Evolve With Social Or It Will Pass You By 12th July, 2017

Social is soaring and it doesn’t look set to slow down anytime soon. The majority of online users are moving away from computers in favour of smartphones. Figures released by OFCOM show 66% of the UK own a smartphone, as do 90% of 16-24 year olds. It’s the latter group that makes brand sponsorship on social platforms very profitable to those targeting their content at millennials. Social media sponsored content is fast becoming the best way to reach out and inform a digital generation.

Brands generally prefer the  method of sponsored content as it differs from usual native advertising and its purpose is to inform and not necessarily convince its audience, keeping the brand message much more authentic.

A case study posted on the Instagram website claims that sponsored posts results in 2.8x higher ad recall than other online advertising. The soft nature of the posts and the tailored way in which Instagram integrates the posts are the likely reasons for the higher re-call rate. The company has also moved to close the gap between celebrity endorsements and sponsored posts by placing them under one umbrella. Snapchat has also introduced it’s sponsored filters campaign, where brands can sponsor a filter for a specific amount of time. With 150 million users daily it makes for a very lucrative opportunity.

Facebook has gone a slightly different way and created a unique sponsorship system, which  is now in high demand. The company allows brands to sponsor user activity instead of posts. Partner’s simply pay to highlight an action that users have already taken on the social network or within a Facebook-connected app.

Social platforms have created great ways for brands to capitalise through sponsored content and thus far, audiences have been receptive to this influencing method due to sponsorship’s credibility to not be so intrusive. With social media continuously evolving and creating new opportunities for brands, rights holders must ensure that they are constantly up to date with changes so that they too can offer relevant opportunities for brands. It is not enough anymore to offer Facebook or Twitter posts as part of a sponsorship package. Rights holders need to understand how brands will want to use social platforms to ensure maximum cut through.


Creative in Context of Commercial 3rd July, 2017

It’s that Cannes time of the year.  A time where the focus is on excellent creative – what makes it, how to harness it, and who is doing it best.  I am a huge fan of good creative.  As I’m not particularly creative myself, great concepts executed phenomenally really drives inspiration.  And who doesn’t want to be inspired?

Creative used to drive commercial.  The best creative television ad had the capability to harness the purchase power of millions, dropping credit cards like flies for the latest milk chocolate or iPhone.  However, as more channels are developed, more creators are surfacing and it’s now harder than ever to guarantee that great creative will drive the bottom line.  With exceptional creative, this still exist (and perhaps stands out more than ever), but on the whole – it’s harder to get your ad to stand out.

And so the value of understanding commercial in view of the creative increases.

Commercial in the creative industries can be viewed in two ways:

  1. Creating ads that are more effective
  2. Reducing the spend on ads through other channels

Efficiency

Being more effective can be done in many ways now that brands have the capability to take more risks.  Creative is no longer confined to pre-planned, locked-in billboard and television ads, creative now can be tested in real time with smaller markets producing immediate feedback.  Furthermore, planners can now be more creative on how that spend is made.  Efficiency can also be found through sponsorship.  Purchasing assets that can have multi-purpose uses throughout the business; tickets for hospitality, brand ambassadors for influencer marketing, rights for reach.  The value to broadening the historical isolated view of marketing and sales departments can produce even greater results than exceptional creative alone.

Multi-channel

Ads no longer work like they used to.  And for that matter, the logo in sponsorship drives zero value.  And yet, sponsorship is on the rise.  The reason being is that sponsorship provides multi-channel marketing that is wrapped up to make it financially less risky than ‘putting all your eggs in one basket’.  The cost to repurpose creative across these channels makes it easier to become more effective, whilst also saving money.  Understanding how to leverage a sponsorship proposal’s multi-channel assets is incredible vital to the success of the sponsorship campaign – and yet most don’t even go into detail to what channels they are purchasing and how they can be used until after the deal is done.

By viewing creative in context of commercial at the outset, you can ensure that even so-so creative has the power to drive the bottom line.  And whilst I wouldn’t want to champion average work, it is important to view this in light of the ever growing marketing industry shifting faster than most of us can truly keep up with.

