Last Monday Celebrity Intelligence and Fashion Monitor sat down with Peter Knell (EVP, MD, ITB Worldwide), Danielle Snyder (Co-Founder, Dannijo), Sara Nathan (News Director, People.com) and Karen Robinovitz (Co-Founder and CCO, Digital Brand Architects) to discuss the rise of the alpha-connector and how brands can leverage the increasing #squadgoals phenomenon. Throughout the 50-minute session the panel identified Sophia Bush, Aimee Song and Lena Dunham as excellent examples of influencers who are leveraging their own power well, and they also tipped Gigi Gorgeous and Isabella Boylston as the ones brands should be working with in 2016.
Here are four more things we learned:
Storytelling is everything
The panellists collectively agreed that for any brand campaign to work there has to be a story to tell and the same goes for influencers promoting their own brands and by extension their own squads. Danielle Snyder asserted that not all squads may be as authentic as they seem but if certain 'friendships' fit into the story that either person is trying to tell then it works. Similarly Peter Knell likened the way his company goes about building a campaign around an influencer to casting a movie; 'you start with the director and then build out'. When advising the audience how to make the most out of an influencer led campaign, Karen Robinovitz warned how important having clear objectives and a clear activation strategy is - having 700,000 followers isn't enough. Sara Nathan concurred reminding everyone not to assume that the media is following the people you want them to; they need to be told about the story in order to tell it.
Be a leader not a follower
A question about the anti-influencer sparked a discussion about the benefits and risks of working with influencers on the rise. Karen told of how brands always 'say they want to lead but they want to follow' and while there is risk involved in working with a rising star because it may not work, when you do align yourself with someone who goes on to be an in-demand influencer, it's mutually beneficial; the brand looks like it knows what it's doing. Danielle echoed this statement by saying that when she is deciding who her brand should work with, she looks for women who stand for something, who are interesting to her personally, regardless of whether or not they are particularly influential, yet. She also said that she feels like corporate brands have not only the power but a responsibility to help people tell their stories. They are in a position to make change and help 'catapult new faces into the spotlight'.
Join a movement
Global Citizen was hailed as the perfect example of how charities are leveraging the influence of talent and their networks with its global stage for showcasing relationships and the bringing together of many different people who stand for different things. Speaking about ITB's work with different organisations, Peter spoke about how they are very interested in social entrepreneurship and cited a recent campaign with Chivas Regal as being particularly successful. The key to success? Complete alignment. He said that you need to understand clearly what the talent and the brand stand for individually in order to make it work. Sara adds that these movements are particularly interesting to the media and that it's amazing to watch a campaign grow and see new squads emerge.
It always comes back to authenticity
Are #squadgoals authentic? Peter believes so, stating that people won't be around people who they don't like. Karen agrees and said authenticity is the reason why it works and that the audience can tell when it's not real because it 'feels forced'. Speaking as an influencer herself, Danielle spoke about how she looks for a double authenticity when deciding which brands to work with, as the partnership has to not only align with her personal values, but also that of her brand and audience. This need for true authenticity does mean that she will say no to brands, but ultimately makes for better partnerships.