The AP x Swatch Royal Pop collaboration generated more than £10.41 million in Earned Media Value (EMV) globally and demonstrated how hype culture, creator commentary and product-first storytelling are reshaping influencer marketing, according to new analysis from influencer marketing platform Kolsquare.
The Royal Pop collection, a collaboration between Swatch and Audemars Piguet, launched on 16 May and quickly became one of the year’s biggest social media moments. Long queues formed outside stores, resale speculation exploded online and crowd-control issues led to temporary store closures in several cities as consumers scrambled to get their hands on the limited-edition watches.
The launch became a global phenomenon, with Reuters reporting that discussion around the collaboration generated 11 billion social media views worldwide.
While the launch attracted global attention, Kolsquare’s UK analysis reveals how creators helped drive demand before the watches even reached stores.
Between 25 April and 16 May, 84 UK-relevant creators with audiences comprising at least 30% UK followers published 123 pieces of content mentioning Swatch. Together, they generated £294,440 in EMV, more than four million views and almost 98,000 engagements across Instagram and TikTok.
Instagram proved to be the dominant platform, accounting for £275,940 of the total UK EMV, compared with £18,500 on TikTok. The campaign generated 3.86 million Instagram views alone and achieved an average engagement rate of 6.14%. Instagram influencer content tagging the brand also drove around seven times more engagement than TikTok within the UK dataset.
The analysis found that the highest-performing content was not traditional influencer advertising but product-focused storytelling, launch-day reactions and footage of crowds queuing outside stores.
Globally, some of the strongest-performing content included videos showing launch-day chaos in Milan and Mumbai, while specialist watch and culture accounts generated significant engagement through first-look content, comparisons with the original Royal Oak pocket watch and discussions about resale value.
In the UK, some of the most influential creators were not celebrities but niche accounts focused on design, events and drop culture. Among the top performers were London For Less, a value-focused account covering launches and pop-ups; AI design creator Numanuk; and specialist release-culture platform The Drop Date.
Anastasiya Taran (@anastasiayataran) posted an Instagram reel of store chaos in Milan and got an engagement rate of 585%. Hypebeast (@hypebeast) generated an EMV of £1.26M with an unboxing reel, and Complex Style @complexstyle generated an EMV of £1.25M with a carousel.
Quentin Bordage, Founder and CEO of Kolsquare, explains: “Luxury brands are no longer simply launching products; they’re creating cultural moments. What made Royal Pop so powerful was that the conversation became bigger than the campaign itself. Audiences weren’t just engaging with influencer content; they were engaging with the product, the scarcity and the excitement surrounding the launch.
“We’re seeing hype culture, creator commentary and community participation becoming just as important as traditional influencer marketing. Consumers want to feel part of a moment, not simply watch an advertisement.”
The campaign also highlights the continuing strength of Instagram within influencer marketing. According to Kolsquare’s State of Influencer Marketing in Europe research, Instagram is used by 92% of UK brands running influencer campaigns, and the Royal Pop launch demonstrated why. The platform generated around seven times more engagement than TikTok within the UK dataset and drove the overwhelming majority of campaign value.
Kolsquare believes the success of Royal Pop offers an important lesson for marketers. While scarcity and anticipation can generate enormous attention, brands must be prepared for the conversations, community reactions and real-world consequences that follow when a product becomes a cultural event.
