A branding expert who worked with the Duchess exclusively detailed to Express what it was like collaborating with the then-actress. Rachel Humphrey praised the actress’s “authentic” work, and believes The Tig 2.0 would be “a beautiful reflection of her taste and intelligence.”
Before she met and married Prince Harry, Meghan Markle ran her lifestyle blog The Tig. A website covering food, style, travel, and the LA native’s whimsical musings, the Duchess shut down the platform after her relationship with Harry came to light.
It is now reported the royal is set to revive the brand after documents filed to the US Patent and Trademark Office have given the go-ahead for a relaunch. Now fans are wondering what Meghan’s The Tig 2.0 will look like. Amid the speculation, a branding expert who has worked with the Duchess spoke exclusively with Express.
Rachel worked with Meghan in June 2015, in her past role with the beauty subscription service Bichbox. The company has collaborated with the likes of actor and director Olivia Wilde, Millie Mackintosh (with whom Meghan stayed at Soho Farmhouse in 2016), designer Nicole Richie, and companies like Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP and Vogue.
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The company created a special box in collaboration with the Suits actor, full of her favourite beauty picks. Rachel, who is now the founder and director of BrandBuildingCo and has worked in public relations and branding for 20 years, described how the now Duchess when “above and beyond” while collaborating with her.
She said: “It was a short Limited Edition Partnership but Meghan was so gracious and was happy to talk about the partnership for many months.
“She went above and beyond creating stunning content for us and did video content and more. She also chose all the brands she genuinely loved inside the box so it was really authentic.”
Meghan wrote on The Tig at the time the box was launched: “To say this is a dream come true would be an understatement, which is why I took extra care to ensure this box was an authentic reflection both of myself and of The Tig aesthetic.”
The actor offered her readers a promo code THETIG in order to save some money off a subscription with the brand. The box also came with a handwritten note from Meghan, in her calligraphy script.
In the box, Meghan included a sample of five products. She chose Marcelle Golden Glow BB Cream, £57, Oribe Cote d’Azur fragrance, £121, Harvey Prince Hello Body Cream, £20, Real Chemistry Luminious 3-Minute Peel, $38.99 and Davines Su Hair & Body Wash, £17.50.
Rachel explained: “The launch was incredible and The Tig content really resonated with our customers, because of the variety of the content, and how they demonstrated what Meghan loved and advocated for across all categories; fashion, home, culture, and more.”
How does Meghan’s former collaborator think The Tig 2.0 would look? Rachel said: “I imagine if she is to relaunch The Tig it will be a beautiful reflection of her taste and intelligence. The brand always represented what she was passionate about and I would imagine she will use the platform to blend these elements.
“Focusing on style and culture references that bring her joy, and also as a space to educate on the humanity issues she is passionate about seeing positive change around.”
And, how might Meghan approach making money from the venture? The branding expert said: “It would completely depend on how the new Tig team would manage their commercial deals. Meghan may not want the platform to feel too commercial and so she may look to work in a more seamless, organic way with brands (like she did previously with us) and then lead on to more authentic large-scale partnerships later – rather than short and frequent commercial deals.
“She has the reach to work in a really strategic and authentic way with brands she truly loves. She could have her pick of brands that really align with her values.”
