BeReal Is Searching for ‘The Realest Person on Earth’

BeReal, the nascent platform that set out to antithesize curated social content, is looking for the face of its first global campaign. The only qualification is that you convince both brand employees and other users that you have absolutely nothing to hide.

As BeReal works to maintain a place in extensive app rotations, it is trying to break away from its quiet existence with a more active and widespread marketing strategy. 

Instead of receiving the same push notifications from Instagram or TikTok that reflect how others engage with your content, BeReal reaches out to users once a day with the message, “It’s time to BeReal!” which allows them two minutes to upload a shot of what they’re currently doing. While users can still post outside their window, the app will let their friends in on their late, and possibly more scripted, post. 

As a platform set out to promote unfiltered posts and eradicate peer comparison, BeReal said opposing these vanity metrics, as well as photo filters, keeps it relevant and anchored in a point of differentiation.

 “We’re now in a place where we’re finally comfortable with the platform offering,” said head of field marketing strategy Julian Hislop. “We’re able to do new things like develop new features and think about really fun, innovative brand marketing campaigns.” 

Measuring an internal feeling 

While some data suggests that BeReal usage has declined after a surge of popularity in its late 2022 peak, the platform claimed this was inaccurate and has 25 million active users globally. According to Emily Moravitz, lead of marketing special projects, this campaign is an opportunity for the brand to formally introduce itself. 

The campaign, titled “The Realest Person on Earth,” leaves that definition wide open for interpretation. Participants are invited to submit grocery aisle shots or more life-altering moments, like meeting Jacob Elordi on a neighborhood walk.

The “realest” BeReal will be seen next to billboards of retouched images in Times Square, along with other major cities in Europe and Asia. The platform said that it was intended to juxtapose what it assumes is a sea of highly edited and curated ads. The winner will also win a paid vacation with three friends to a destination of their choice.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve become quite immune to digital ads,” said Hislop, who spoke to the challenges of digitally marketing a service that fundamentally opposes other platforms. “This represents a unique opportunity to create a real-world statement that doesn’t get lost in the noise.” 

Navigating platform pressures  

BeReal is still figuring out how to maintain user excitement while staying grounded in its original purpose.

Instead of mimicking other platforms by focusing on new income streams, BeReal fulfills community requests and shifts the conversation away from certain suggestions that negate its core intentions, like increasing allotted connections to boost potential for virality, according to Hislop. Moravitz said one example is the launch of Bonus BeReal, which rewards users with additional posts when they upload their daily on time. 

While the platform prides itself in contrasting influencer culture by opposing vanity metrics like audience growth and virality, it said paid partnerships are “not something (they’re) actively thinking about yet,” said Moravitz. Last year, e.l.f Cosmetics became the first beauty or skincare brand to create an account for organic content. 

“Brands come in and almost hack what BeReal was originally intended for by giving a more intimate or behind-the-scenes look at what their companies look like,” she said. “We have nothing against that, but we haven’t necessarily optimized for their presence on the platform yet.”