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How intelligent brands can influence the influencers
Today’s influencer landscape seems a far cry from the early days of blogging. But lessons learned over the years since – by influencers, their audiences and brand owners, alike – have created a fast-growing area of marketing which is little short of super-charged.
Back in the early and mid-Noughties, original thinkers and creators began blogging to express a point of view around topics that were often under or misrepresented by mainstream media. They were diverse, brave, authentic and highly entertaining – ranging from LolCats and the Gawker juggernaut via anonymous sex diaries to tech blogs and edgy celebrity comment.
It was the fashion bloggers, however, who performed a masterclass in building and maintaining loyal audiences by epitomising free expression to become a powerful, irresistible message to the masses. And pioneers like Style Bubble and Mademoiselle Robot were the early prototype of Zoella (below) and Jim Chapmans – who are the super-evolved social media stars shaping vibrant conversations and dominating popular culture today.
This evolution was powered by an explosion in social media; the rise of mega-influencers who, by straddling multiple platforms, enjoyed unlimited and immediate exposure to millions of fans hungry to be entertained; and the emergence of a new era of talent management epitomised by Zoella’s manager, Dom Smales, who founded Gleam Futures – the world’s first and largest digital-first talent management company.
Backed by Smales – a man who not only understood the cultural impact of the influencer but has arguably been key to driving it – talent began to have a major impact: changing the way people consume their entertainment; shifting power away from traditional gatekeepers, like magazine editors; and re-writing the rules of engagement for brand owner and influencer engagement.
This new generation of influencers does what it does for the love of it, not the money, says Smales. “They are very cognisant not to over-saturate their channels with branded content.” So Gleam Futures will turn down 90 per cent of the brand work offers that come through. Picky? Yes. Necessary? Smales says: “Too many brands are still making duff talent decisions and then losing faith in the effectiveness of the work being made. It’s a bit of a Wild West and we seek to professionalise it.”
What this boils down to is understanding that A-list talent is just that – people who are super-talented, highly professional and unfailingly authentic to their own brand and the audience they have spent years building. They choose wisely and when they commit, they do so 100 per cent. In short, they could give your average brand manager a run for their money because they are – whether or not they like to admit it – highly talented marketers.
Integrity and shared purpose are key to driving the right associations between brands and influencer talent and avoiding “duff talent decisions.”
Diageo Reserve Brands head of culture and communications Sam Newall (left) says: “If partnerships are explored with integrity it can lead to truly authentic and credible work, but you have to place shared values and brand purpose at the heart of what you’re doing. Get it right and you’ll be rewarded with advocacy, word of mouth and cultural relevance.
“By applying those rules of integrity and shared purpose, we can demonstrate the unique lifestyle associated with a brand to inspire audiences to participate and engage with us in a genuinely credible way. That’s the difference between landing our brands firmly and authentically in culture, and missing the mark entirely.”
Chanel is another brand to have cracked this authenticity conundrum and come out smiling. Realising that consumers are jaded with one-off celebrity endorsement, the brand took a clutch of the world’s most fashion-forward Instagrammers to Grasse, France to visit the Chanel flower fields and reveal the making process for their new scent. This was a huge success generating over 1,600 pieces of branded and influencer-created content, which gained over 900,000 likes in the first month of the campaign.
Everything Everywhere partnered 21 You Tube gamers famed for playing FIFA to create the Wembley Cup to promote its Wembley partnership and push its innovation creds. A ten-part branded entertainment series resulted; with minimal branding and much of the content housed on influencer channels. The strategy paid off: episode content views now exceed 20 million – 89 per cent of which was organic – and extra content generated a further 15 million-plus views.
Others are exploring micro-influencer opportunities. With smaller (though, often, just as enthusiastic) followings and fewer celebrity-style trappings, micro-influencers are lauded for their unprecedented levels of authenticity and effectiveness. But they also provide a welcome antidote to organic engagement rates – which, among larger audiences especially, are in serious decline.
While organic engagement with Kim Kardashian’s Instagram account levels out at 1.5 per cent or less, micro-influencers can achieve anything from 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent. Add to this the fact that micro-influencers are undamaged by over-exposure, still write passionately and authentically about the brands they love (not just those they are paid to work with), and tend to be more cost effective as they begin their careers, and bingo: you have brand bait.
All Saints, for example, asked customers to share an image of themselves wearing the brand under an initiative kicked off by mid-level influencers under the hashtag #ItsUpToYou, The content has seen huge spikes in social engagement and customer loyalty, reaching 17 million in organic reach.
Five common principles unite those brands now successfully harnessing influencers: By treating influencers like partners, they capitalise on influencers’ creativity. By reserving a proper budget, they build mutual loyalty and respect. To ensure a natural fit between brand and influence, they find a shared purpose – so building authenticity. They are strategic – building partnerships that are long-term, not one-off. And in the knowledge that the talent knows its audience best, they leave them the space and freedom to do what they do best.
Ria Campbell - Head of Content
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The pros, the cons and the risks of the 'creative gene'
My brother and I are both creative directors. Coincidence? Apparently not, as academics at the University of Oxford and Vrije University, Amsterdam are now telling us, that creativity was in our genes.
Their findings are based on testing identical twins who share the same genes and non-identical twins who have only 50% of their DNA in common, the researchers concluded that creative success is in part handed down.
