The Labubu Effect: How Trend-Chasing Turns Brands Into Viral Sensations

The Rise of Labubu: A Viral Case Study

Labubu started as a collectible figure from Hong Kong’s Pop Mart, but it’s become a global social media phenomenon. Its appeal? That combination of “so-ugly-it’s-cute” design, limited-edition drops, and a cult-like fanbase eager to show off their latest scores. The #labubu hashtag has exploded on TikTok and Instagram, with creators turning their collections into must-see content.

As Labubu fever swept the internet, something fascinating happened: major U.S. brands jumped in. e.l.f. Beauty featured Labubu in marketing campaigns, Pillsbury created Labubu-themed bake-offs, and Crocs launched exclusive collabs. These brands are all tapping into the toy’s rabid fan energy to go viral by using Labubu as the face of their campaigns to fuel brand engagement and reach new audiences.

Why Brands Are Betting Big on Trends Like Labubu

What Labubu proves isn’t just the power of a toy – it’s the power of trend-driven marketing. In today’s culture, the brands that win are the brands that move fast, listen to what’s hot, and co-create with the internet itself.

Here’s what makes Labubu so powerful for marketers:

• Scarcity Sells: Limited drops fuel FOMO. Fans rush to buy, and “sold out” stories create social proof.
• UGC Magic: Thousands of videos, posts, and memes mean brands don’t have to generate hype alone—fans do it for them.
• Collab Culture: When brands join forces with viral icons, they instantly tap into new audiences and supercharge their relevance.

What Every Brand Can Learn From the Labubu Craze

Labubu is more than a meme – it’s a lesson plan. Here’s how any brand can harness the same momentum:

1. Spot Trends Early: Our Social Native team is consistently leveraging tools to monitor emerging hashtags, keep up with our creators’ conversations, and tapping into viral moments. The faster you notice a trend, the more authentic your brand’s participation will feel.
2. Empower Your Creators: Activate real people—fans, customers, influencers—to make content around the trend. Social Native’s Creator Discovery™ makes it easy to find creators who already align with what’s hot and help you scale UGC on-demand.
3. Move Fast, Test Often: Don’t overthink. Trends move at light speed! Launch a micro-campaign, a UGC contest, or a shoppable gallery in days (not months) using platforms like Social Native for rapid video creation.
4. Amplify and Iterate: Boost your best-performing content using Social Native’s AI recommendations with paid social, add trend-driven assets to your e-commerce or email, and keep optimizing based on what’s working.

From Social Native: How to Turn Trends Into Revenue

At Social Native, we help brands not just follow trends—but activate them. With our global creator network, rapid UGC production, and performance tracking, you can:

• Launch a TikTok challenge tied to the latest viral toy, song, or meme.
• Curate influencer “hype teams” to create a flood of authentic buzz.
• Repurpose top-performing UGC into paid ads, shoppable pages, and more.
  

Want to know what’s really working? Our clients see up to 4× higher click-through rates and 172% more sales from campaigns built around viral moments and creator-powered content.

Staying ahead in today’s market isn’t about waiting for trends to happen—it’s about having the systems, partners, and creative firepower to act the moment opportunity strikes. That’s why the most successful brands don’t just join cultural conversations; they orchestrate them, turning everyday moments into breakout wins.

With the right strategy, a spark of internet buzz can become a flood of authentic content, loyal community, and measurable business growth.

Your Trend-Chasing Brand Checklist

1️⃣ Monitor What’s Catching Fire on Social—Don’t Just Guess!

How Social Native Helps: Social Native’s platform isn’t just a marketplace—it’s your real-time insights engine for social creativity.

• Creator Discovery™: Instantly search and filter global creators by niche, audience, and trending keywords. This means you can spot who’s already riding the next big wave and recruit them for your campaign—before your competitors even notice.
  
• Performance Data: Track engagement, conversion, and audience reaction across campaigns to identify which trends resonate most.
  
• Curated Trend Reports: Social Native provides trend and content inspiration directly inside the platform—no more manual research!
  

2️⃣ Enable Your Fans and Creators to Join the Conversation

How Social Native Helps: You don’t have to do this alone! Social Native unlocks massive creative firepower by making it easy to:

• Activate Global Creators On-Demand: Launch briefs and campaigns to thousands of creators within minutes. Want a “Labubu unboxing” UGC surge? Push out your brief, select your ideal creators, and watch the content roll in.
  
• Seamless Rights Management: Instantly secure the rights to use UGC across all channels—no legal headaches.
  
• Engage Your Real Fans: Go beyond just influencers; tap micro-creators and even brand fans who bring genuine passion to every trend.
  

3️⃣ Experiment Quickly With Content and Collabs

How Social Native Helps: Speed and scale are built into Social Native’s DNA.

• Fast Briefing & Production: Need hundreds of TikTok videos or Instagram posts overnight? Social Native’s workflow allows you to brief, select, and deploy creators at scale—turning trending ideas into finished content in days, not weeks.
  
• A/B Testing Creators and Concepts: Test multiple ideas and creator types simultaneously, then double down on what hits.
  
• Flexible Collaboration Models: Run solo creator campaigns, group challenges, or collabs between your brand and trending icons—without logistical headaches.
  

4️⃣ Amplify Successes With Paid and Owned Channels

How Social Native Helps: Once you’ve got a winning UGC trend, Social Native ensures you can maximize reach and ROI:

• Integrated Content Activation: Instantly push top-performing UGC to your paid social ads, product pages, email marketing, and shoppable galleries from within the platform.
  
• Performance Attribution: Track which creator content drives real business results—so you can optimize spend and focus on high-impact assets.
  
• Omnichannel Flexibility: Seamlessly use your UGC across all media platforms because all your rights and assets are managed in one place.
  

5️⃣ Repeat—Because the Next Labubu Is Just Around the Corner

How Social Native Helps: Virality is a cycle, not a single event.

• Always-On Creator Network: Keep your finger on the pulse of the latest trends by tapping into a global, always-available creator community—ready for your next brief.
  
• Campaign Templates & Best Practices: Use Social Native’s campaign frameworks and creative recommendations to move even faster next time.
  
• Ongoing Support & Strategy: Work with Social Native’s client success team to review performance, adjust your playbook, and get ahead of the next craze—whether it’s a toy, a dance, or a meme.