Celebrities & Influencers – Matching With Your Brand.

I recently attended the Web Summit and since then I have been trying to incorporate what I’ve learned into my day to day role in IMS. Working in the only dedicated technical marketing agency in Ireland, we at IMS Marketing are always client focused and understand the value of developing new and interesting campaigns that deliver results.

Web Summit 2015

Marketing Summit - Web Summit 2015

That is why a few of the speeches at the Web Summit struck me as a great initiative that many of our clients could use to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace and ensure they are one step ahead of the competition by being ready for technological change and trends of the future!

The following are some of my favourite speeches from the Web Summit and what I took away from each:

Tiki Barber, the NFL legend was one of the speakers that spoke at the ‘Reach for the Stars’ talk, he spoke about his start up Thuzio ‘Everything Your Business Needs to Know about Celebrities and Influencers’.  In a nutshell Thuzio uses data science to match influencers with huge brands for marketing campaigns.

Tiki said that “The concept of talent as a brand is new concept,” and influential celebrities or footballers such as David Beckham or Beyoncé have made themselves huge brand names. It has proven to be very profitable for them and the companies they associate with. He cites David Beckham as one of the first footballers to turn himself into a brand and how he then paved the way for other sports and media personalities to follow suit.

What does this mean for me you might ask?

It is common knowledge that people are easily influenced by celebrities or sportspeople in their buying patterns and behaviours and major brands have noticed this and are using this to their advantage.  Tiki says “When you’re picking the perfect talent for your campaign, you’re paying guys who are going to influence your customers.”

While most companies do not have a budget big enough to entice David Beckham to front their marketing campaign, there are plenty of home grown media stars that may be what your business needs to get an edge on the competition. Your budget can stretch from an Irish rugby great to your local GAA star, an Xpose front presenter to a local beauty blogger with a solid following. It is all about matching your brand values and expanding your reach.

Tiki Barber - Thuzio

Dan Rosen from Telefonica spoke about ‘How to win in channel you?’ a topic dedicated to the future of mobile. People have been talking for a while about the ‘future of mobile’ for a while, but it seems some countries have arrived in the future already. See below, a picture depicting two walking lanes in China. One for people who are looking at their phones while walking (we are guilty of this!) and another for people who aren’t using their phones walking. Rosen showed this image to highlight how much things have moved digitally and how big mobile has become. Every speaker at the Web Summit said that mobile will only become bigger in the future and is something that must be taken into account for your digital marketing.

The Future of Mobile

What is predicted for 2016?

  • Shenan Reed, MEC Global says that Ads will be more tailored and specific to customers, with less intrusive and invasive ads to create a change in the user experience instead of the same ads repeating on websites.
  • Have great advertising to win over users e.g. the Superbowl ads are well known and loved for pulling on your heartstrings and emotions. The Superbowl ads featuring the Labrador puppy and horse for the Budweiser brand ads have us welling up every time.
  • According to Jose Maria Garcia, Director of apps and mobile innovation says Apps are the website of the future.

Conclusion – As IMS is a B2B marketing agency, our clients need to be ready to adapt and deliver their message to their target audience at the right time within the correct context. The way in which our clients market to potential audiences has to be meaningful to those who are reading it. Otherwise how else are you going to stand out from the competition and be heard above the noise?

So at IMS we create marketing campaigns with specific customers or personas in mind, and tailor the message to suit their needs.

Matching celebrities to your brand can be difficult depending on the industry you serve or the nature of your business.

Associating your brand with a celebrity might not be the best fit, but certain campaigns can benefit from associating with a local personality, industry influencers or supporting charities

 

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