My brother and I may not be twins but their findings clearly state that the influence genetics appear to have on creative professions is "substantial" and not just about "pure creative ability" as genes also influence the personal characteristics needed "to make an artistic life".
Now, I’m all for scientific endeavour, but this report made me feel uneasy. Creativity is one of the few remaining mysteries we humans have – it’s why creative jobs will be the last ones replaced by the robots. So why are we trying to decode it instead of cure cancer?
Well, one theory is actually quite inspiring. Genetic conditions like dyslexia and autism have long been linked to creativity. People with these supposed "learning difficulties" have an amazing propensity to see the world in a unique way and place an emphasis on how things "feel" rather than how they look or sound.
Mozart and Andy Warhol are thought to have been autistic, and Picasso and Steven Spielberg were and are dyslexic. These people manage to tap into our emotions in a way few others can, so proof that you are made of similar stuff could be something creative industries can use to help identify potential at an early age.
On the flip side, however, this could also create a kind of reverse elitism. Selectivity has been part of British culture since the year dot, especially in our class and education systems. So the suggestion of creativity as a birthright is incredibly dangerous and would have certainly effected mine and my brother’s chances.
We were born into what could be seen as a very un-creative environment – a low-income working class household with no books on the shelf, no art on the walls, no piano in the corner and definitely no discussions on cultural nuance over the dining table, although that was mainly because we didn’t have a dining table. We did, however, have inspiration.
There were crafters and grafters all around us – makers, bakers, knitters, hammer and nailers. They all had the ability to conjure up something from nothing. The women in our family were also great storytellers, providing us with a constant stream of spin, gossip and anecdotes covering anything from religion to how uncle Jimmy ended up in a Moroccan prison.
Nurture, we would argue, has definitely had a greater influence on our careers than nature. And, if there was a creative gene, our parents thankfully didn’t try to educate it out of us.
The thing that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, however, is the notion that creativity should somehow be understood or analysed in the first place, our industry’s obsession with how data can give us greater control and has powered the rise of programmatic, AI, ML and bots. Though incredible in their design and function they exist in the name of reduction and order – less to think about, speedier solutions, easier decisions – all of which prevent the conditions needed for creativity and invention.
This is why we’re now seeing a grand resurgence in our industry for creating "entertainment". We have long known that emotion is the trigger for action and while the media landscape has seen investment and advancement in platforms and services, the work that goes on them has been playing catch up.
Britain’s finest export is its creative industry. So let’s not allow attempts to deconstruct and formalise what creativity is and what it means to be creative to weaken that. Instead, let’s fight to make it weirder, funnier, more idiosyncratic. If they’re looking for a formula, let’s change the formula. If we’re all finding the same thing funny, create a new kind of comedy.
Fundamentally, the best ideas come from chaos and not knowing what’s coming next. Necessity isn’t the mother of invention, adversity is. That’s what makes it human.
Data can inform us, direct us and challenge us. But it can’t move us. The boffins may one day construct a robot that can have me in stitches explaining how it ended up in a Moroccan prison, but until then we need to do everything we can to make sure creativity retains the mystique it needs to thrive.
Glenn Smith - Creative Director
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Southpaw strikes gold again
Southpaw has been awarded CPD Gold accreditation for the second year in a row!
Congratulations to the Southpaw bears who have all managed to push themselves even further this year.
“CPD or Learning and Development as we refer to it as, is critical to the success of our business and therefore is at the heart of the culture at Southpaw. We know in order to succeed personally and as an agency, we need to continually enhance our knowledge and skills. We were all extremely proud to have achieved the IPA Gold award consecutively for the 2nd year running and hope to continue the trend in future years”. - Naomi Saxon, People and Culture Manager
Agencies awarded the IPA Gold certificate have to prove that they have made a thorough commitment to learning and an evident improvement to the lives of their agency staff and to the development of their business.
An agency must be able to demonstrate that CPD is at the heart of everything they do, providing a report that considers all aspects of the business strategy. Comments from the IPA concluded that “Southpaw is a very good example of how an agency demonstrates good CPD practice and how it can be a cornerstone of the development of the agency.
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Mid-Weight Creative Team
We’re looking for an ambitious duo who want to make a giant leap in their career.
This position is perfect for a team looking to take risks, try new things, win awards and be part of an amazing creative culture. And because we’re not a big, clunky agency, you’ll have the opportunity to own your clients, make an impact on our ways of working and have a better shot at being fast tracked to a senior position.
Our clients are some of the best in the business – Honda, Johnnie Walker, Rimmel London, Miller Genuine Draft, to name but a few. Our outputs range from impactful brand storytelling like our award winning Sanctuary campaign to disruptive digital content like our epic Africa Twin activation for Honda.
Fundamentally, we want you to help us move people. We believe that by making people laugh, cry, smile, shout and occasionally scream, we can make them click, share, buy and ultimately fall in love with our clients’ brands. And we know that by helping you achieve this, you’ll fall in love with us, too.
Southpaw are a creative agency growing in reputation. Our client list is the envy of many top ten agencies and our culture is renowned for being the antidote to the daily agency grind. If you’re full of talent, but you’re not getting the chance to show it off then come and have a chat.
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HONDA CIVIC TYPE R WIN
Southpaw has been appointed by Honda following a competitive pitch to create a digital and social first campaign for Europe, to support the launch of the new Honda Civic Type R, which will break in July.
First unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, the Honda Civic Type R is the latest addition to the all-new Civic family.
It is a completely redesigned model and the agency’s brief was to showcase the new car, especially amongst a younger conquest demographic.
We already work with Honda Motor Europe across cars, power products and motorcycles, and will now handle all digital, social and influencer content for the Type R’s launch.
The first execution in the Type R launch campaign will be a disruptive and motivational film that demonstrates Honda’s history and pedigree in an exciting and interesting way that will attract and satisfy both loyalists and new conquest alike.
“In a sector known for pushing boundaries to reach new audiences, it is critical for the new Type R to really stand out,” says Tom Poynter, Managing Director.
“The automotive category is in abundance of highly engaging and immersive content experiences and our pitch response was to really push Honda further than they have gone before. We are looking to move people from digital to the forecourts and our content solution will be at the heart of that customer experience.”
Adds Fabrice Esteve, Marketing Communications (Automobiles) Department Manager, Honda Europe: “Our brand new Civic Type R is engineered to be the most engaging hot hatch on the market. As launch in Europe will mainly focus on digital and social, our primary goal was to create surprising and emotional content to illustrate Honda brand DNA through this iconic model. Southpaw has succeeded in capturing the essence of Type R, and I believe this campaign will drive desirability and engagement for the Honda Civic range and the Honda brand.”
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Justin Cooke joins Southpaw as Non-Executive Director
Justin Cooke, former founder and CEO of WPP Digital-owned global digital agencies Fortune Cookie and POSSIBLE, has joined creative communications agency Southpaw as non-executive director.
A highly-connected digital and tech advisor, influencer and investor, Cooke is currently a venture partner at technology investor Northzone.
In his new role he will work alongside Tom Poynter, Group Managing Director at Southpaw, and Southpaw’s management team to build the business further and extend its already established relationships with clients including Honda, Diageo, Friesland Campina and PZ Cussons.
Southpaw has been working to accelerate its growth into new categories as well as an evolved service offering as it maintains its focus as the European hub for Tokyo-based holding company Hakuhodo. Says Poynter: “We are delighted that talent and experience of Justin’s pedigree is joining the board of Southpaw."
“It further proves that while London has a diverse array of agency services, there is a continued groundswell with the rise of non-London agencies that are building new and progressive business models in order to service clients that need something different to the mainstream."
“I have known Justin for many years and I am delighted that we are going to get the chance to finally work together. He has gone through the learnings of growing an agency at pace and will bring a wealth of experience to aid us on our journey.”
Aside from his current role at Northzone, Cooke is also a non-executive director of social learning platform Future Learn, Big Clever Learning and Nile and sits on the No. 10 Down Street, The British Museum and Age UK digital advisory boards.
Having discovered digital media while studying drama at the University of Manchester, Cooke worked for the BBC, Universal Music and United News & Media before founding Fortune Cookie in 1997 which he sold to WPP in 2012 before joining POSSIBLE in 2012.
Says Cooke: “With a senior management team, top-level creative capabilities and a growing roster of global clients that any agency would kill for, Southpaw is not only punching above its weight, it is living proof of the vision, ambition and sheer talent that can exist in and out of London agencies. I am delighted to be working with them and am excited to be part of their next stage of the agency’s development."
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Why content activism can save brands from the tyranny of always-on
Let's replace the always-on content approach with one where you don't say anything unless it's meaningful and backs the brand purpose.
Reactions from brands on Twitter to the recent Oscar envelope debacle told a story about their obsession with the always-on content approach.
Specsavers won plaudits for a quick witted and relevant response to the mix-up while Snickers’ got in there with its own rather more forced "you go la la when you’re hungry" jump on the bandwagon.
Neither tweet is likely to have harmed the brand but they are indicative of a situation where the noise levels from brands on social media are out of control.
We’re all guilty of it. All of us working in social media for the past decade have, from time to time, churned out content we’re not proud of. But, while there were good reasons for this preoccupation with always-on social content activity five or six years ago, consumers are no longer wowed by brands leaping into their social feeds, they’re used to advertisers talking to them and tend to respond with an irritated "why are they selling to me?" attitude.
The always-on focus shifted up a gear with activity from the FMCG sector, notably from Oreo, KitKat and Skittles, which provided a twist on current events by overlaying reactions with creative insight. But there was a dark side to this because, for every success, there were many content plans that flopped.
Now it’s time for a sea change in content thinking. A move towards what I term "content activism" will stop the churning out of content and lead to a focus on relevance and quality.
Let’s replace the always-on content approach with one where you stop, take a minute, and don’t say anything unless it’s meaningful and backs the brand purpose.
The need for this shift is driven by the big changes in social media over the past ten years. Growing out of the early iterations of Facebook and Twitter, social media was initially conversation and copy-led, a community discourse around a big current topic that saw brands grow followers by being involved in the conversation.
But things have moved on from the days where Facebook had few photos, let alone video. Now the success of Instagram highlights that social media content is propelled by the highest quality visuals and relevant, brilliantly produced film.
Content activism requires changes from both brands and agencies, starting with the acceptance that social content needs to be brought into the strategic mix, with content directors working alongside the rest of the team to ensure it’s not just something that’s spat out at the end of the line.
