By: Irena Kurtanjek, Head of Corporate Communications, Nestlé Adriatic
The new generation of communication platforms and the diversity of digital channels have created new opportunities for reaching your target groups, but at the same time opened up space for different, more creative ways to create content.
It is well-known that consumers today are much more researching about a product before making a purchase decision, and thus brought a fitting evolution to the sources where such information can be found to make an informed purchasing decision or to create and share certain attitudes.
When we add to this the information that more than 90% of people consider friends’ recommendations important, a new challenge is created for brands.
Content creators, digital influencers, are today an important part of the marketing mix. But who are they? How big is their actual impact on brands? How much freedom do they have in creating content for brands on social networks? These are just some of the issues that were debated at the recently held panel during the KOMference.
Content creators have become the “long arm” of brands. They can be brand’s influencers, who carry the brand’s message to the target audience, build trust between the brand and the public, and shape the popular opinion. The audience, mostly composed of Millennials and GenZ members, who are at the center of majority of digital campaigns, demand a more personal, more intimate relationship with brands. They don’t trust mass media, they want real-time information and credible sources (source: Mashable 2015). On these tracks the influencer marketing gained its steam, as it is one of the best ways to bring the brand closer to consumers of the new age.
Since we live in an era of “approved marketing”, where the user decides who to listen, when and what content to consume, selecting the right influencer helps the brand engage in dialogue with the audience, and to make passionate audiences into loyal consumers.
That is why influencer marketing is part of a marketing mix today, and is an important part of Nestlé’s own brand building. Creating high-quality and personalized content, passion and authenticity are key factors that we take into account when choosing the ambassadors we work with.
The results of the latest survey of the Croatian blogger and influencer scene, conducted by the Dialog komunikacije agency this year, showed that most of them (93%) are women, majority of them have a steady job along with their own online channels (61%), they are highly educated (75%), they have been active in this scene between three and five years (44%) and the vast majority (77%) continuously cooperate with between one and three brands.
Nestlé has made a big step back in the last two years in this regard. We note a significant increase in investment in this form of marketing, and this year, on average, 60% of our PR budget is allocated to this type of promotion. Thus, within the campaigns for NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto, Purina, FITNESS cereals and the project Vrtim Zdravi Film, in this year alone we’ve collaborated with more than 30 macro and micro influencers in Croatia.
The purpose of these collabs is two-way communication with consumers, encouraging consideration and creating partnerships with digital creators, leaving space for their creativity, freedom of expression, and authenticity.
When it comes to the future, the only thing that is certain is that the “digital in the business world” paradigm is outdated, and has been replaced by the “business in the digital world”. What will all this look like in the future remains to be seen.
