Introduction
Standout campaigns require innovation and data-driven strategies, especially because the market is so saturated. We recently had an enlightening conversation with Hannah Monds, the Head of EMEA at Influential, who shared her expertise and experiences in the industry.
Hannah Monds
With over 17 years of experience in media, Hannah Monds brings a holistic overview of the media landscape to her role at Influential. Her diverse background, spanning print, digital, and mobile, alongside her fluency in Spanish and Greek, offers her a unique perspective on the nuances and challenges of different markets across EMEA.
Fun Fact: Her EMEA Co-Head at Influential is her husband!
Influential's secret
Influential offers an end-to-end solution, including influencer vetting, brand safety assurance, and comprehensive measurement that extends beyond vanity metrics. By challenging Influential with their campaign goals, brands can expect tailored proposals and a true partnership in finding innovative solutions to achieve their objectives.
As many have said, the influencer marketing industry is saturated now, and how does Influential stand out? By being data driven of course. In our previous interview with Marco Ricci, CEO of Takumi, we emphasized the importance of making data-driven decisions in influencer marketing.
Influential has a strong advantage - being backed by a wealth of accumulated data on influencers and target audiences, enabling them to provide the best results for their clients. They go beyond vanity metrics like engagement rates and likes, focusing on credible and sophisticated brand measurement. We're talking about driving tune-in, online and offline sales, and foot traffic - the stuff that matters to help brands drive and measure their ROI.
The biggest mistake brands make is
Thinking they are doing enough to move the needle.
Trends change overnight, and social platforms are coming out with new products almost weekly. To keep up, brands need to be constantly innovating (also highlighted by Gary from Loudcrowd).
Influential comes in by adopting an omnichannel approach to influencer marketing. Such as taking influencer content and placing it on digital at-home platforms, and connected tv. Basically productizing ways brands can capitalize not just on influencer content but also digital, out-of-home, and other elements of media.
Recent challenges in influencer marketing
With conflicts, elections, TikTok bans, and major events like the Olympics and the Euros, brands are getting cold feet when it comes to social media marketing.
What is important is to work and partner with brands to understand what their concerns are, and to navigate the macro narratives in the news to execute responsible, brand-safe campaigns.
To create a successful influencer marketing team
You need to assemble the avengers of experts - influencer procurement specialists, creative masterminds, research analysts, and paid media wizards. And if you are operating within a niche vertical like beauty, you need to go all in. Once you’ve got your dream team, then you need to create a learning agenda. Working with the brand to understand their goals, KPIs, and strategies you'll be on your way to executing campaigns that'll make your competitors green with envy.
Influential's Most Memorable Campaign
Campbell’s Soup, a brand associated with the older generation, wanted to connect with Gen Z. Influential stepped in and worked their magic, resulting in a staggering 2.7 million incremental sales for the brand.
How did Influential do it?
Agile marketing. They capitalized on TikTok trends and leveraged those to resonate with GenZs. As we mentioned above, trends come and go so quickly, and to capitalize on them, you need a team that looks for those trends and reaches out to brands to capitalize on those trends. That is exactly what Influential did.
They reported the current social media trends weekly to these brands and if the brand wanted to engage in those trends to run a good campaign, content would be published within a week. This innovative and exciting approach was what made the campaign successful, and demonstrates their commitment to their partnerships with brands, to go beyond the campaign.
Watch the full interview here on YouTube, or listen to it here on Spotify
