Deep Dive: Brands or creators - who should have the final say?

For Talking Influence’s latest Deep Dive, ITB Worldwide’s Senior Strategist Charlotte Hoare shared why she believes the most successful influencer campaigns are the ones in which the influencer takes the lead. Here’s why:

“When it comes to creative control, the majority of the most successful influencer campaigns have let the influencers take the lead – interpreting the brief with their own aesthetic, TOV and flair (within brand safe guardrails of course). After all, creators are so named for a reason – they’ve got the experience and know how to produce the best-performing content for their platform/s of choice in line with what their community of followers is looking to engage with. Unless you’re a brand with creativity at the core – a Gucci or an Apple – it’s best to let influencers do their thing and put their own unique spin on your message, product or service.

With modern audiences prizing transparency and trust and prioritising values, it’s more important than ever that what influencers are sharing with their fans and followers is genuine to their feed, reflective of their person and – yes that word again – authentic. This only comes when they’re given the freedom to be creative and produce original content, rather than merely promote a rigidly prescribed asset or product demanded of them.

That being said, there must be some guardrails in place to ensure the output of an influencer is fit for purpose and that’s where expert influencer agencies come in. Key to this – rather than an overly rigid brief – is strategic casting and careful vetting of influencers to ensure you’ve got the right people on board in the first place. If a creator is truly aligned with the brand vision and values, you already know you can rely on a great result.” 

Some of Charlotte’s perspectives were included in the full feature on Talking Influence – which you can read here: https://talkinginfluence.com/2022/02/24/influencer-marketing-campaigns-who-should-have-the-final-say-brands-or-creators/.