If Influencer Marketing hadn’t already made an impact on the marketing industry in years past, it surely did in 2016. In fact, new research says that 86 percent of marketers used this strategy last year and most marketers are looking to double their investment in 2017. Let’s talk about some brands we believe rocked the 2016 Influencer Marketing space.
Becca Cosmetics
We’ve seen this time and time again, consumers are constantly searching “how-to” for everything and reading that ‘this trend or that’ has forever changed the beauty industry. No longer do celebrities on TV commercials or billboard ads dominate the buying behaviors of beauty product consumers, but rather it’s influencers like Jaclyn Hill that are captivating audiences and moving them to buy products.
With a staggering 3 million YouTube subscribers and 2.9 million Instagram followers, this beauty blogger, in collaboration with Becca Cosmetics, gets our vote for an 2016 influencer marketing campaign done right.
Not only does Hill give her approval for Becca products after having used them many times, but the brand goes a step further in this campaign by working with the influencer to develop a product produced by both parties – Champagne Collection Face Palette. This relationship benefits both the brand and influencer. The influencer expands her profile, while the brand gets direct access to an audience already bought into the creator of the product.
Mercedes Benz
Beauty isn’t the only industry being transformed by social media influencers. Check out this collaboration between Mercedes Benz and Loki the Wolf Dog. This Mercedes Benz video captures the emotional appeal of its audience by telling the story of Loki and his owner Kelly Lund, inspiring others to get out and experience life in the outdoors, all while remaining only a background object in this cinematic A+.
Without even mentioning the features of the 2017 Mercedes GLS (the product which the video is effectively promoting), the car captivates viewers. In conjunction with this commercial, a 2016 Influencer Marketing hashtag campaign, #MBPhotoPass, also took to Instagram to showcase beautiful imagery of the experience, and produced another video using a HD 360 camera – giving viewers the sense that they could be sitting right next to Loki and Kelly on another adventure. Curious what other possibilities mixing 360-degree technology and influencers can do for your campaign? Read about how we’re equipping our influencers with the technology to stay ahead of the game.
TD Ameritrade
Putting video aside, brands like TD Ameritrade are tapping into the belief that real people as brand ambassadors can make a bigger impact on the way average people connect with them. TD Ameritrade developed a campaign to change the perceptions about the finance industry altogether. And instead of calling this an influencer campaign they are calling it a “movement”.
The Human Finance Project tells stories from real registered investment advisors (RIAs) about what it truly means to be an advisor. All of these stories were collected through a traveling storytelling booth and are now being shared on their website. Developing this movement put the most important part of the business at the forefront of the campaign – the people. By putting a face behind the name and using the right people to spread the word about what they do, TD Ameritrade is effectively building trust, awareness, and real engagement with the audience they’re aiming to attract.
Corona
Corona stretched its creative possibilities by teaming with fashion bloggers to showcase beer-inspired outfits to promote Corona Lite – the lower calorie version of the popular beer. Partnering with Gilt Groupe, an online flash sale site, the fashion influencers were shown on its website and Instagram wearing “Light Looks” curated by the fashion bloggers. In this case, their audience is being persuaded by these influential fashionistas that you can drink a delicious low-calorie beverage and look good doing it.
Western Digital
Lastly, let’s take a look at one of our own clients. Western Digital needed a cost-per-engagement pricing model to limit risk while requiring fast turnaround for influencer activation so they tasked Mattr with sourcing influencers through our Virtual Agent platform to create unique campaign content. We identified and activated influencers in the “parent” and “travel” target markets that were also available for travel and campaign stunts.
Western Digital authentically reached new target audiences by securing three influencers on extremely short notice. By the end of the campaign, the influencers had driven consumer engagement that far exceeded estimated engagement and impressions (15+% more than average influencer engagement), increasing brand awareness and conversation.
This is a great example of how knowing your audience, having an objective and bringing on the RIGHT social media influencers to promote your brand can produce effective results.
Which 2016 Influencer Marketing campaigns did we miss? Tell us your favorite brands and campaigns in the comments.