{"id":2503,"date":"2026-07-09T18:27:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T13:27:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=2503"},"modified":"2026-07-09T18:27:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T13:27:52","slug":"why-its-so-tough-to-be-a-brand-on-bereal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=2503","title":{"rendered":"Why it&#8217;s so tough to be a brand on BeReal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-adroot=\"true\">\n<p>On July 25, a handful of people milled about New York\u2019s Times Square, constantly checking their phones and glancing up at the huge digital billboard on the Nasdaq building on the corner of 7th Ave. and West 43rd St.<\/p>\n<p>They weren\u2019t the usual tourists, but representatives of Chipotle\u2019s social media team.<\/p>\n<p>On the billboard, a Chipotle ad exhorted people to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/chipotle-encourages-fans-to-buy-the-dip-with-new-200-000-crypto-game-and-1-cent-guac-for-national-avocado-day-301592180.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">\u201cBuy the Dip. Eat the Dip\u201d<\/a> \u2014 a campaign advertising a contest to win free cryptocurrency that could, in turn, be used to buy food at the restaurant chain\u2019s outlets. \u201cWe knew that day we wanted to showcase the billboard,\u201d says Neiv Toledano, social media manager at Chipotle. \u201cWe had the team out at Times Square, getting ready to take the photo and snap that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:56.1031%;\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/87a8dbe8-bb4f-424f-8cff-b3b2375c0687-nasdaq_btd.jpg?w=375&amp;h=210&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/87a8dbe8-bb4f-424f-8cff-b3b2375c0687-nasdaq_btd.jpg?w=375&amp;h=210&amp;fit=max 375w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/87a8dbe8-bb4f-424f-8cff-b3b2375c0687-nasdaq_btd.jpg?w=375&amp;h=210&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2 750w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/87a8dbe8-bb4f-424f-8cff-b3b2375c0687-nasdaq_btd.jpg?w=760&amp;h=426&amp;fit=max 760w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/87a8dbe8-bb4f-424f-8cff-b3b2375c0687-nasdaq_btd.jpg?w=760&amp;h=426&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2 1520w\" sizes=\"(min-width:768px) 760px, 375px\" alt=\"Chipotle's Buy the Dip Times Square billboard\" class=\"uMj EdX\"\/><\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"TrI\"><cite class=\"hW6\">Chipotle<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>But the team had to wait, because the snap was for BeReal, the French social media app that encourages people worldwide to take a photo during the same two-minute window. Sure enough, when the notification came through, the Chipotle crew took the picture of the billboard, and posted it to followers on the app, which has been <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.apptopia.com\/social-app-of-the-moment-bereal-grows-users-315-ytd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">downloaded 41 million times<\/a> this year alone. (BeReal\u2019s early success hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed: Today, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inputmag.com\/tech\/tiktok-now-bereal-clone-social-media-instagram\" class=\"T3D\">TikTok announced its clone<\/a> of BeReal\u2019s features, called TikTok Now.) <\/p>\n<p>The Times Square billboard reveal was a major moment for the brand, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/beautymatter.com\/articles\/e-l-f-launches-on-be-real-the-buzzy-anti-instagram-app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">far from<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.marketingbrew.com\/stories\/2022\/08\/02\/brands-are-getting-creative-with-being-real\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\"> the only company<\/a> to hop on to the buzzy app. Sour Patch Kids have played with the concept of one of its sugar-coated gummies taking the photos. (BeReal shows both front-facing and rear-facing images.) Pac-Sun chose to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PacSun\/status\/1549861848836554752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">present real people having fun<\/a> as part of its branding on the app. And e.l.f. Beauty\u2019s BeReal offers <a href=\"https:\/\/beautymatter.com\/articles\/e-l-f-launches-on-be-real-the-buzzy-anti-instagram-app\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">supposedly unfiltered insights<\/a> into what happens at the company\u2019s headquarters.<\/p>\n<p>In April, Chipotle noticed that BeReal was becoming popular, and decided to monitor how users posted before leaping in the following month. \u201cThe way we think about social media is through this lens of culture hunting. We\u2019re constantly looking to see where consumers are and thinking about how we can engage our community,\u201d says Chipotle\u2019s vice president of digital marketing and off-premise, Tressie Lieberman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think about each individual platform and the creative capabilities it has, and will customize our content based off that platform,\u201d Lieberman continues. \u201cObviously, BeReal is very unique: It was about showing that true view into the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whether being on BeReal is a wise move for most brands is up for debate. \u201cThe big thing I keep going back to is it\u2019s hard to tell if BeReal is here to stay, like TikTok was a few years ago, or if it\u2019s just going to be a fad app that disappears in the next couple of months and doesn\u2019t pick up momentum,\u201d says Nathan Allebach, creative director at Allebach Communications and formerly the voice behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2020\/04\/21\/steak-umm-twitter-account-feed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">Steak-umm\u2019s distinctive social media presence<\/a>. \u201cRight now, brands and celebrities are in the feeling-out process of determining if this has staying