 


How to Master the Art of Brand Activation in Sponsorship 26th June, 2018

Creative brand activation is crucial to captivate an audience and create long-lasting, memorable experiences. Here, we reveal the future direction of brand activation in sponsorship and provide a case study of a perfect execution of this by Vitaminwater at the WayHome Music & Arts Festival.

Sponsorship has rapidly moved away from being just about planting a logo somewhere visible for crowds to walk past and occasionally acknowledge. The now and future lies very much in brand activation and consumer engagement.

Executing this new method of brand activation effectively benefits both sponsors and rights-holders. By tapping into audiences’ personal journeys, you ensure that an emotional connection can be created, with memorable experiences – in turn creating a strong loyalty to the brand.

This rise in creativity and innovative ideas provides a platform for brand associations with popular public passions, such as music festivals and sport events. Areas such as these capture fans in a positive environment, producing golden opportunities for sponsors to develop deep personal connections with audiences.

Simple as the theory may sound, there is a definite art to cultivating creative ideas from inception right through to effective delivery. And it’s something, for example, Vitaminwater achieved in style at the WayHome Music and Arts Festival.

Case Study: Vitaminwater and WayHome Music and Arts Festival

Vitaminwater’s Hydration Station at the WayHome Music and Arts Festival is a fantastic example of how brand activation in sponsorship can be achieved extremely effectively.

Amid the sweltering Canadian summer heat, Vitaminwater’s idea of creating a “human car wash” proved enormously popular. Festival goers immersed themselves in cool mists at their branded area and – coupled with bottled drink handouts – instantly felt refreshed and rehydrated. These feelings link directly to the core values of Vitaminwater’s brand.

Furthermore, guests had the opportunity to have their photograph taken at the Hydration Station with their festival wristband. These pictures were sent directly to their email address for ease of sharing on social media and, with little extra effort, Vitaminwater and WayHome were soon being promoted across guests’ newsfeeds with native, shareable content.

Unsurprisingly, Vitaminwater’s Hydration Station proved to be a hugely popular addition to the festival. It was unique, playful, served a valuable purpose and ensured guests genuinely engaged with the product, adding a new dimension to their experience at the event.

Key takeaways

Creating ways in which audiences can be actively involved with a product experience will generate a strong, long-term emotional connection to the brand.

Consider it objectively: fresh, innovative ideas drive the commercial world – and it’s no different with brand activation in sponsorship. Doing this creatively entices consumers in to discover more and you will be able to connect with them on a deeper, personal level.


Sponsorship Inspires the Next Generation 29th June, 2017

Education is the engine of the future.  As we live in a world that requires skilled people to run our technology, a shortage in this sector of the workforce will slow us down.  According to the Daily Telegraph,  43% of STEM skilled vacancies in the UK are difficult to fill.  Across the world, there is a shortage of workers for this highly technical world.  And as technology continues to advance, the shortage will become more extreme.

Sponsorship should be part of the solution.  Governments are building STEM skill learning into their education strategies but it is expensive and will not solve the problem fast enough.  STEM skills are needed in the workplace now.  Private schools have the money to push STEM education but only 7% of the UK population attends private schools. State schools have not been given enough resources to make big changes in STEM education.  Not only do we need skilled teachers, but teachers need to be inspirational. Children need role models to look up to and follow so we need to provide inspiration beyond the national curriculum. Children of today are digital natives and need to be educated to work to develop their technological world. Sponsorship can provide not only the resources but also the essential spark that is so badly lacking in our schools.

Sponsorship should support STEM education as it has the power to ignite STEM interest in young people.  Yesterday, the Bloodhound Super Sonic Car visited ICS, a school in North London.  It is a technologically complex machine that will attempt to break the land speed record and hit 1000mph in a South African desert next year.  A new partnership has been created between Bloodhound SSC and Saudi Aramco to support the Bloodhound SSC traveling to schools across the UK.  The charismatic team headed by Mike Ford used interactive projects to explain the complex technology to the roomful of excited children who sat in rapt attention before queuing up to sit in the simulator.  The children heard the story and watched footage of the brave Wing Commander Andy Green and then worked on technical problem-solving projects that the Bloodhound SSC had needed to work out to develop.  Partnerships can offer interesting engagement that conventional education cannot always achieve and prove that STEM is both exciting and relevant.