Embracing this also requires an acknowledgement that social has grown creatively and strategically, requiring the resolution of the industry-wide tension between the advertising ‘big idea’ and social media’s journalist edge.
This will be achieved through actions such as applying greater energy and thought to social content, making photo shoots relevant for Instagram and other social channels, rather than simply repurposing poster or brochure shots.
Greater rigour and action around the process will deliver results for brands.
Those looking for examples to follow could do worse than watch what Paddy Power does with its tone of voice and follow the high-end fashion brands Burberry, Chanel, and Hermes, which have nailed it in terms of creating the brand and editorial mix required to deliver compelling social content. And here at Southpaw we've worked with Ciroc Vodka and Mario Testino to create content activity that is beautifully shot as well as relevant.
Above all though, my advice would be to look beyond the advertising world for inspiration. Check out what the magazine editorial teams, the artists, and the designers are doing on Instagram.
It’s a world away from the tyranny of the always-on content plan and focuses on giving audiences what they want rather than attempting to solve big business challenges every day.
Ria Campbell - Head of Content at Southpaw.
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Adland's borders reach further than London
Drop the regional tag and give the marketing and ad companies outside the capital their fair share of the limelight.
Brexit has posed a difficult problem for the UK ad industry in the past week. On the one hand, Theresa May promised in the government's white paper to make Britain a "champion of free trade" and to ensure "the freest and most frictionless trade possible in goods and services" when we begin our exit from the single market.
On the other hand, a new survey by industry think tank Credos found 62% of ad businesses said Brexit has hurt their outlook, with more than a fifth claiming to have lost business or contracts following the referendum result.
The prime minister may not have given away much more than had previously been said in parliament, but one thing we know for sure is that Britain will not be able to rely on London as the centre of its industry anymore when we do quit the single market.
It will be time for businesses across the country to be recognised – and in the marketing and ad industry, it's high time companies outside of the capital got their fair share of the limelight.
I'll admit that I used to be one of the London-centric snobs of the industry, but after 20 years of working and living in the city, I moved to Tunbridge Wells. That's when I realised I had no appreciation for how the others lived. The people who didn't fancy the commute into London every day, the people who didn't fancy just being a number in a larger advertising network. The people who wanted to be part of something that could be bigger and better without all the bureaucracy and red tape getting in the way.
Things changed for me when I was on paternity leave, and, bleary eyed with my first child in one hand and my phone in the other, I Googled marketing agencies in the south east of England. I was stunned by the number of quality creative businesses that wanted to say hello.
What I quickly discovered about being in a marketing business outside of London is that it definitely requires a different mindset. You have to box clever to compete with London-based agencies and to make your mark in the category just to get noticed.
There are two main challenges to your business not having a postcode in the capital, the first being able to attract talent.
There are so many marketing professionals who commute into London every day from places like Kent who have no idea there are quality advertising businesses to join on their doorstep that could service their dreams of a good work/life balance a whole lot better by working closer to where they live.
The second challenge is getting new business, which is hampered by intermediaries wanting to pigeon-hole you into a regional role with a lower spend, and some potential clients perceiving you as being cheaper and not talented just because your offices aren't in the city.
It can be bloody hard graft to get on the long list then even harder when convincing potential clients that you should be on the short list.
The reality is that the cost of living in London is simply unmanageable for a lot of workers, especially when they want to get onto the property ladder or have a family.
House prices are growing faster than salaries are in the capital, so as people move out of London for the sake of living costs – whether they are young talent or senior marketing talent – it is simply misguided to assume that people who choose to work outside of London are of a lesser standard or that their work is less valuable.
And whether you voted for Brexit or not, there's one sentiment that came out of the leave campaign that cannot be ignored – people and businesses outside of London want to be heard and valued just as much as the voices in London are.
Let's hope that our exit from the EU – in whatever form it ends up taking – creates a more level playing field for businesses across the whole of the UK for once.
Tom Poynter - Managing Director at Southpaw.
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Project Managers
We are looking for talented project managers to join our growing department. We are building team of specialists in delivery of integrated campaigns who have the skills, the experience and the personality to take on any given project and be the fulcrum for communication between every department and individual in the agency.
The variety, scope and scale of the projects that we take on is growing all the time and we are delivering everything from press, OOH campaigns, websites, social media strategies and content, to film and photography assets. In this role you will be the inter-connecting glue between each department in the agency from client service, planning, creative, technology and finance/admin.
You will ideally have 1-2 years of experience working in a project management role with a solid knowledge of project delivery and a good understanding of how integrated creative agencies operate. In particular experience of producing film and photographic content would be an advantage.
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Why 2017 Will Mark the Death of the Millennial
2017 has to be the death of the millennial…. at least the term.
It is an out of date term that doesn’t describe the different characteristics of a complex, multi-segmented audience. Brands feel out of touch if they don’t have it on an agency brief, agencies are getting away with delivering average work addressing a hugely diverse audience and people born from the year 1980 see themselves being able to give much more to society than their internet savvy, narcissistic, selfie influencer demanding instant gratification label… and breathe!
Consumer lifestyles no longer fit neatly into marketers’ tick boxes. With the rise of an ageless society, the death of age-driven segmentations and broad terms like ‘millennials’, they’re going to face growing challenges. It’s now time for brands and agencies to shift their focus to searching for common behaviours across less rigid lines, acknowledging that millennials, Gen Y, Boomers, etc. don’t fit precisely into one group.