power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That involves tiptoeing slowly into the space. Allebach points to one of Chipotle\u2019s advertising concepts on BeReal, in which the company featured a still image with a promotional code advertising the product. \u201cYou could tell it was already set up,\u201d he says. \u201cBut for anything more elaborate, anything that requires more involvement or mascots or anything complex, the whole thing is really not feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Toledano admits that Chipotle\u2019s initial launch on BeReal had plenty of planning involved. \u201cThe week [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.morningbrew.com\/series\/summer-of-gen-z\/stories\/2022\/05\/24\/how-chipotle-is-experimenting-with-bereal-gen-z-s-new-favorite-social-platform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">in late May<\/a>] we dropped the codes, we were ready,\u201d she says. Chipotle had food cooked and redemption codes written on napkins. \u201cWe really dedicated that entire week to doing the Chipotle drops on the platform,\u201d says Toledano.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:152.381%;\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/44a52f27-8ddf-4838-a905-431f3e77950b-bereal_chipotle_.png?w=375&amp;h=571&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/44a52f27-8ddf-4838-a905-431f3e77950b-bereal_chipotle_.png?w=375&amp;h=571&amp;fit=max 375w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/44a52f27-8ddf-4838-a905-431f3e77950b-bereal_chipotle_.png?w=375&amp;h=571&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2 750w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/44a52f27-8ddf-4838-a905-431f3e77950b-bereal_chipotle_.png?w=760&amp;h=1158&amp;fit=max 760w, https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2022\/9\/15\/44a52f27-8ddf-4838-a905-431f3e77950b-bereal_chipotle_.png?w=760&amp;h=1158&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2 1520w\" sizes=\"(min-width:768px) 760px, 375px\" alt=\"Chipotle on BeReal\" class=\"uMj EdX\"\/><\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"TrI\"><cite class=\"hW6\">Chipotle<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Allebach has <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nathanallebach\/status\/1310422283308023808\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">previously pointed out<\/a> the labor conditions for social media managers are not the most conducive to a good lifestyle. \u201cSocial media managers are already expected to be on-call all throughout the week, and sometimes even the weekends,\u201d he says. \u201cFor this content to work, you really have to be planning every day or couple of days a certain look or setting you\u2019re ready to go with \u2014 presumably for small returns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re also expecting social media managers in charge of a brand\u2019s BeReal account to be on-call constantly, ready to drop everything whether they\u2019re in the middle of a meal or a bathroom break, in order to post to the app. (BeReal can ping a notification at any time during people\u2019s waking hours, as determined by time zone.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the reality of the app is there is some forgiveness with the notification,\u201d Toledano says. (BeReal allows users to post outside the 120-second window, albeit with a tag that indicates that they were late.) She adds that Chipotle\u2019s social media team tries to use BeReal in the same way any other user would.<\/p>\n<p>But the same things that make BeReal so interesting for everyday users \u2014 the lack of control, the immediacy, the rawness \u2014 are aspects that social media marketing, with its layers of bureaucracy, tends to abhor.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-md-text-align=\"center\" class=\"rs0 Dhu\"><p>\u201c<strong>Logistically<\/strong>, BeReal seems like a <strong>nightmare<\/strong> to deal with, especially for <strong>smaller<\/strong> brands.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe whole point of the app is to have fun and be transparent,\u201d says Lieberman. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be a perfect photo.\u201d That said, she does admit the images posted on BeReal are checked over by a colleague before posting. \u201cThat\u2019s something we\u2019re comfortable with because we have built the process,\u201d says Lieberman. \u201cWe\u2019re pretty seamless when it comes to creating the content, then getting it out there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While conglomerates may feel comfortable experimenting to see if they can turn a BeReal presence into real bucks, Allebach is less sure that it\u2019s the future for the little guys. \u201cLogistically, BeReal seems like a nightmare to deal with,\u201d he says, \u201cespecially for smaller brands.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For now though, there is the halo effect of being among the first brands on a relatively new platform. And, as Allebach points out, it\u2019s working. After all, <em>Input<\/em> is writing about Chipotle, providing it with \u201cearned media,\u201d i.e., unpaid coverage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrands are trying to get caught up in that initial groundswell,\u201d Allebach says. \u201cBut if we talk four to five months from now, I\u2019m not so sure it\u2019ll still be hot as it is right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 25, a handful of people milled about New York\u2019s Times Square, constantly checking their phones and glancing up at the huge digital billboard on the Nasdaq building on the corner of 7th Ave. and West 43rd St. They weren\u2019t the usual tourists, but representatives of Chipotle\u2019s social media team. On the billboard, a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2504,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/getty\/2022\/9\/15\/e7ee9937-172d-4c7c-a388-58bb4a099a50-getty-1242373466.jpg?w=1200&h=630&fit=crop&crop=faces&fm=jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}