Current Marketing Introduces Akela To Connect Influencer Marketing To Real Life
1,400 Content Creators Speak out About Their Craft, What Motivates Them in New Survey
CHICAGO, Aug. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Current Marketing, an Interpublic Group agency, today launched Akela, an influencer marketing practice that uses real people in conjunction with leading-edge technology to provide impactful results for clients.
Akela combines Current's expertise in strategic storytelling with best-in-class influencers to tell real brand stories through the lens of real people and real lives. Each program is customized, identifying influencers to work with the brands they love, keeping followers engaged and eager to share their experiences. In the past 18 months, Current has collaborated with hundreds of independent content creators and awarded them more than $1 million on behalf of brand partners.
"This year marks the 10th anniversary of Current and we've been managing influencer programs for more than half a decade – it just wasn't coined influencer marketing until recently," said Current Founder and President Virginia Devlin. "Our team has relationships with content creators across categories who they expertly pair with clients seeking an authentic connection with a greater audience and a marketing investment that impacts the bottom line."
Last year, Current rebranded to focus on marketing for real lives and created a unique Realistics process to better serve clients, where data and insights are combined into a nuanced real-life picture of how people live and interact with a brand or category. The resulting marketing efforts intersect people in their real lives through a strategic blend of media, influencer and advocate initiatives.
"People are what make influencer marketing successful, but technology is what makes it scalable and measurable," said Clint Bagley, senior vice president and head of influencer relations at Current. "By combining our team's strategic storytelling ability with a leading tech platform, our influencer programs deliver exceptional results in a fraction of the time and more cost effectively than ever before."
Current formed a strategic partnership with influencer platform TapInfluence in October 2015 to help automate and elevate the increasing number of requests for influencer work.
"We've built a strong partnership with Current and they are super users of our technology," said Promise Phelon, CEO of TapInfluence. "They are running high-engagement campaigns that outperform for their categories and they take an integrated storytelling approach, which we believe is a competitive differentiator for brands. Current chose TapInfluence to ensure that they can run successful influencer campaigns that deliver real business results."
Real Life, Instagram and Authenticity Crucial to Influencer Work
- In a survey of 1,422 influencers on the TapInfluence platform, 81 percent find inspiration from their daily, real life experiences and use that inspiration to create brand-sponsored content. Nine percent use social media to spark new content ideas and 8 percent gain inspiration from fellow content creators.
- Instagram is the most important social channel for influencer marketing, with 37 percent of influencers rating it #1, followed by Pinterest (22%), Facebook (21%), Twitter (11%), YouTube (6%) and Snapchat (3%). (Note: Snapchat is not part of the TapInfluence offering due to its closed API.)
- The most important element for influencers when building long-lasting relationships with brand partners is open, two-way communication (46%), ongoing programs versus one-off projects (35%) and a strong creative brief that provides directional guidelines versus heavy scripting (19%).
- Not surprisingly, 55 percent of those surveyed feel that authenticity is the most important element for successful influencer marketing content, followed by strong visuals at 35 percent.
To learn more about Akela, visit talktocurrent.com/akela.
ABOUT CURRENT MARKETING
Launched in 2006, Current Marketing is owned by the Interpublic Group with offices in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. At Current, we believe in real lives over lifestyles. We create genuine connections between brands and people to change behavior and move brands forward. Our proprietary approach uncovers truths about people that reflect how they really live and behave. We translate those insights into strategic public relations, influencer marketing, digital and social media campaigns that people are drawn to, support and share because they represent them in genuine, authentic ways. See life the way we do at talktocurrent.com.
ABOUT TAPINFLUENCE
TapInfluence is a leader and innovator in influencer marketing automation, connecting brands, influencers and consumers through trusted content. TapInfluence fuels brand success by providing the data, expertise and technology to connect authentic conversations to commerce, drive market share and increase revenue growth. Based in Boulder, Colo., TapInfluence works with leading brands such as Kraft, Horizon Organics and P&G, and partners with agencies such as Current Marketing. TapInfluence's SaaS-based platform is the industry's only end-to-end solution automating influencer selection, content creation, distribution and program analytics. Through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vine and blogs, TapInfluence reaches over 1 billion consumers.
875 N Michigan Ave, Suite 2700, Chicago, IL, 60611 | 312.929.0500 | talktocurrent.com
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160802/395160-INFO
SOURCE Current Marketing
Share this article