No doubt there is some common ground between people that fit within the age demographic, but as marketers we have to work harder at working with our clients in being more forensic with who we wish to engage with, why we wish to engage with them, defining the audience’s role in our brand ambition and then taking a multi-tiered approach to creative messaging and delivery.
Southpaw is owned by the Japanese global advertising network Hakuhodo, and we benefit from being romanced by them on different planning methodologies. When building strategies and creative campaigns to engage with multiple audiences, they start from an interesting place. They have a philosophy called sei-katsu-sha, which means ‘living person’, and is quite different from the Japanese word for consumer, ‘shohisha’, which limits the person to the act of consuming or buying. In the western world, I fear we focus too much on the shohisha.
The sei-katsu-sha insight expresses a more holistic view on a person, including an individual’s lifestyle, preferences, dreams, ambitions and behaviour. It sounds simple, but we say that most consumer research is like a painting of people in which the artist has forgotten to fill in the faces. For advertisers, what tends to be missing is the most important piece - a true understanding of the people they're trying to connect with.
So the next time you receive a brief with an audience profile of ‘targeting millennials’, please stop and ask what that means. Our industry needs to keep delivering brave and engaging creativity, inspired by a more holistic understanding of consumers that goes beyond just demographics, rather than producing mediocre work to a generalised grouping of individuals.
Tom Poynter, Group Managing Director, Southpaw
#millennials#thought-piece#thought leadership#consumers#segmentation#southpaw agency#influencer#targeting millennials#brief#pitch
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Southpaw launches Charles Worthington’s first ever brand campaign
We are super excited to share Charles Worthington’s first ever brand campaign ‘Hair Histories’.
We have helped Charles Worthington move away from product and tactical campaigns to focus on their first ever brand campaign after they appointed us as their lead strategic and creative agency earlier this year. We’ve developed an emotive and personal campaign for the iconic British brand, to build brand equity and reconnect with their consumers.
Challenging the typical product focussed campaigns that Charles Worthington and their competitors have run in the past, we have focussed on using an emotional hook to connect with women and encourage them to find a product solution to help them love their hair and feel more confident.
“Southpaw were tasked with developing a campaign that feels unique in a crowded market place, whilst building brand sentiment and resonating with Charles Worthington’s brand values. Working with Bespoke Banter, Charles Worthington’s production partner, we developed a strategy built on the platform of “Love your Hair” and articulated this through a creative story board, depicting women’s memories associated with different hair styles in their life, which Bespoke Banter brought to life.” – Claire Lambell, Senior Account Director, Southpaw.
"When great strategy is coupled with a strong and original concept - in this case the relationship between your life and your hair - the results are always surprisingly good.
Visually we opted for uncluttered compositions in order to maintain authenticity and to encourage a sense of intimacy between viewer and subject. The finished films were received warmly by audiences and we’re delighted to have been part of the journey." - Sam Orams, Chief Creative Officer, Bespoke Banter.
“Southpaw demonstrated a true understanding of our brand and the market challenges we face, developing a strong strategic and creative response, which will help us demonstrate our brand point of difference and give us really interesting and creative opportunities moving forward.
The team at Bespoke Banter worked tirelessly and came to the table with some great ideas on how to bring the creative to life with our film. We’re really excited and proud of the end result and already seen a very positive response since launch.” – Katie Barker, Head of Product Development & Marketing, Charles Worthington.
The ‘Hair Histories’ campaign launched at the end of August, supported across all digital channels, as well as social and lifestyle sites. To date, the campaign has received over 1.5m views!
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A trio of senior appointments
Following a successful run of pitch wins and a super start to Q4, we have made a trio of new senior appointments in the past month, to help drive the next phase of our business strategy and growth plans.
Joining the agency as a Senior Creative, Barney Ashton brings with him the perfect mix of creative calibre and agency experience. After working at some of London’s top ATL and digital agencies (JWT, AMV and Saatchi & Saatchi London to name a few), gaining international experience across some of the world’s most progressive brands, Barney will be reporting into our Creative Directors Craig Roderick and Glenn Smith and will be leading the day to day creative outputs across a select range of clients within our Automotive and Alcohol portfolios. Barney said, “I’m really excited about joining Southpaw and making the most of the fantastic creative opportunities their client list offers.”
To support the ever growing demand for our strategic services, we have appointed Nicole Kirkland as Senior Planner, who has experience of working with prestigious brands such as Western Union, Mizkan, Mondelez, Pernod Richard and Scotts during her time at McGarry Bowen. With expertise in FMCG, Nicole also spent time at TBWA\London, JWT London, Leagas Delaney, working with clients including Mars, Nestle Rowntree, Knorr, Baxters and Ferrero. Nicole said, “Southpaw has been going from strength to strength, and it’s an exciting time to be joining an agency with so much potential. I’m looking forward to getting to grips with such a diverse and interesting client portfolio as well as working with some talented and passionate people.”
Finally, Rob Goodall joins the agency as Business Director, bringing with him a wealth of experience across telecoms, consumer electronics and finance, from time spent at agencies such as SapientNitro and more recently iris Worldwide, where Rob worked across brands such as Barclays and Barclaycard and led the Global Samsung account. Rob said, "I am absolutely delighted to be joining Southpaw. They offer an exciting and unique proposition for clients and have had amazing success over the last 3 years which I look forward to contributing to in the future".
