• 0

Marketoonist | Tom Fishburne

Marketoonist is the thought bubble of Tom Fishburne. Marketing cartoons, content marketing with a sense of humor, keynote speaking.

  • Campaigns
  • Speaking
  • About
  • Cartoons
  • Contact
  • Book
  • 0

influencer marketing

July 24, 2016 3 Comments

  • Paid licensing options include high resolution download.
  • Presentation $35.00 Add to Cart
  • Newsletter or Website $100.00 Add to Cart
  • Corporate Blog/Sponsored Post $50.00 Add to Cart
  • Looking for other licensing options? click here
  • View Cart
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Influencer marketing is all the rage, but there’s not a clear understanding of what constitutes influence.

A few years ago, I participated in an influencer event for a consumer brand. It was an expensive affair put on by the brand’s agency. There were a few dozen “influencers” there, which, it turned out, meant a collection of people with blogs and social media followings. A photographer captured it all as a glitzy brand experience. Some people blogged or shared about the event, some didn’t, and it left me wondering about the return on that investment. From the photos that were posted, it looked like a beautiful bit of marketing. From the actual impact, not so much.

Influencer is a designation with an almost magical glow to it. But not all influencers are created equal. Not everyone with a social media following is an influencer and not every influencer is a good fit for every brand. Brands should also be wary of those who refer to themselves as influencers. There’s a lot of snake oil in influencer marketing.

I like the influencer marketing approach taken by Propercorn, a British popcorn brand. They prioritize deep collaborations with small-scale influencers over shallow plugs by large ones. They recently teamed up with designer Rachel Thomas on an outdoor campaign using the designer’s custom work created for Propercorn. The campaign spanned buildings, buses, phone boxes, and sampling spaces and was a genuine collaboration for both.

ProperCorn in Brixton

Creative director Cassandra Stavrou described the Propercorn influencer marketing approach this way: “Anything we produce with influencers has to offer value and be beautiful to look at. The trick is having a bespoke approach.”

I think every brand working with influencer marketing needs to find their own bespoke approach that ties to what they’re trying to do as a business. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s a related cartoon I drew on influencer marketing a couple years ago.

141229.youtube

Filed Under: social media

Get a new marketoon each week:

Previous Post Next Post

marketing storytelling

lead generation and gated content

Browse similar cartoons in: social media

Browse By Category See All Marketoons

3 Comments

Join the Discussion
  1. Steve Cole @stevencoleuk says

    July 25, 2016 at 6:46 am

    I particularly like your cartoon from a couple of years ago. Unfortunately there is a lot of snake oil in ‘influencer’ marketing. But lets start with the issue of the definition. https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/748733124838760449 I define the people we should be interested in working with as Creators.

    Giving them a title that is relevant to their talent is important in my opinion, e.g. they aren’t just YouTubers and Viners, they are directors, writers, photographers etc.

    There is a lot of learning to be done on this subject as too many people on both sides of the relationship aren’t getting what they want from it.

    Reply
  2. Jeff says

    July 25, 2016 at 9:33 am

    Tom, as always, humor provides much wisdom on the topic of influencer marketing.

    Reply
  3. Bahia Nar says

    July 25, 2016 at 3:53 pm

    Love the old cartoon and it’s a great representation of the situation. Brands or agencies don’t choose influencer on relevant criterias, they just choose the well know or according to the audience of those influencers. They forgot that the influencer should match the brand’s dna, value and that the collaboration should bring something new to the audience or at least entertain.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Paid licensing options include high resolution download.
  • Presentation $35.00 Add to Cart
  • Newsletter or Website $100.00 Add to Cart
  • Corporate Blog/Sponsored Post $50.00 Add to Cart
  • Looking for other licensing options? click here
  • View Cart
Your Ad Ignored Here Book Image

15 years of Marketoonist compiled for your marketing pleasure.

Order Now

About Marketoonist

tom_image

Marketoonist is the thought bubble of Tom Fishburne a career marketer and cartoonist. Learn More...

Subscribe

Get a new marketoon delivered to your inbox each week.

 

Browse Blog Posts

Most Popular Cartoons Browse Categories

Marketoon Campaigns

contentmarketing

Content marketing with a sense of humor.

Learn More

Keynote Speaking

speakingworkshops

Insightful, funny, and visual keynote talks and workshops.

Book Tom to Speak

Search Blog Posts

Interested? Let’s Talk!

Marketoons

Browse Categories

Get New Cartoons Weekly

About Marketoonist

Tom Fishburne is the Founder and CEO of Marketoonist, a content marketing studio that helps businesses reach their audiences with cartoons.

© 2023 Marketoonist