Consumer see, consumer do.

In a society where youths grow up idolising and being influenced by at least one celebrity, it is no surprise a common high-impact marketing strategy is celebrity endorsements. Another strategy one we tend to overlook or mistaken with celebrity endorsement is influence marketing. And before you ask, no, they are not the same thing.

Celebrity endorsement attaches the fame of the celebrity to a certain brand or product. In other words they shine a spotlight or create public visibility to the brands and products as idolised people tend to induce behavioural actions of conformity from idolisers. Brands tend to be selective with which celebrity they decide to turn into the face of their brand. They must select the most suitable celebrity whose status, personality and fanbase is most align with their message and target audience to enable maximum leverage to their business. Signage to a celebrity can increase sales up to 4% and even boost stock value.

Remember the BTS McDonald’s meal? That was a collaboration that really highlighted the benefits of celebrity endorsement. Although the meal offered the same existing items on the McDonalds menu and only two new sauce flavours, sales skyrocketed by 40.5% with the new face of the popular boy band BTS. But honestly, the Cajun sauce was to die for.

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So, what’s good about celebrity endorsements is the virality and reach that is easily acquired. However, celebrity endorsements usually are structured for only one-way communication, meaning interactions between the brands, promotor and consumers are unlikely.

Influence marketing on the other hand employs influential people who are well informed and highly knowledgeable on specific products. These influencers tend to have already built a community around them and use word-of-mouth (WOM) as a means of information transmission. This is very effective as WOM transmission from a specialised source tends to persuade people through trust and reliability as opposed to status and fame. Influencers normally in-touch with their community would further enable topic discussions and interactions on sponsored products creating more of an authentic review and promotion on the product.

Take Daniel Wellington, they grew their business into a multimillion-dollar company from predominantly partnerships with online travel and fashion influencers. They have employed influencers so effectively a 2018 study revealed Daniel Wellington to be the most cited brand on sponsored Instagram posts.

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Now, with more consumers turning to online retail and more social media content creators existing, influencer marketing is rapidly becoming a mainstream marketing tactic expected to grow to be worth $13.8 billion this year.

Are you an influencer? Have you ever been offered partnership or sponsorship with any online brands ? Comment below and let us know!