Advocacy and Influencer Marketing 2.0 in a changing world

With the rise of digital media, the way in which products and services are marketed has changed dramatically. The traditional model of marketing, in which companies promote their products through advertising and other forms of promotion, is no longer as effective as it once was.

In recent years, there has been a shift towards marketing strategies that focus on building relationships with customers and influencers. This approach, known as advocacy marketing or influencer marketing, is based on the idea that customers are more likely to buy a product or use a service if they are recommended by someone they trust.

The changing consumer landscape, the rise of social media, and the increasing demand for authenticity and transparency have led to a new paradigm shift now known as Advocacy and Influencer Marketing 2.0. This type of marketing is no longer limited to usual influencers such as celebrities or media personalities; it now encompasses a wide range of content creators and micro-influencers who have the power to impact consumer decisions. By utilizing these industry leaders in their respective fields, brands are able to create an online presence that resonates with consumers on a more personal level. Instead of simply relying on influencers for promotional purposes, brands now seek to cultivate partnerships based on shared beliefs and mutual trust.

Furthermore, this new approach acknowledges the importance of advocacy from within the brand's community. Brands are actively engaging their customers and employees to become advocates and brand ambassadors, leveraging their authentic experiences and stories to amplify their message.

In Advocacy and Influencer Marketing 2.0, metrics such as reach and impressions take a backseat to more meaningful indicators like engagement, sentiment, and conversions. Brands are investing in tools and technologies that allow them to measure the true impact of their advocacy and influencer campaigns, enabling them to make data-driven decisions and optimize their strategies.

Overall, Advocacy and Influencer Marketing 2.0 represents a shift towards authenticity, community building, and meaningful relationships in a changing world. It emphasizes the power of genuine connections, leverages the influence of both external influencers and internal brand advocates and embraces a more holistic approach to measuring success.

Anshu Dubey Sr. Group Head
Communication & Strategy
Anshu Dubey

People Who Joined AGL in the Month of April

We will come across a lot of new faces when we are back. Here is a list that will help you get acquainted with their names as of now:

The Star Performers for the month of March are:

Brand
Dabur Chyawanprash
Communication:
With the crescent Moon ruling over social media, Dabur Chyawanprash shows a mosque door with a Chyawanprash bottle and takes a different route to wish their audience a Happy Eid.
Brand
HDFC Bank
Communication:
HDFC Bank grabs attention and educates its audience with the famous idiom "don't put all your eggs in one basket" on Easter day.
Brand
McDonald's India
Communication:
The much-anticipated movie Barbie, which pays homage to the iconic Barbie doll, has been making waves on social media. As promotion for the film, Mattel has released an interactive poster that showcases each Barbie based on its value. McDonald's India jumped into the imaginary world and promoted their burger.
Brand
Swiggy
Communication:
April 1st didn't just have people's WhatsApp messages filled with pranks; some brands like Swiggy added to the fun by showing a realistic scene where everyone gets pranked, whether it's April Fool's Day or not.
Brand
Dettol India
Communication:
Clear, crisp and impactful creative from Dettol India sums up the relationship of siblings in one go and proves that you only need to use a few words to impress your audience.

Industry Updates

How AI Is Reshaping India’s Fintech Industry

Artificial Intelligence has found a stronghold and may cause disruption is investing. Most investors in India choose the mutual fund route for equity investment. The reason is that equity is risky, and they lacked the necessary skill set to invest directly in the market. Another option for investors is to opt for traditional advisors and Portfolio Management Services (PMS). However, these services are beyond the reach of retail investors. We have quite a few AI investment tools available in the market that investors can use for investment in the stock market at affordable rates. Such AI tools hold the power to disrupt the mutual fund industry and advisory services in India (and perhaps globally).

#ArtificialIntelligence #Fintech #Investing #AI

What happens when influencers take the de-route?

An influencer makes the audience aware of why a product or service is worth their time and money and this mode of marketing sure has done wonders for several brands but what happens when they start talking about the ‘cons’ rather than the ‘pros’. Well, that seems to be the new trend – ‘de’influencing. The most recent row was over a content creator ‘calling out’ Cadbury Bournvita for the excessive amount of sugar in it. The post has, however, been taken off with the person issuing an apology and clarifying that there was no intention of infringing upon the trademark. Cadbury Bournvita is learnt to have sent a legal notice to ‘Foodpharmer’ Revant Himatsingka over the video where he has claimed that the brand doesn’t stand for ‘’Taiyari Jeet Ki” and instead it means “Taiyari Diabetes Ki”.

