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The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Product decision · 2025–2026

Canva made a Filipino internet star a usable asset: font, emojis, stock photos

Canva turned influencer Kween Yasmin into product assets — stock images, emoji, a font — driving 1.6M+ uses and doubling Pro trials.

Canva

the move

In the Philippines, small businesses run on social media without designers or budgets. Most already use Canva's free tier, and Canva wanted to convert them to Canva Pro without an expensive celebrity endorsement.

GIGIL's idea: take Kween Yasmin — the viral 'All-Purpose Kween' — and make her the product. Her likeness became Canva Pro assets: stock photos, an emoji set and a typeface, so businesses could use 'her' in their own content.

The assets spread from the SME Business Expo through businesses, fandoms, schools and even government offices; netizens taught each other how to use them. Filipinos used the assets 1.6 million-plus times, Canva Pro trials doubled, brand conversations surged 391% and engagements passed 17.5 million.

The campaign won a Silver Social & Creator Spike at Spikes Asia 2026 and a Silver at the New York Festivals for influencer use, becoming a milestone in Philippine pop culture.

why it works

  • Using the influencer as a tool makes the ad itself useful, so customers keep touching the brand.
  • A beloved local personality gives a global platform a homegrown, meme-ready identity.
  • Free users converting to Pro got a reason that was fun, not a discount.
the payoffMake the influencer a tool customers useclever

what transfers

An endorsement is a message; a tool is a habit. Embedding an influencer inside the product as fonts, photos and stickers turns fame into daily usage, not a one-off post.

what came after

The Kween Yasmin assets stayed in Canva Pro as ongoing content, and GIGIL's model — turning personalities into product features — became a template for its later work.

references

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