Emma Chamberlain on Brand Deals, Making Ads That Work and Her Inability to Act

Emma Chamberlain is in many places all at once. The 21-year-old influencer, who has amassed 15.6 million followers on Instagram and 11.4 million on YouTube since her start in 2017, hosts the popular podcast Anything Goes and has scored deals with brands such as Levi's and Calvin Klein. Earlier this year, she launched a speciality bowl with fast casual restaurant chain Cava. She also has her own company, Chamberlain Coffee, and is the former creative director of the skincare line Bad Habit. As marketers continue to chase an ad-resistant Gen Z, the creator's casual demeanor and commitment to candor has brands dying to get on her good side. "I have an inability to act, which is why I'm not an actor and never will be," Chamberlain told Adweek about her approach to brand partnerships and making promotional spots. "I have a hard time and feel uncomfortable filming anything, for any purpose, not as myself speaking the way I would speak in real life." Major Brands Are Shifting to TikTok, and You Should Be Too Chamberlain’s newest endeavor features both her coffee company and appealing persona. In late May, Chamberlain Coffee debuted a matcha lemonade in collaboration with zero-sugar beverage brand Swoon. Adweek sat down with Chamberlain to chat business partnerships, the evolution of her personal narrative and why embracing a young line of lemonades and iced teas is her latest move. This interview has been condensed and edited. https://www.tiktok.com/@chamberlaincoffee/video/7104359610835815685?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1 Adweek: Tell us about Swoon. Why did you decide to partner with them and how did that come about?Chamberlain: I found Swoon organically in Erewhon [a California-based grocery store chain]. Every time I go there for lunch, I always pick out a new, fun drink. I saw that Swoon was sweetened with monk fruit, and I was, like, "Wow, this is interesting." I've been hearing about monk fruit being the new thing. I tried it and immediately fell in love and started ordering cases to my house—constantly. Then, obviously, they found out that I love them through me naturally posting about it on social. We connected, and now here we are. There's something different about your deal with Swoon. Can you explain what's unique about this partnership?The main difference is that when I, as an individual, do a partnership with a brand, usually I'm curating my favorite products they've created. For example, if I'm doing a clothing partnership, I'll pick out my favorite pieces of clothing they made completely by themselves and wear them. So it's a collaboration in the sense that I'm curating the way that I portray their product, but I'm not creating anything. With Swoon, we collaborated on creating a product together using both of our products. https://www.tiktok.com/@tasteswoon/video/7102450256872230187 How do you navigate incoming requests and business opportunities? What's a good pitch vs. a bad pitch?My agent knows me well, so there's definitely a lot of things that come to her desk and she's like, "I know Emma's not going to want to do this." So she does the first pass and then brings all the "maybes" to me. It's usually stuff I love and already use, or there's a chance I might try this thing and like it because it's up my alley. She would never get rid of something that has a chance. Then it's a matter of conversation and thinking, "Is this something I can integrate into something I'm doing in a way that, number one, is inspiring to me and, number two, is something that I just truly love." Sometimes there's things I love, but doing a partnership just might not work out. I just don't feel I need to. When thinking about your voice on social media, along with your coffee and skincare brands, is there an overarching theme?With everything I do in my career, the overarching theme is just simply me at any given moment. With my YouTube videos, my podcasts, my coffee company, my brand partnerships, my Instagram posts, with every single thing I do, the theme is just my brain. Sometimes that means something very simple. Sometimes that means it's kind of all over the place. I know there was a lot of talk a few years back about how if you want to have a career on the internet you need to have your own brand, an overarching theme for everything you do. But I've found that puts you in a box. So, I'd rather let myself be free. Whatever feels right in any given moment, I do. https://www.tiktok.com/@chamberlaincoffee/video/7065726102370569478?_t=8SyBWGYWtZu&_r=1 Do you treat ads as if you're filming a YouTube video and happen to be promoting your product?For sure. I have an inability to act, which is why I'm not an actor and never will be. I have a hard time and feel uncomfortable filming anything, for any purpose, not as myself speaking the way I would speak in real life. Obviously, being in front of a camera will shift your tone a little bit, but all that's subconscious. Generally, I go into everything with the same attitude, which is I'm talking to a person. When it comes to promoting brands, do you consider yourself a disruptor? Someone who doesn't embrace perfectionism?Yeah, that's been my goal since Day 1. Or, like, Day 5. When I first started doing things on the internet, I was trying to be the that girl of 2017. Within the first two weeks of me making YouTube videos, I was like, "I hate this." Then I shifted my goal. I don't need to fit into that stereotype. I'm not that—I'm not that at all and I never will be. I'm just going to embrace myself and make videos of me. My goal became to be a normal girl on the internet, which was something I hadn't seen at the time. Everything was a little bit more perfected. I wanted to be the complete opposite of that because I thought it was needed. That was something I needed when I was growing up and didn't have on the internet. Everything I've done since has followed that theme. So instead of feeling like people had to change themselves, have you always tried to be the person people can relate to?I don't know if it's trying to be relatable. Whether or not people relate to me, it's up to the individual. I can't control that. What I can control is just being myself. My goal going into everything is I just want to be honest. What people take from that is up to them, whether it's comforting or relatable or aspirational. As long as it's a positive impact, I'm happy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpFc1RPOF7s In the past, you've mentioned taking a break from YouTube and deleting your TikTok account. How, if at all, has not being on certain social platforms affected your relationships with brands?I'm very strict about making sure my mental state and wellbeing come first. I make that very clear to my agent, who manages my relationships with brands on a day-to-day basis. When I took a step back from all these different platforms, I said, "No matter what comes up, I'm not going to come back until I want to come back. This is becoming unhealthy for me." I had even mentioned to her that if I do come back at a certain point, there might be a chance I don't want to do partnerships in certain places anymore. I might take a step back from partnerships in general. At the end of the day, brand partnerships can be really fun and exciting. They are a huge source of income for people in this business. But at the same time, the No. 1 priority has to be your mental state, and, obviously, social media can really mess with that. When people think of creators, they think the money comes from brand partnerships. You're a creator who has pivoted to having your own brands. Do you see a de-emphasis on brand partnerships as your next step?Brand partnerships are a massive part of how I make my living. They're the biggest source of income for me. When it comes to doing other projects, like starting my own business or posting on YouTube or podcasts, those things I do because I love to do them. I'm not as focused on making money from those things. So, brand partnerships allow me to pursue my passion for creating things—that's what's so amazing about them. Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Chamberlain is the creative director of Bad Habit. She no longer works with the brand. Everyone’s an Influencer. Now What?