With extensive experience in analytics, performance optimization, and lead generation, Demand Gen expert Milena Traikovich helps businesses drive campaigns that don’t just generate clicks, but nurture high-quality, lifelong customers. In a landscape where audiences are tuning out polished brand creative, she champions a creator-led approach, arguing that authenticity is the most powerful tool in any performance marketer’s toolkit. We sat down with Milena to explore the strategies behind some of today’s most successful user-generated content (UGC) campaigns. She breaks down how brands are finding the right creator personas to match their ethos, navigating complex product messaging with genuine storytelling, and leveraging micro-influencers to achieve record-breaking results. We also dive into the specific narrative elements that make UGC so effective and discuss what the future holds for this rapidly evolving space.
The Zilla campaign used a seven-wave TikTok strategy and specifically sourced reptile creators new to brand deals. Could you break down the strategic purpose of a multi-wave campaign and share anecdotes on the unique benefits of working with fresh, un-sponsored talent?
A multi-wave campaign is all about building a relationship with the audience instead of just shouting a message at them. For Zilla, it was critical because they needed to connect with new pet owners right at the beginning of their journey. The initial waves were designed purely for awareness and education, establishing credibility without a hard sell. As the campaign progressed, the mid-funnel waves began to weave in product placements more explicitly, guiding an already engaged audience toward making a purchase. It’s a nurturing process that mirrors a real-world friendship. The magic really came alive by using creators who had never worked with a brand before. This decision ensured the storytelling was completely genuine. You get this raw, unscripted passion that’s impossible to fake, resulting in incredibly engaging content like the “MTV Cribs-style habitat tours.” It feels like a friend proudly showing off their pet’s home, not a paid actor, and that’s precisely the authenticity that drove over 9.1 million views and a staggering 288% increase in paid clicks in one of the later waves.
Beacon40 successfully navigated FDA-sensitive language by using creator-led metaphors like “a workout for your brain.” What is the step-by-step process for briefing creators on complex or regulated products to ensure their UGC is both compliant and emotionally resonant with a skeptical audience?
Navigating compliance with a product like Beacon40 is a delicate dance, and it requires a very structured briefing process. The first step is to completely deconstruct the complex science and rebuild it around a simple, emotional benefit. We moved away from technical terms like “40Hz gamma stimulation” and instead briefed creators on the feeling we wanted to evoke, which led to beautiful, compliant metaphors like “a workout for your brain.” Secondly, we armed them with a “safe vocabulary” list—words like “mental clarity,” “focus,” and “brain fog”—that connected with the audience’s pain points without making unapproved medical claims. The final, and arguably most important, step is to direct the environment and the performance. We instructed creators to film in realistic, cozy home settings, showing themselves using the light while reading or relaxing. This made the advanced technology feel accessible and trustworthy, which was crucial for an older, more skeptical demographic. This trust-first, science-light approach is what allowed the brand to confidently scale past its $100,000 spend goal during the competitive holiday season.
Moosejaw focused on quirky, “chaotic” creators for its #MoosejawMadness campaign, while Ricola used a diverse mix from fitness to travel. How does a brand determine the right creator persona for a campaign, and what metrics indicate if that choice is driving authentic engagement versus just views?
Choosing the right creator persona begins with a deep, honest look at the brand’s soul. You have to ask: who are we at our core? Moosejaw is the “most fun outdoor retailer,” so their persona is inherently irreverent, adventurous, and a little chaotic. That meant we had to find creators who genuinely embodied that “Love the Madness” ethos—people who weren’t afraid to film comedic skits or jump into a snowmelt lake. In contrast, Ricola’s goal was to position its Throat Balm as an “everyday voice” essential. This called for a much broader mix of personas, from fitness instructors and travel bloggers to entertainers, all united by a common need: protecting their voice in their daily life. As for measuring success, views are just the starting point. Authentic engagement is where the real story is told. We look at the engagement rate, the comments, the shares, and the saves. When you see individual posts for Moosejaw surpassing a 17% engagement rate, or Ricola’s campaign achieving a 13.17% rate overall, you know you’ve hit gold. Those numbers signal that the audience isn’t just watching; they’re connecting with the creator as a peer, and that connection is what drives real brand affinity and results.
Platinum Born’s campaign with micro-influencers surpassed luxury benchmarks by 139% on a short timeline. Can you detail the strategic advantages of using micro-influencers for high-end products and how their UGC can be effectively repurposed for paid ads and email marketing to maximize ROI?
Micro-influencers are an absolute secret weapon for luxury brands, primarily because of the deep-seated trust they command. Their smaller, niche audiences view them as credible peers, not distant celebrities, so their recommendations feel personal and genuine. For a high-end brand like Platinum Born, this was essential for making fine jewelry feel both aspirational and wearable. That intimate connection is what fueled an incredible overall engagement rate of 4.8%, which is almost unheard of in the luxury space. The strategic genius, however, lies in planning for repurposing from day one. We briefed the creators to produce content that was visually stunning but also authentic enough to serve as the backbone for paid ads. These polished yet creator-led videos performed exceptionally well in Reels placements and were then seamlessly integrated into whitelisted ads and email marketing. This multi-channel approach created a cohesive brand story and allowed Platinum Born to maximize the value of every single asset, achieving record-breaking results in less than a month.
The article states people trust people more than brands, which is why UGC ads often outperform traditional creative. Beyond trust, what specific storytelling elements in creator-led content—like the “MTV Cribs-style habitat tours” for Zilla—consistently stop the scroll and drive higher conversions?
Trust is the foundation, but it’s the storytelling architecture built on top of it that truly captivates an audience. One of the most effective elements is the “day-in-the-life” narrative. We saw this with Ricola, where creators naturally integrated the throat balm into their daily routines. This format positions the product as an intuitive solution to a real problem, not a disruptive ad. Another powerful element is humor and vulnerability. Moosejaw’s creators filming their “Pinterest fails” or comedic skits created a disarming sense of realness that people connect with on a human level. It shatters the polished veneer of traditional advertising. Finally, there’s the “behind-the-scenes” or POV format, perfectly exemplified by Zilla’s “MTV Cribs-style habitat tours.” This narrative pulls the viewer into the creator’s world, making the experience feel personal and immersive. These storytelling frameworks are what turn passive viewers into active participants, driving them to not only watch but to engage and ultimately convert.
What is your forecast for the future of UGC advertising? As platforms become more saturated, what new strategies or formats do you predict will emerge to maintain authenticity and cut through the noise?
I believe the future of UGC lies in deeper integration and radical authenticity. The line between organic content and advertising will continue to blur, moving toward formats that feel less like an ad and more like a live, shared experience. I predict a massive surge in creator-led live shopping, where the UGC experience unfolds in real-time, blending entertainment and commerce in a way that static posts can’t. To maintain authenticity in a saturated market, brands will have to move beyond transactional, one-off campaigns and invest in building long-term creator communities, turning influencers into genuine brand ambassadors like Zilla did. We’ll also see brands tapping into “niche-within-a-niche” creators to reach hyper-specific audiences with unparalleled credibility. Finally, I think the smartest brands will start looking inward, activating employee-generated content to add a powerful layer of operational transparency and humanize the company from the inside out. The focus will shift from simply buying content to fostering genuine, multi-faceted relationships that create a more resilient and trustworthy brand story.