#Influencer #DeInfluencing #CadburyBournvita #FoodPharmer

#NotFair campaign aimed to promote inclusivity

In a world where fairness is equated with beauty, a brand like Himalaya Wellness Company is taking a path less traveled by launching its #NotFair campaign, encouraging a tolerant and inclusive definition of beauty. Himalaya recently launched the campaign #NotFair in collaboration with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team in Women's Premier League (WPL). The campaign aimed to promote inclusivity and encourage people to embrace their natural skin tone, rather than feeling pressured to conform to societal beauty standards. It was also to promote self-love by appreciating the individuality of every beauty, irrespective of skin color.

#NotFair #MarketingCampaign #RoyalChallengers #HimalayaWellnessCompany

ReBid launches AI assistant for ad campaigns

ReBid has announced the launch of a new GPT-based AI assistant for advertisers. This AI offering will analyse past campaign data from over 20 ad tech platforms as it aims to provide advertisers with insights across multiple metrics and dimensions with just a few prompts. The AI assistant will also help advertisers make data-driven decisions, optimise campaigns and improve ROAS (return on ad spend) across platforms such as Google, Meta, Twitter, LinkedIn, DV360 ads, and other programmatic platforms. Rajiv Dingra, founder and CEO, ReBid, said, "This new AI assistant will revolutionise the way advertisers analyse and optimise their ad campaigns. With just a few prompts, advertisers can access deep insights that would have previously taken days or even weeks to uncover.”

#ReBid #AI #AdvertisingCampaign #CampaignAssistant

Repayment collection in India is a new field of tech innovation

It is becoming something of a post-pandemic mantra in India: A lender whose portfolio of unsecured retail loans is not increasing by 50% annually is not trying hard enough. All kinds of bank and non-bank lenders are heaping credit on household balance sheets even though the consumer economy is fragile. A tiny minority is in great financial shape, but low-income earners are struggling with two-wheeler purchases and smartphone upgrades. Lenders have to make the most of this uneven K-shaped recovery, especially if the current crisis in US banking snowballs into something sinister. While it’s all very well to double down on consumer credit and extend it to subprime borrowers, the question is collection efficiency. How will they ensure repayments and prevent bad loans? The answer: technology.

#Repayment #TechInnovation #Loans #IndianFinance

Blink, it’s not gone: Ecommerce labour protests speak to the larger problem of not enough regular non-farm jobs

The strike by delivery executives of quick commerce platform Blinkit in the national capital region is another grim reminder of the wider economy’s job problem. The protest is over Blinkit’s revised rates and benefits that drastically reduce minimum earnings on orders. This isn’t the first such incident in recent times. Last year, food delivery platform Swiggy faced similar protests by its delivery executives across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai after it introduced a revised pay structure.

#Ecommerce #Blinkit #FoodDelivery #LabourStrike

Rahul Jain
Rahul Jain Senior Account Manager
E-Bux

AGL Cornerstone

Social Media Influencers - The Power and Impact
on Brands

The use of social media influencers has become one of the most successful strategies in today's digital marketing environment. In an evolving industry, it has become a game changer. In order to promote and increase the visibility of their products, brands utilize social media influencers. However, how effective is it? How do consumers perceive influencer posts? Is their content helpful and relatable?

The Lab42 survey found five out of ten social media users follow influencers. They influence brand sales every day by affecting their audiences' purchasing decisions.

What brands gain from social media influencers:

Strong brand connection

By sharing their own personal and emotional stories, influencers build strong connections. In contrast to conventional media, social media influencers aim to inspire. Different types of social media influencers impact people's lifestyles. Brand stories are integrated into social media influencers' stories. As consumers trust social media influencers, brands can communicate more effectively with them.

Brand Trust

Consider all the times you've dined in a restaurant. Did anything influence you? Have you had a friend dine at that restaurant and enjoyed it? Perhaps your friend was motivated by their favorite blogger!

We are influenced by people we trust, and influencers build trust. An unsatisfactory customer experience might change their trust. Forbes says micro-influencers are the future of digital marketing.

So are social media influencers worth it? In my opinion the right use of influencer marketing can boost visibility, sales, and reach new audiences. Still, only one-fifth of social media users make purchases based on influencer recommendations. It is important to develop real, genuine relationships with your audience in order to be successful with influencer marketing.

Uruswat Shukla