Sponsorship involves many people working towards a common goal.  Though the Bloodhound SSC continues to develop new technologies and push boundaries, it now has the added mission to promote the uptake of STEM subject by schoolchildren and inspire passion for the disciplines that make such a project possible.  Saudi Aramco is a leader in innovation and has cutting-edge technologies in the field of energy. It has a developed programme in Saudi Arabia to promote the study of STEM subjects by young students and educate teachers to address its problem of the shortage of skilled workers.  Governments across the world acknowledge the need for more STEM students.  In a technological world with such a need for skilled workers, all interests will be aligned to support the partnership.

Sponsorship is a story that can engage for a lifetime.  The story of the Bloodhound Super Sonic Car began more than 25 years ago and over the years has evolved into its current configuration with the original driver Richard Noble as the Project Director.  People around the world have been following the story of the Bloodhound SSC since the 1980’s and look forward to each new exciting development.  Saudi Aramco’s support will be entwined with the story of the Bloodhound SSC as it attempts the record and furthers technological advances.  Children who are introduced to the Bloodhound SSC will never forget the day the modular car visited their school and will follow and support the project in the news, on the website and on social media.  The memory will last a lifetime of engagement.

The partnership of Saudi Aramco and Bloodhound SSC is providing a solution to the problem of STEM skill shortage by inspiring the next generation to pursue STEM careers.



How to Monetise your Online Audience 2nd May, 2018

If you have built a large audience, whether it’s on your blog, YouTube channel, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, you have the opportunity to monetise that online platform. This applies whether you’re a team of 50 working in a city centre office, or a one-man band producing content from your bedroom in your parents’ house.

And you don’t need to have an audience of millions to monetise your online presence. Brands are increasingly keen to work with “micro influencers”, people with a small but strongly engaged following.

But what is the best way to monetise your online audience? For many influencers, particularly those who started out as a hobby with no thought for making money from their content, turning their online platform and audience into a business can be a scary prospect. You need to be careful not to let brands take advantage of you. And, crucially, make sure you don’t compromise the quality of your content and your relationship with your audience just to make a quick buck.

But handle monetisation right and you can build some fantastic relationships with brands that benefit both you and your audience. These relationships can help give you the time and money to produce better content for your audience than ever before. They can give you access to things that your audience want to see. They can help strengthen the relationship with your existing audience and expand your reach to help grow your audience further.

What are the most common ways to monetise your online platform?
  1. Sponsored posts
    This can be in the form of a blog post or YouTube video, or even just a social post in partnership with the brand. It’s normally a good idea to go beyond an ‘advertorial’ vibe where you just rave about how good the product is for 4,000 words. The brand will likely have one or two key points they want to get across, but beyond that, it’s down to you to tell your audience about your experience with the product, how you use it and how it fits into your life.
  2. Affiliate marketing
    Let’s say you’re a beauty blogger and you write an article about your ‘top five makeup bag must-haves’. You include a link to each of the products. But here’s the nifty part. Every time someone clicks on one of the links and makes a purchase, you earn a percentage of the product price. The user doesn’t pay any extra, it’s simply a reward from the brand for you helping generate a sale.
  3. Pay per click
    This works in a similar way to affiliate marketing, but you receive a fee for every click on a link you use. This can work well as your job is done when a user clicks the link. If they end up deciding not to make a purchase, you’ve still done your bit and earnt your money.
  4. Selling display ad space
    This is the oldest and most traditional form of online monetisation. Quite simply, adverts will run alongside your content. The technical side of the adverts being displayed will often be handled automatically, so don’t worry about having to spend hours dealing with coding or digital artwork!
Our advice

Starting to work with brands and monetising your platform can be very exciting, and so it should be. You’ve worked hard to build an audience and there’s no reason you shouldn’t benefit from it. Just be careful not to forget why you started producing content in the first place.

Choose brands you love

We’d recommend only doing paid promotional work with brands that you actually respect and like. Your audience won’t appreciate it if you start trying to hard sell them products that are clearly not things you would normally use. Doing this can quickly damage the trust you have built up with your audience.

The brand will get better results if the work you do with them is genuine and driven by passion, not just money.