Tom Poynter, Group Marketing Director said, “Since our brand launch in April 2014, we have been executing consistently against a 5 year plan. As we continue to achieve growth and scale, it is critical we bring in the right talent mix to deliver a creative product that is recognisable to Southpaw. Barney, Nicole and Rob are all seasoned players and will be a huge part of building our agency to the next level both creatively and culturally.”
#new starters#recruitment#senior hires#agency life#creative#planning#business strategy#client porfolio#FMCG#southpaw agency
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Is Authentic Content Dead?
A hush descends, our protagonist steps into the spotlight:
“Step inside and make yourself comfortable on this hand-woven rug. Sip on our limited production dandelion-infused gin and watch as our founder (bearded, intense, faintly righteous) crafts this morning’s foraged treasures into a feast for the senses...”
*awe and applause*
Sound ridiculous? It is. But like an axe slicing through artifice, the discourse of authenticity marketing has become ripe for parody. And that’s a problem for brands in the eternal fight for relevancy.
Over-reliance on brand heritage, assertions of craftsmanship and all the other formulaic badges of credibility are starting to look meaningless. What once felt reassuring and trustworthy - against a backdrop of the financial crash and the hopeful, well-meaning flourishing of the original hipster - now looks like a clichéd marketing illusion.
Being truly authentic doesn’t mean donning a leather apron and acting the part of a tortured artisan. Consumers are clued-up and easily bored by irrelevance and gimmicks. We marketers must give them a believable story they find interesting and pertinent. Because if we don’t, they will switch off.
The rise of the deletist consumer is by now a well-documented phenomenon that brands must tackle head on if they are going to reach their audience in a meaningful way. According to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, almost half of US internet users and 39% of UK internet users have installed ad-blocking software on at least one device. They’re deleting emails before reading them, unfollowing brands on social media and turning down (or off) the amount of native content advertising they are exposed to – all to get away from too many messages coming at them from all angles. It’s undeniably a problem I have witnessed first-hand. Trying to be topical, relevant and entertaining enough to beat the evermore ruthless algorithms, and land a plethora of brand messages… it’s a tough brief that fatigues content and creative teams as much as it does consumers.
So how do we tell those believable, truly authentic stories without falling into lazy marketing traps and risking being permanently blocked by our audience?
I believe 5 key principles can guide us all to finding and perpetuating brand truths that produce genuinely honest, self-aware and meaningful content.
Find your purpose. What makes your product or service right for now? How does it help, entertain or inform your audience right now? Find that insight, then creatively and consistently execute against it.
Know your audience. Like, really know them. Get the right tools to build detailed portraits, track when and where they’re online, and how they are engaging. Crunch that data, track your results and then start all over again.
Refresh yourself. Just when you think you’ve nailed your content strategy, upset your status quo. Question your success, stop what isn’t working and move onto new ways of bringing your purpose to life.
Know when to shut up. The ‘always on’ content strategy is outdated and flawed. If it were a person, you would have told them to piss off years ago. The same goes for your brand.
Collaborate. Work with Influencers who genuinely buy into your purpose and like your ideas. Consumers will see that and respect you for it.
So who’s getting it right? To finish, here are 3 brands I recommend you look up.
First, to fashion. Chanel, one of the oldest fashion houses, adopts subtle cues to remind us of their history whilst pulling us relentlessly into the here and now. Take for example Lily-Rose Depp: hot pop culture property and the newest ‘face’ to be announced some 24 years after her mother, Vanessa Paradis, was chosen to star in the Coco Chanel ‘birdcage’ advert (which, incidentally, briefly shows the ghost of Coco Chanel herself). Collaboration and forward-thinking at its best.
Next take LEGO. A firm childhood favourite and despite approaching 90-years old, still as spritely as it ever was. Not for them to rumble on about how long they’ve been around. Constant product innovation, often aligned to topical cultural phenomenon like Star Wars, Disney and comic books is combined with an ever-young approach to showing off the joy that an hour or two playing LEGO can bring. Take a look at their social channels to see what I mean.
And finally, to the booze category and St. Stefanus, a beer brewed by a Belgian monastic order since the 12th century. Dig into their website and this is a brand steeped in religious and sociological history, with more rights than most to labour the obvious heritage and craft cues. But this brand is no antique: instead we find entertaining food pairing ideas, beer geek info on how to age and enjoy your beer at home and critically, where you can walk into a bar and actually drink the stuff.
So - if ever there was a time to dump that phoney dandelion gin in the flowerbed where it belongs and pick up a restorative pint of marketing reality, this is it.
Cheers.
Ria Campbell, Head of Content Activism
#content activism#content#marketing#authenticity#consumer#deletist#brand#creative-thought-piece#thought-leadership
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Southpaw shakes things up with Yazoo
Yazoo, the flavoured milk drink owned by Friesland Campina, appointed Southpaw as lead strategic and creative agency in April 2016.
Since then, we have defined a new strategic positioning and creative platform, called ‘Shake it up’, to help the brand engage with millennials. The new positioning will establish Yazoo as the brand that can shake up your viewpoint and be an antidote to all things boring and predictable in the world.
