Celebrity-owned brands have become ubiquitous, making it increasingly difficult for them to stand out on social media, regardless of the celebrity’s following. And with online audiences craving authenticity, it can be difficult to raise awareness without appearing self-promotional.
This is where a strong online presence and unique content come in, as actress and entrepreneur Bella Thorne is learning. Thorne came to prominence as a star on Disney Channel’s “Shake it Up,” followed by appearances in films like “Blended” and “The Duff.”
A year after launching her jewelry line, Thorne Dynasty, Thorne says she’s gradually cultivating the brand’s voice through filmmaking and content creation. Using her background in filmmaking, Thorne is leaning into video series to showcase the line more organically, starting with this holiday season’s collection. With more than 30 million followers on social media, including Instagram and TikTok, Thorne is experimenting with formats like short films and comedy sketches to drive traffic to the brand’s direct-to-consumer website. This holiday season marks the first time Thorne has launched an official video series to promote Thorne Dynasty, following a video series for last year’s launch, named after the Rose & Reign collection.
“There are a million brands out there,” Thorne told Modern Retail. “So you test and see what works and what doesn’t, especially because jewelry is new to me, so there’s a learning process.” As with most of her online content, Thorne says she likes to “keep trying different approaches and see what gets people’s attention.”
As the company’s founder and CEO, Thorne oversees product design and content strategy for the brand. Thorne said online jewelry marketing in particular can be generic, with many companies running slick social media campaigns. So leveraging her online persona is a way to stand out. “A lot of people know me for my personality traits and that I’m a little bit out there, so I wanted the brand to have that feeling as well,” she said.
That’s largely why Thorne came up with a new comedy short called “Holiday in Los Angeles” as a foray into the format. The film parodies celebrity and influencer culture, with Thorne playing a fictionalized version of herself. While hosting a visiting crew from a lifestyle show at her home during the holiday season, chaos ensues, courtesy of her pet crocodile. For the holiday campaign, Thorne partnered with internet personality Anwar Jibawi, comedian and internet personality Hannah Stocking, and actress and influencer Laura Clery to write and shoot the film.
“Laughter is always a way to people’s hearts, and this is something people can just enjoy and share,” Thorne said. “Even if they don’t buy the jewelry, they’re exposed to the brand.”
And when they get a chance to see the product placement, “they realize, ‘Oh, this is for her jewelry line,'” Thorne continued. As a result, the Thorne Dynasty pieces have a subtle presence throughout the video. “I’m wearing it all the time, but there aren’t any specific lines or shots that reference it,” she said.
The strategy is part of Thorne’s theory about the online customer journey when discovering an e-commerce brand. According to Thorne, buying something from a direct-to-consumer site requires multiple “dates.” That means building engagement with the visitor through digital touchpoints until they’re inclined enough to make a purchase. “By the third date, hopefully they’ll come to the site and buy something.”
Striving for virality on behalf of a particular persona sometimes means engaging in fan service. “For example, I’ve gotten a lot of requests to do more comedy,” she says. Recently, Thorne’s filmography and social content has been dominated by darker material, such as thrillers.
As for the short’s themes, Thorne said she incorporated incidents and jokes that her followers always ask about. For example, “Albert the Crocodile” is a big brand emblem, a tribute to Thorne’s hometown of Miami. So far, the unofficial mascot has appeared on bracelets and necklaces, and will be officially introduced in the new campaign; in the short film, Albert is portrayed as an animated cartoon terrorizing the neighbors.
“We also talk about polyamory and reference moments like when I met Christian Bale,” she said; Thorne is referring to a 2015 incident when she met the actor and “he asked me for a photo with his wife because his kids love me,” she said. The short includes a fictionalized parody of that interaction, though in the short, Thorne’s character has a run-in with a (clearly photoshopped) Brad Pitt.
So far, the teasers for the new collection, which launches next week, are generating buzz. Each teaser reel has generated about 800,000 views. “My DMs are flooded, and I can see searches for the new jewelry in our store analytics,” Thorne said. Last Valentine’s Day, a heart-shaped collection sold out several times. “They loved the hearts, so I paired them with the red color scheme,” she said. “I’m excited we finally have anklets and waist chains, I’ve wanted to do body jewelry for so long,” Thorne said, which are designed to be worn every day.
Competition for eyeballs on social media is fierce, even among mega accounts. Jocelyn Florence, a partner at celebrity talent partnership studio Parallel and a strategic investor, said there is a need to capitalize on celebrity talent and “leverage their skills” to create brand awareness. As for investing in highly produced content, Florence said it depends on the product the celebrity is trying to sell. “Slick videos don’t always make sense,” she added. “There’s a lot of room for that, as well as more casual content that’s more relatable.”
For future marketing campaigns, Thorne said, “I think I’m going to keep testing new things,” but create a video series each year to promote different brands of hers; Thorne also owns cannabis brand Forbidden Flowers. She also wants to try new stunt campaigns. “I’ve always wanted to put a crocodile statue in the middle of Venice Beach and have people ask what it is and take pictures of it,” she said. A new fundraiser is in the works for Valentine’s Day.
For Thorne Dynasty’s promotional materials, Thorne said, “I always start with what the fans have asked for and combine it with what I want to do. Being the owner and face of a brand makes it harder to see what outside viewers are seeing, she said. “Metrics are important, I want to study them to see what [followers] want and how I can target them better next time.”