Don’t give what you don’t want to give

Be careful not to agree things you’re not comfortable with. When you’re organising your first brand deals, it can be easy to let the brand dictate things that you later regret. If the brand asks for exclusivity, for instance, find out exactly which other brands this would preclude you from working with, and for what time period. Make sure you’re not blocking future opportunities for yourself.

Build long-lasting relationships

A good scenario is to have long-term brand partners, rather than just a series of short-term, one-off deals. That way your audience gets used to the idea that you love Product X, rather than chopping and changing from month-to-month.

Make it a two-way street

Don’t be afraid to talk about how the brand can help you. If you’re doing a partnership with a brand that has a large social media following, find out whether they’d be happy to share the content you create. They get free content to use on their social channels, and you get exposure to a much wider audience, helping you grow your fanbase. It’s a win-win.

Don’t forget why you started

Keep enjoying what you do and remember that you didn’t start your platform with the goal or serving brands. If a certain brand partnership doesn’t feel right to you, you’re free to politely decline.

Need more help? Read our article: ‘How to Get Sponsors as an Influencer’



The Extreme Tech Challenge Series Presents: Zoom – Main Communications Partner 1st June, 2017

Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) is proud to announce the return of Zoom Video Communications, Inc. to the 2018 XTC Sponsorship Series.  Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with a secure, easy platform for video and audio conferencing, messaging, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is their original software-based conference room solution used around the world in conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Zoom is proud to be the official sponsor and judge of the Productivity Vertical for XTC 2018.

XTC 2018 marks the fourth year of this exciting and innovating competition that brings together the world’s brightest entrepreneurial minds to compete for the chance to pitch their budding business ventures to an all-star panel of judges on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. Zoom will be returning for it’s second year as an invaluable member to the team of global sponsors who will be on hand to guide and support this year’s applicants as they compete in the Tech Challenge of their lives.

“Zoom is proud to be a second-time partner of XTC. We had a great experience sponsoring the Productivity vertical last year, and we’re excited to support this group of world-changing entrepreneurs again. Zoom helps teams be more productive with high quality video meetings and powerful collaboration tools, and it’s a pleasure to support other productivity innovations by promising startups.”
– Eric S. Yuan, Founder & CEO, Zoom Video Communications

As part of their sponsorship, Zoom will offer free accounts to lauded competitors in the contest, with Head of Marketing Janine Pelosi representing Zoom as an XTC 2018 judge for the Productivity Vertical. First place in the Productivity category will receive five free Zoom Pro accounts for one year, while second through fifth place will each earn one free Zoom Pro account for one year. Additionally, the overall Top 10 Semi-Finalists moving onto CES this January 2018 will each get one free Zoom Pro account for one year.

The Final Champion of XTC 2017 will be awarded with the most sought after prize from Zoom—ten free Business accounts for one year. Over 600,000 companies trust Zoom and 94% of their IT organizations recommend Zoom to colleagues, a testament to the high caliber of Zoom’s sponsorship of XTC 2018.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available – contact Slingshot Sponsorship should you wish to discuss the potential of inclusion.


Equality & Why It Matters 30th May, 2017

The issue around equality and diversity seems to be heating up.  Whilst I normally steer clear of these discussions, having recently attended a presentation at Canada House on diversity with the Ottawa Minister and later speaking on the ‘The Role of Business in Driving Towards Equality’ panel recently at the Salesforce World Tour – it’s clearly a topic that is on everyone’s minds (I’d encourage you to watch the Role of Business in Driving Towards Equality video here).

My life has been filled with diversity.  As a child I was one of the few people I knew who was mixed race (Canadian and Chinese).  In adulthood I moved to London without knowing a single soul and found it difficult to relate with experiences very dissimilar to my peer group.  Now working in a male-dominated industry, I’m struck being painted again as the odd one out.

Ironically, there is nowhere else I’d rather be.  Being the odd one out has enabled me to bring a different perspective to whatever I do.  Professionally my young age and the fact that I am a female has been more of an asset to the agency’s strength then to its detriment, which is why I wholly believe in diversity for business.  I believe that diversity creates opportunity – because I have experienced it first-hand.

There are a lot of variables at play with this argument and it will likely be debated for eternity; however, I feel that action says more than stats.  Only by being actively committed to being diverse within the workplace will you begin to realise the value it can drive to your bottom line.