The first campaign under the ‘Shake it up’ platform launched on the 25th July and is running across social media platforms, using filmic assets and has gained over 1.5 million views in its first week.
Tom Poynter, Group Managing Director at Southpaw, said; “We are hugely excited about the Yazoo win and the opportunities to bring our FMCG knowledge to bear in such a competitive sector. Yazoo is a terrific brand and the client is very open to innovative ideas and ways of working, which gives us room to create some disruptive campaigns that can really shake up the flavoured milk category.”
Check out our Shake It Up film, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CJ9SM--Zzs
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3 Clever Case Studies: Brands Winning Over Millennials on Snapchat
Snapchat is the rapidly rising star of the social platforms. From the teen-heavy ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ messaging app of yester year, to the powerful storytelling platform of today - broadcasting ‘snaps’ (short videos and photos linked to create a story) is the favoured way for so many to create and be entertained.
Before deep diving into examples of how brands are succeeding, here’s some interesting statistics that back up the popularity assertions made in the opening statement:
Snapchat has 150 million people using the service each day.
60% of those users are between the ages of 18 and 34 meaning that ‘Millennials account for 7/10 of snap chatters.’
That makes the 4-year-old messaging app more popular than Twitter, when measured by daily active users.
Snapchat video views are now greater than that of Facebook.
Credits to mediakix.
Those statistics are hard to ignore and so Snapchat should be front of mind for brands wanting to capture the attention of consumers, especially Millennials. Here are some of the brands, who in my opinion, have got it down.
Directed Snaps
Who: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
What: Cleverly leveraging Snapchat’s 10 second deletion rule, WWF illustrated the disappearance of endangered species around the world.
The Millennial consumer spends a lot of time posting pictures (mainly selfies) on social networks and is difficult to reach through traditional media. WWF used this insight to their advantage.
As soon as someone followed WWF on Snapchat, they received a #LastSelfie from the brand: a picture lasting nine seconds from an endangered animal, telling you this could be the last time you see it.
Snapchat users prolifically take screenshots to share on social media and again, WWF used this insight to encourage users to take action. #LastSelfie snaps urged recipients to screen shot the image and send it in an SMS to the brand. Alternatively, more committed users had the option of visiting the WWF website to find out about adopting an animal.
Results: WWF spurred the Millennial generation into action in an inspired way which raised awareness globally for the brand’s causes, while helping it collect funds faster than ever. WWF reached their monthly donation target in just three days.
Geofilters
Who: Cadbury (Mondelēz International)
What: Cadbury became the first confectionary brand in the UK to launch a Snapchat sponsored lens.
The campaign encompassed the brand’s top-selling bars: Crunchie, Wispa, Double Decker, Boost and Twirl.
Focusing on Crunchie - and in an effort to expand on their “Obey Your Mouth” campaign - Cadbury launched a geo-filter that morphed user’s faces into a golden disco ball to attract a new, much younger audience.
The campaign maximised the strength of the core range to appeal to two key audiences: awareness driving with a new millennial generation and reminding an existing, more mature and nostalgic consumer base of the selection of brands still available.
Results: This colourful, interactive geo-filter reached a new target market of Cadbury fans aged 16–24, through a medium they are very familiar with, resulting in over nine million views in a single day.
Discover
Who: Cosmopolitan (Hearst Magazines)
What: Cosmopolitan is the only channel that caters exclusively to Snapchat’s female audience and with 70% of that audience being female, it makes perfect sense to include a popular woman’s magazine as one of the 12 Discover channels.
Cosmopolitan claims it is averaging 3 million viewers a day on Snapchat Discover, a milestone that holds significant appeal to those advertisers wondering whether media channels on the messaging app are a desirable place to run their spots.
“Cosmo, which has been a Discover partner since the service launched in January 2015, has seen traffic go from approximately 1.8 million a day to 3 million viewers since the summer, according to Kate Lewis, VP and editorial director of digital at Hearst Magazines, which owns Cosmo.” Read the full article here.
Results: When asked whether the app is worth the editorial effort, Kate replied: “Oh my God yes. It’s been amazing, and we have about 3 million people a day on the Discover platform.”
As the case studies demonstrate, Snapchat holds enormous sway over a younger demographic. It currently boasts over 100 million daily active users, and that number is consistently growing. If you’re marketing to young people, there’s no hotter platform. What are you waiting for?
Amy Bonner, Marketing Executive
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Work Hard, Play Hard: Welcome to Agency Life
At Southpaw we’re dedicated to nurturing new talent. Our latest placement student Amy Bonner, shares her experience after a busy year at the ‘home of the brave’.
Why bother with a placement? The simple answer is because it matters. A year in industry, whether it is marketing, construction, computing or fashion, it all matters. It matters because you will probably never be required to learn so quickly, for the rest of your life.
After two years at Loughborough University studying Information Management & Business Studies, it was time to find a placement. Keen to gain experience in the advertising and marketing industry, I focussed on agencies in my home town and was delighted to be accepted by Southpaw, ‘the home of the brave!’
On my first day at Southpaw I was greeted by my line manager, who showed me around an office full to the brim with culture, creative minds and smiley faces, which I felt so lucky to be a part of.
