria Ragland might receive jar number one.
He added: ‘The roll out of the individually prepared and numbered jam jars is a really strategic way of building momentum up to launch day of the American Riviera Orchard website and product range.
‘It’s a good way of creating talkability and also keeps fans guessing as to who will be next to post and who is going to be No1 Ultimately will that be her mother or harry or perhaps a surprise celebrity we hadn’t thought of.’
Alysa Beckner Head of Borkowski PR influencer Relationships added: ‘Think of it as the uber version of handing out free samples at the supermarket, with glitz and the paparazzi in tow.
‘It’s all about creating buzz in the upper echelons where a nod from the right A-lister can mean the difference between a product languishing or the next big ‘must-have’ item.
‘Plus, sprinkling stardust on social media turns, the mundane, ordinary into an artisanal trend. It will also peak the interest of the big retailers that might turbo charge it by listing it.’
The usual suspects, include Abigail Spencer and Kelly McKee Zajfen, were among the first to receive a gift from their long-term friend Meghan.
Chrissy Teigen and her singer-songwriter husband John Legend joined the jam gang.
Kris Jenner became the latest of Meghan’s celebrity friends to be gifted with a jam jar from her American Riviera Orchard
Meghan Markle ‘s close friend and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer is one of the lucky 50 to have received a limited edition jar of the Duchess’ new American Riviera Orchard strawberry jam
Meghan’s former Suits co-star shared a number of photos of her lying in the garden alongside the jam nestled in a bowl of oranges.
Meanwhile, parenting campaigner Kelly shared a video of the jam being spread on a slice of toasted sourdough in a clip captioned ‘mornings with American Riviera Orchard’.
Others who received the gift packages, accompanied with a handwritten note from the mother-of-two, included Argentinian socialite Delfina Balquier and Diana Ross’ daughter Tracee Ellis Ross.
Netflix star Mindy Kaling and fashion designer Tracy Robbins also made the list.
Last night, reality TV star and Kardashian momager Kris Jenner revealed she was the latest to receive the summery-looking package.
Jenner did not pose in an elaborate photoshoot alongside the item, but simply wrote ‘thank you American Riviera Orchard’ with a yellow love heart emoji.
They shared a video of themselves making sandwiches with the spread as they swayed along to Bob Marley’s hit song Jamming.
Culture and PR gurus have told MailOnline that Meghan’s friendship group has evolved to support her new venture, focusing on those who also live in the Californian enclave of Montecito or are women in business. Pictured: The Duchess last week
American Rivera Orchard is a lifestyle brand that will sell products such as jams and cookbooks
‘We jammin!!’ the post read. ‘This might have been one of the best bites we’ve had all year – all we used is some rustic bread, salted butter, triple cream brie, thick cut bacon and some American Riviera Orchard jam!
‘Took about 8 mins total and made us happy for the entire weekend.’
Mr Ede added: ‘With Kris Jenner posting to nearly 53 million followers worldwide the following of the brand is increasing daily on social media.
The way this has played out has been cleverly curated to make the most noise about a simple jar of homemade jam. None of the talent will have been paid to promote the jams they are doing so as support for their friend which is priceless.
‘This campaign is cost effective and creates conversation. Whether people will buy the product once its on sale is another matter but this drip drop campaign seems to be working.’
And it seems to be working. Within three hours of launching the Instagram account last month the business had 100,000 followers in just three hours after its first post.
Now it has more than 612,000 despite nothing being posted on the site or any further information revealed since March 14.
Chrissy Teigen and her husband John Legend have become the latest A-listers to join Meghan Markle ‘s select circle of ‘jamfluencers’
Mindy Kaling, award-winning writer and actress, is among the exclusive group to have received jam from Meghan’s first American Riviera Orchard batch
Earlier this week it was revealed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were hiring two more experts to their communications team, working both in the US and the UK.
Charlie Gipson, who previously led PR campaigns for sweets company HARIBO, as well as Instagram and Samsung , will reportedly be acting as the couple’s press contact in Europe in his new role of Director of Communications.
Meanwhile, former United Talent Agency ace Kyle Boulia will be handling communications for the Sussexes at home in Los Angeles as the couple’s Deputy Press Secretary and Director of Communications for US media.
Limited information has been released about American Riviera Orchard but a trademark application filed on February 2 this year showed the company wishes to offer downloadable and printed recipe books, table wear, textiles, and jams and marmalades.
