The booming online popularity of “on the street” interviews has given rise to a growing class of creators who have attracted thousands, or even millions, of followers by approaching strangers to ask about everything from the song they’re currently streaming to the amount they spend on rent. And now, influencer marketing agency Linqia is developing a network of these influential interviewers to help brands tap into the thriving “on the street” genre. 

Linqia today unveiled its “OTS” offering to connect brands to a vetted group of creators with expertise in “on the street” social media content. The program is launching with 50 creators, including Davis Burleson, who has amassed an audience of 2.8 million across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube for his interview series “What’s Poppin? With Davis!”; Wanna Play? TV, which dubs itself “NYC’s one-minute game show”; and Gen Kimura, who asks interviewees for their perspectives on political and social issues.

Linqia is inviting additional creators to apply to be part of its pool of partners for clients looking to add “on the street” video series to their influencer marketing strategies, said Keith Bendes, VP of marketing, strategy & growth at Linqia. 

“We’ve had a lot of demand for this style of content” over the past year, he told Ad Age. “Almost every brand is trying to play in this space now … But there’s a lot that goes into it that people don’t think about, so we wanted a coordinated offering that basically addresses all of it.” 

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Along with connecting brands to its network of “on the street” creators, Linqia will also produce and edit the sponsored videos and handle logistical elements—such as collecting signed release forms for those appearing in the videos and scouting a filming location—through the OTS offering, Bendes said. 

“On the street” interview series have become ubiquitous across TikTok and Instagram over the past 18 months, he said. Roughly 500,000 Instagram Reels are labeled with the #OnTheStreet hashtag, according to Linqia, and the hashtags #OnTheStreet and #StreetInterview are together attached to more than 250,000 TikTok videos. 

And dozens of brands have already begun to capitalize on the surging popularity of the video genre. CeraVe and Skittles each recently partnered with Caleb Simpson, whose videos revolve around him touring the apartments of both celebrities and ordinary passersby after asking how much they pay for rent. Brands such as Prime Video, Zillow and Progressive have sponsored episodes of Burleson’s “Whats Poppin?” series within just the past three months.

Linqia recently ran a campaign with Miralax ahead of the official launch of “OTS” in partnership with comedian Robyn Schall, who interviewed New Yorkers about the “Gut Gap”—the fact that women are twice as likely as men to experience constipation.

“I think episodic [social content] has been something that the smart brands have been capitalizing on for a while,” Bendes said. “A lot of brands are struggling to figure out ‘Why would anyone follow you on a short-form video platform?’ because it’s all about the feed. But I think when you watch something that’s more episodic … you’re much more likely to follow [the account], because that’s how you’re going to get the next three episodes or the next 20. It gives [consumers] a reason to follow a brand, which I think is a really important thing right now.”

Filming an “on the street” interview with a creator also opens the door for brands to post behind-the-scenes videos or blooper reels on social media along with the actual campaign video, Bendes added. “It extends the life of the content, so instead of one post that you can use in one or two ways, you can shoot months’ worth of content, if you want to, on the day of shooting.”