Do such well -known and popular brands like Pepsi or Lay’s need influencers to advertise at all? According to Aleksandra Wierzba from Pepsico, influencer marketing is not only following current trends. It is helpful, among others, in reaching the generation of Gen Z, i.e. people born in 1995-2012.
– We have loyal customers attached to our brands, but the gene declares that there is rather so -called Switchers, looking for new products and interesting activations he sees on the web – explained the representative of Pepsico.
Influence marketing instead of traditional advertising
Another reason to cooperate with influencers is the changes that occur in the taste preferences of Poles.
– Even 15 years ago, it was unthinkable to introduce the entire platform of salty snacks, very sharp. Now customers even demanded them because they tried it in the United States, and they would like to buy it in their neighborhood store – emphasized Aleksandra Wierzba.
And new products must be promoted. Once the best solution was to buy time in the advertising band during the film that the whole family watched.
– This is not done today, because who has recently watched commercials on television? Certainly not the majority of Gen Z. What can we do? Emit DARK posts about a new product, about new consumer activation and engaging a competition on this industry or do we take an influencer? The representative of Pepsico asked.
In her opinion, the choice of marketing is the fact that 67 percent. The gene from declares the readiness to buy a product that shows the influencer they follow.
– If we target with a new product for the Z gene, it’s worth showing it. We are able to achieve good financial results with the diversification of our brands. And here influencers are useful. We need what once achieved advertising and product display in stores. In the era of e-commerce we will not achieve the same-emphasized Aleksandra Wierzba.
Downy bunny or rotten pigeon?
Participants of the “Influencer Marketing” panel emphasized the importance of proper selection of influencers to cooperate with specific projects and for specific brands. They also paid attention to the need to verify influencers.
– We have never had such a risky tool in marketing as influencer marketing – said Pepsico representative. – We have our budgets, we have tools that measure and verify various things, look at what content influencer has, who watches it, or not the children, because we do not want children as followers, we do not direct advertising activities to people under 16 years of age. Despite all this, we still buy a sack, in this sack it might as well be a white, downy bunny or a rotten, dead pigeon – described Aleksandra Wierzba.
In her opinion, this risk is due to the fact that influencer does not have to disclose his private life, so unexpectedly facts and events that do not resonate with a sense of ethics, morality and what society considers is allowed. In this situation, the brand’s reputation is rained.
– Then the fault falls on the owner of the brand or an agency that incorrectly chose the influencer. Fortunately, we did not have such a situation – noted Aleksandra Wierzba.
Daughter test of the president
During the debate, representatives of advertising agencies signaled that artificial intelligence is used more and more often when choosing influencers, thanks to which data can be analyzed even from the distant past, not only activity in social media. It also seemed enough to seem an unusual way of selection – whether the influencer’s daughter liked the president.
– We have never performed a test for the president’s daughter, but very often we perform such tests among friends from work, or their children of teenage age or a gene with, know, use or observed an influencer – admitted a representative of Pepsico.
The development of artificial intelligence and its use will reduce the risk of improper selection of influencers. However, according to Aleksandra Wierzą, he will not eliminate it to the end, because the analysis will only cover the available data.
– A completely hypothetical example … Let’s assume that we have a well -known influencer and a brand of sweet drinks. There is cooperation, the influencer is doing a very good campaign, it is very good. And then it turns out that the influencer was sick with diabetes, which no one saw, he was hospitalized, so everyone learned about it now. And then the question arises, why did he cooperate with the brand of sweet drinks? And yet, matters such as health can not be asked in cooperation contracts – pointed out Aleksandra Wierzba.
Influencer – brand ambassador
Pepsico uses the services of many influencers who have the largest ranges, are the most popular and recognizable. Campaigns with their participation are prepared well in advance.
– In December we are thinking about what we will do in December, but the next year. With larger campaigns, such as last year, the global change of the Pepsi logotype and the exchange of Pepsi Max to Pepsi Zero in Poland, we planned campaigns even more in advance and chose influencers much earlier – said Aleksandra Wierzba.
In her opinion, nowadays, influencer is a brand ambassador.
-Some influencers who are authentic in what they do can be for the brand, what were the stars of television advertising of the 90s, the early 2000s. Thinking about Pepsi, I see Britney, Pink and Beyonce, but these golden times for advertising will not come back-the representative of Pepsico said.