I was made to feel at home pretty quickly and got stuck in to agency life. I had never previously had any experience of working in an advertising agency, so I was a little apprehensive. I can safely say that, before the first week was out, Southpaw had already set my future plans of working within the advertising sector in concrete! The induction scheme that all new starters undertake, gives you face-time with all members of the Senior Management Team (SMT) and key personnel, this allowed me to gain a broad understanding of the business in a short space of time.
For the first three months I joined Southpaw as an intern, mainly learning the ropes and getting to grips with the phrases and processes. After firmly getting my feet on the ground, I managed to secure a year placement contract as Marketing Executive, working in the Agency Marketing and New Business Department.
The experience that I have gained from working at Southpaw has been invaluable to me. My decision to choose a sandwich degree means that I will graduate from Loughborough with a Diploma in Professional Studies, with experience and knowledge in a field that I would like to further pursue in my future career.
I think it’s true that regardless of how much you think you have learned about your chosen career from your academic studies, you will learn so much more and acquire so many more skills from a work placement.
Southpaw has taught me everything from increased understanding and awareness of the world of work, accelerated personal maturity, self-awareness and ability to articulate skills and achievements, which will all help me on my way to finishing my degree. Ultimately it has taught me that ‘Difficult is worth Doing’.
Culture is at the heart of Southpaw, which I have really come to love. If there was ever a place that could define ‘work hard, play hard’, I’d give it to Southpaw. They have a dedicated culture team called ‘The Vibe’, who really push the boat out with everything from sporting events to summer parties.
There’s a real hands on approach to all our agency marketing projects and from my first day in the agency, I have been involved in, and helped to run, some of our big events. One of the most recent ones being the Royal Tunbridge Wells TEDx event, in which Southpaw were the headline sponsors.
Southpaw has increased my knowledge of the advertising industry and will allow me to make better informed decisions about my future career. I will start my final year at Loughborough University, confident in my abilities, leadership and teamwork skills and will be ready to dive head first into the advertising industry!
Amy Bonner, Marketing Executive
#PlacementYear#Placement#Opportunity#AgencyLife#Marketing#Advertising#NewJob#WorkHardPlayHard#University#YearInIndustry#Experience#Work
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What can brands learn from Pokémon Go?
Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm. There have been stampedes in Central park, people have quit their jobs to go catching full time and Twitter has been well and truly taken over. This is the type of craze brands dream of being part of, let alone creating themselves.
However in a world where it is harder than ever to stand out in market, this is exactly the type of experience they need to craft. And by following a few simple principles, brands could evolve into something even greater themselves.
The first major strength of Pokémon Go is its accessibility. Anyone with a smartphone can play, it’s free to download and the game itself is straightforward to navigate. In the 21st century brands need to connect with consumers immediately or face losing out, especially when it comes to Millennials/Gen K who have the attention spans shorter than goldfish.
Another key to the success of the app is that it embraces technology. This is a massive win for Augmented Reality and has proven that in the right form, the masses want to interact with technology of this calibre. A number of brands have delved into this world such as Lacoste who gave shoppers a ‘virtual try-on experience’ and Honda who created an app that allowed the user to place the Africa Twin bike in an environment of their choosing. After the quick success of Pokémon Go it’s clear that there is market for all kinds of brands to join the party and make this technology even more mainstream.
The most heart-warming outcome of this craze is how a community has grown both in the ‘real’ world and online. This is an app that is bringing people together; friends are socialising whilst playing the app and are even meeting new people whilst out on their Pokémon adventures. Online sharing has also gone into overdrive. In fact the volume of Pokémon Go tweets (15.3 million) surpassed ‘Brexit’ related tweets in the week of the referendum (11.7 million) and were over double that of ‘Euro 2016’ (7.5 million) in the first week of the tournament. Deep down humans crave to be part of something, so anything that facilitates that is going to be a winner. One example of this is the Nike+ running website/app that allows runners to train, track progress and stay motivated with like-minded people. The longevity of the platform (launched in 2006) proves what a winner community is.
The jewel in the Pokémon Go crown is that it has a higher purpose – it encourages exercise. If you don’t go out and pound the pavement, you’re not going to get very far. Finally a video game has arrived that inspires getting fresh air. If brands have a higher purpose, for example TOMS giving shoes to children in need, then it’s much more likely that you’ll be championed by the masses, make more sales and help people in the process.
The final and most important Pokémon Go ingredient is that it unleashes your inner child. Pokémon has been around for over 20 years and has in that time created an incredibly strong connection with its fans. What this app has done is give millions of adults the chance to live out their childhood fantasies and actually go out, explore and have an adventure catching Pokémon. This also ties in with recent findings that millennials are becoming increasingly nostalgic and are longing for the good old days. With millennials also reportedly being the most stressed out generation, it’s no coincidence that going out to play is helping to boost their moods and lower anxiety. Brands that can tap into this part of the consumer psyche, will achieve lifetime loyalty.
Brands have much to learn from Pokémon Go. To create a craze as famous as Pikachu they will need to consider taking the following steps:
Be accessible
Embrace technology
Create a community
Have a higher purpose
Unleash the inner child
Brands that follow these steps may just end up catching them all.
Tom Primrose, Planner
#Pokemon#PokemonGo#Brands#Experience#Accessibility#Millenials#AugmentedReality#VR#VirtualReality#Brexit#Nike#Lacoste#Toms#Childhood#Nostalgia#Advertising
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