"Creators aren't an afterthought": the strategy behind Shea Moisture's viral silk press campaign

We've all heard the story. A brand develops a campaign in a boardroom, locks the concept, then sends a 15-page-long brief to a creator and hopes they can make it resonate.

It's a familiar practice, and one that relegates creators to distribution rather than genuine creative partners.

For ShaNiece Pyles, content lead and creative director at Shea Moisture, the brand's viral Silk Press Conference campaign was built on a different premise: starting with a conversation already happening online.

"We spent a lot of time listening on social – TikTok, Instagram, Twitter – to how our consumer is already talking about what a silk press means to her, what her limitations are, what her pain points are, and how she talks about solving them," Pyles told The Daily Influence.

From that listening, the team developed the "silk press conference" concept. Stylist Law Roach was cast as an interrogator, querying how sleek results could be achieved at home.

Each creator tapped for the campaign had an existing online identity that was used to anchor a specific product claim. Love Island winner Serena Page, known for frequently changing her hairstyles, was selected to demonstrate the product's versatility and its ability to hold up under pressure.

Olympic gold medallist Masai Russell, whose content centres on training and fitness, was used to highlight sweat resistance. Kirah Ominique, whose YouTube audience engages closely with her hair care routines, took on an educational role within the campaign, while Clarke Peoples, whose content often documents travel, was used to illustrate humidity protection.

The campaign also incorporated more subtle references to each creator's online presence. 

In Clarke's case, imagery deliberately obscured her partner's identity, reflecting how she presents her personal life on social media – a detail her audience immediately recognised.

"We create with the influencer in mind, but we also gut check with them," Pyles said. "Does this sound true to who you are? Are you comfortable with this? Is there anything that sounds off? And if they say maybe not that, what if we think about it this way – we leave enough time in our planning and development to make sure their feedback is heard."

The campaign took nine months from brief to launch and generated more than three million views across TikTok and Instagram. One comment captured the response: "Were y'all in our group chat?"

The Unilever playbook

Pictured: ShaNiece Pyles

Pyles works closely with Reema Amin, Shea Moisture's head of marketing, who she credits with helping shape the team's out-of-the-box thinking.

"She has a unique way of taking a product and pushing our thinking around how we bring it to market in a way that is unique and hasn't been seen before," Pyles said. "And then surrounding it with the right creators to make a splash."

The pair operate with significant creative autonomy within Unilever, which Pyles said enables the kind of work they produce. 

"The organisation trusts us a lot," she said. "They let us cook." She added that ideas are also pressure tested to ensure they land with the audience.

The trust reflects a broader creator-led shift happening across the group. Unilever chief executive Fernando Fernandez has committed to moving 50% of the company's global media spend into social platforms, and by late 2025 the company was working with close to 300,000 creators worldwide – around 170,000 of them in its Beauty and Wellbeing division alone.

Pyles said Shea Moisture sits within that segment, with its approach reflecting a broader shift towards culturally specific, creator-led marketing. 

"Black beauty is mass market," she said. "But we put Black beauty at the centre of it, because we believe it deserves to be there."

Looking ahead, Pyles said the ambition is to keep creating content that earns its place in the feed. 

"Influencer-led branded content isn't going anywhere," she said. "It's really about how brands can do it in a way that is authentic to both the brand and the creator. When somebody's mama sees our content, I need her to be proud of it."

The campaign is featured in TDI Dealbase. Explore more here.