For CeraVe, the annual American Academy of Dermatology conference is more than just an opportunity to set up a booth or schmooze with dermatologists. Instead, the L’Oréal-owned skin care brand considers the event a “content factory”—a perfect setting to churn out social media videos with the dozens of dermatologists in attendance, said Adam Kornblum, senior VP of global digital marketing for CeraVe. 

But these dermatologists aren’t just a gimmick or a set piece. In fact, the majority of the doctors starring in CeraVe’s videos moonlight as social-savvy influencers, from Daniel Sugai, a Seattle-based dermatologist with 1 million TikTok followers, to Muneeb Shah, also known as @DermDoctor, who has amassed 21 million followers across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. With hundreds of people turning to these internet-famous dermatologists each day for skin care advice and product recommendations, CeraVe has increasingly oriented its social media strategy around this burgeoning influencer niche.

Several brands are leaning into creators who double as industry experts to support their influencer marketing strategies. As social media platforms become more and more saturated with influencers, these experts bring a level of knowledge and authority to their content that lends an inherent credibility to their content that traditional, everyday influencers may lack. Like CeraVe, brands in the health and beauty spaces have been particularly keen to partner with these creators, including Neutrogena, Olay and RoC Skincare.

“CeraVe is a brand developed with dermatologists,” Kornblum told Ad Age. That fact is displayed prominently on each CeraVe product, just below the logo. “Our aim is to keep dermatologists basically at the center of everything we do. And in our efforts to expand our reach on social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, we’ve continued to put them at the heart of our strategy.”

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Over the last several months, CeraVe has made dermatologist influencers the focal point of multiple social-first campaigns that teach consumers healthier, dermatologist-approved skin care habits. These educational initiatives have included #CleanseLikeADerm, #MoisturizeLikeADerm and, most recently, #FaceItLikeADerm, which CeraVe launched on March 17 at this year’s dermatology conference.

To kick off the #FaceItLikeADerm campaign, the brand brought together more than 50 dermatologist influencers—as well as the content creators “Dude With Sign,” “Dudette With Sign” and Avani Gregg—to lead a parade through the streets of New Orleans, where the conference was taking place. The dozens of dermatologists held up cardboard signs, similar to those characteristic of Dude and Dudette With Sign, bearing messages such as, “Throw on some sunscreen” and “Wear SPF, your future self will thank you.”

Additionally, at this year’s gathering of dermatologists, CeraVe invited attendees to help produce a compilation video of them applying one of the brand’s lotions, and ultimately set a (very specific) Guinness World Record: “the longest video chain of people applying body moisturizer using CeraVe Moisturizing Cream,” featuring 625 dermatologists.

“A lot of influencers have a sense of trust with their followers. But, for us, it’s also about the relationship between the brand and the dermatologist, and that’s an important thing we want to show,” Kornblum said. “We'll work with an array of influencers, like an Avani Gregg or a Dude With Sign, but having the derm at the center of our communications is the most important for us."

Skin care has long been a popular social media category, with 11 billion collective views of the hashtag #SkinTok as of writing. Some creators even identify as “skin care influencers,” specifically, and orient their content on reviewing various moisturizers and cleansers or demonstrating their skin care routines. But dermatologists have increasingly wielded influence in the skin care space on platforms like TikTok. In just the past year, the hashtag #DermTok has skyrocketed from roughly 60 million views to more than 337 million, and a growing number of brands have begun tapping into the skin care doctors in this niche.

CeraVe has teamed up with dermatologists for social media content since 2019, Kornblum said. But dermatologist influencers, specifically, have had a growing impact on the brand’s social strategy since CeraVe launched its TikTok account in early 2022. Nearly every video on the brand’s TikTok features these expert influencers in some capacity, from those jumping on platform trends to CeraVe’s ongoing “Derm on the Street” video series, a play on the “on the street interview” format popular on TikTok. 

The brand also recently leveraged its dermatologist partners to promote the launch of its #21DaysOfSPFChallenge, which urges participants to apply sunscreen daily for the three weeks that research shows it takes to form a habit.

“A lot of brands these days are using derms as influencers,” Kornblum said. “But we actually go and we invest time and resources in this type of relationship with derms at things like dermatology conferences, which a lot of brands don't show up at. Our social content is just a way to display that relationship to the consumer.”

Both CeraVe’s move to start a TikTok account last year and its increased focus on dermatologist influencers are part of the brand’s efforts to maintain its positive connection with Gen Z consumers. In a recent survey of teens’ spending habits and brand preferences conducted by investment bank Piper Sandler, 41% of respondents cited CeraVe as their top skin care brand. The second-place skin care brand, The Ordinary, earned only 7% of the participants’ favor. 

But, to appeal to Gen Z, CeraVe has also incorporated creators who aren’t skin care experts, such as the previously-mentioned Gregg, who has over 43 million TikTok followers. The brand also recently partnered with Retirement House, a social media comedy group with over 5 million collective followers. These creators largely play an “amplification role” in CeraVe’s influencer strategy and help to bolster the brand’s work with dermatologists—for example, the brand tapped creator Zach King to produce a video starring several dermatologist influencers. 

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Mixing these digital celebrities with dermatologist influencers works to “surprise people,” Kornblum said, which “stops people in their feeds and actually garners attention.” 

And, with 40% of Gen Z consumers turning to TikTok over traditional search engines to seek out information, teaming up with dermatologists for social media content helps CeraVe cut through inaccurate or harmful skin care advice with videos sharing education directly from dermatologists, he added. 

“We see expert influencers a lot on TikTok, in general, from dermatologists to cardiologists. If you have an issue or you're curious about something, they are the source,” Kornblum said. “And with the information flow nowadays and so much so much being said online, to have an expert in the field really share the truth behind it all and debunk misconceptions is critical.”