Month: November 2021

Have you heard of the “New Resignation,” or “Big Quit?” Well, it’s happening now. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 4.4 million people walked away from their jobs in September.

COVID-19 gave people time to rethink what they want in life, to test what works for them, and even to change careers. One of the main reasons is because they are in search of flexibility. The days where it was normal to work 40+ hours in the office are disappearing. Now, 63% of college-educated employees are working remotely. This trend also gives companies, especially CPGs, a chance to integrate work methods based on diverse thinking, insightful strategies, collaboration, and flexibility.

These recent changes have driven the need for companies to provide a flexible, hybrid alternative, and to offer a more enriching environment and support system. Companies are being pushed toward valuing more than just the work. Bill Beck, CMO of health insurance company Anthem, redesigned a creative platform that reminded people of the importance of being together since face-to-face collaboration is a critical part of the creative process. His team came together to think through the execution of the forum as a turning point in the project’s development, where markets work towards a common goal to unlock creative potential.

The new hiring

As data is becoming the central pillar of customer strategy, marketers are demanding more analytical profiles that take the data available and turn it into opportunities to deliver brand messages at the right moment in a user’s life.

Data even helps brands to push their purpose forward. Data scientists show marketers that they too can be a source of creativity because they can create connections between the vast amount of data available, and create a solution that will work for users and brands.

This change of behavior does not mean that creatives are no longer needed. In fact, CPGs are creating collaborative models where different talents, from technical to analytical, come together for creative and strategic purposes. CPGs know and value what each talent can bring to the table working together and creating solutions for the greater good of their brands.

More platforms, more partners

The adoption of digital platforms, the surge of e-commerce, and the latest consumer trends are encouraging companies to lean on a vast network of cost-efficient talent and providers. Companies are also looking for innovative solutions and fresher ideas using contests and crowdsourcing, which help marketers and C-suites reach their commercial objectives.

A global and agile hub

It can be challenging and frustrating to find the proper talent structure, especially if a company is not fulfilling its commercial objectives. Instead of redesigning an entire organization, CPGs are going smaller, First, they work to understand what is happening inside the customer journey. Then, flaws are identified, which reveal opportunities in each touchpoint. Finally, they make suitable acquisitions and find the right partner who will work toward fulfilling an objective.

Marketers are also working to increase coherence across markets. One example is setting up a global design hub that allows different needs to share[A1], upload, and download the same design elements and assets required. This ensures that the brand has consistency in the same communication and goals.

Discover more strategies and what CPGs are doing to win 2022 in our latest white paper, where we share our expertise from working with our CPG clients for more than 18 years. Put your brand on top of its game. Download it for free here: https://121corp.com/white-paper

Influencers are proving throughout all platforms that they are becoming necessary for brands that want to connect in a more authentic and more profound level with their audiences; this is why just recently released figures show that the value of the industry has more than doubled since 2019, growing from $6.5 billion to $13.8 billion in only three years.

In the following years, marketers are reporting to use almost 20% of their budget for influencer marketing, an ever-increasing number never seen before; this might be related to the fact that during the pandemics, people stay more time at home, connected to their devices, and discovering more content that relates to them. This behavior hasn’t changed; in fact, it’s stronger than ever, only this time, many are turning to micro-influencers rather than the big huge celebrities we see on the internet.

When it comes to marketing and brand managers, micro-influencers are becoming the spotlight on their strategies, but before showing you the many benefits of hiring them in your next campaign, let’s know a bit about them.

• A micro-influencer has a follower count from 5k to 50k.
• Their focus of the content is to create a mega loyal, relatable, influential niche audience. 
• They have the flexibility to manage their content and connect with their followers more directly.
• They are experts in making creative, unique content that generates higher engagement rates than macro-influencers and celebrities.
• Their message is peer-to-peer, not peer to an admirer, and this is because a micro-influencer also lives the life of their followers; they try new food, go to new places, work a typical job, and are more transparent.

So how can they be beneficial for your brand?

Consistent communication

Brand loyalty is facing an all-time low for many brands, and one-off campaigns cannot raise numbers alone, so establishing always-on influencer marketing with micro-influencers can help ensure that your brand stays on top of mind. The idea here is to let influencers create constant content that will appear in consumers’ feeds and stories during their moments of need (but without sounding too promo or organic storytelling).

Higher ROI.

Micro-influencers are a low-cost solution for brands and show a higher ROI and reach of business because of the trust they build with their followers. It’s better to hire a couple of micro-influencers that will help connect to loyal audiences and will help deliver the right message for different segmentations, rather than a big celebrity that will mostly speak to everyone but will not create any strong bond.

More Top-of-funnel Traffic and sales.

Micro-influencers are becoming effective partners for any type of business. Their originality and relatability have helped drive top-of-funnel traffic and sales, so having a close relationship with them, sharing your brand story, listening to what they offer, and trusting in their content ideas will only make your revenue grow.

Brand advocacy and audience insights.

As we mentioned before, micro-influencers are skilled to reach users with the same share of values and personal points of view linked to their followers’ passions. Therefore, aligning your goals while leaving a space that will allow the micro-influencer to create a strategy to maximize your results and ask for feedback from their audience will enrich you with real insights for your future campaigns.

How can you find the right Micro-influencer for you?

Brands need to look through their followers on social media and find if there’s a micro-influencer that could be potential. If their content aligns with your brand objectives and it’s interested in sharing their lifestyle with your brand.

Once you find them, appreciate their content, follow them, and engage them through direct messages, they will likely respond quickly and be available for you, even if they are an ongoing campaign.

You can find more insights and strategies that CPGs apply to win the market in 2022 in our latest white paper. You can download it for free here: https://121corp.com/white-paper