Billboards, magazines, television commercials — anywhere you look, back-to-school brands are eager to get your attention. But smarter brands have already figured out that social media is the way to go and activating influencers can better connect you to that younger generation that ignores other media.

As a tier one service provider for influencer marketing we’re often asked to lead an influencer campaign for a political candidate or ballot issue. We politely decline. Sure it’s tempting and at first glance, you’d think influencers would be perfect political spokespeople.

Rumpled CFOs from time immemorial (or at least 1960) have raked their fingers through thinning hair trying to understand the value of “awareness campaigns”. CMOs, chin forward, lay out a dizzying buffet of data designed to fill you up fast, so you keep your seat, feeling guilty at whatever-it-was you just ate. Relief was on its way, though.