Bama Rush: Where Entertainment and Commerce Collide

Back to school is in full swing which means it’s also time for “Rush.” Not the band, but the age-old tradition across universities where young collegiates look to join a fraternity or sorority. The process of rushing can be seen as a form of consumerism with prospective members essentially shopping for a sorority and fraternity. In more recent years, it has evolved into more than just the process at each school, but into a commerce driver fueled by changes in how people discover, connect, and shop.

Let’s travel back to the year 2021. TikTok experienced a massive boom primarily fueled by younger people joining the platform for sharing, entertainment, and discovery. This influx of users were the same people who would then be in college, participating in the rush process, and the originators of Bama Rush and what then became RushTok. Recruits leaned into the platform and well-known trends to provide a look into their lives as they experienced the rush process. Videos ranging from OOTD (outfit of the day), to “What’s in My Rush Bag”, and updates on what houses they loved began to show up on the platform. And then…. there was the drama.

Which houses did they like? Why? Who didn’t receive a bid for the house they wanted? As humans, we’re wired for stories and this had the feel of episodic content with familiarity of a story: beginning, middle, end, plot, characters, and more. At its core, this was the stuff of reality TV taking place right on the TikTok platform. “Bama Rush” happened in a place where these people were not only already spending time but were also incentivized to do what’s second nature to them: engage.

The visual nature of TikTok combined with the “stumbling upon” real people and how they style themselves for the “real world” hit a change we’re seeing today: the power of UGC and discovery. Viewers of the content were then running to the websites and stores of mentioned brands to get the products they saw on TikTok. They discovered products through watching entertaining, real world-based, social content, and said, “Oh, I need this.”  A bastion of influence brands would pay top-dollar for what was organically generating sales, on a platform that was focused on short-form looping videos.

What’s also important to note is that the individuals creating rush posts were not famous or originally well-known Creators by any means, yet they were able to reach an incredible amount of people and drive sales. TikTok democratized who could drive business impact. These recommendations felt like a community recommendation rather than an advertisement or #sponcon addressing the shift in behavior of how and where consumers start their journeys. The Bama Rush recruits underscored how powerful it is to show up in front of consumers in a way in which they will be receptive to your product or message.

Currently, #BamaRush has 2.7B views, and is likely to skyrocket as rush week approaches again. Furthermore, the #BamaRush phenomena expanded from the University of Alabama’s rush into a large-scale, commerce enterprise: #RushTok. The broadened perspective includes participants in recruitment all over the US with content rolling out multiple times a year. What can we learn from this?

1. Get on the platforms! Ensure your brand has the resources to support having a presence on social platforms. This means social-first creative and community management. 
2. UGC is the social version of word-of-mouth and has an important place in your marketing mix. Platforms continue to invest in opportunities for everyday users to share about and tag the products they love. Make sure you’re set up to address this behavior change and enable consumers to use these features.
3. Search and discovery are moving out of traditional search platforms and into walled gardens. Make sure you’re investing the appropriate resources and creativity to meet your audience where they’re at.
4. Utilize social listening and community management beyond your owned channels or product category to find new ways your brand can partner or engage in moments and movements that are of interest to your audience.