HOW TO LEVERAGE ON INFLUENCER MARKETING

The Emerging Trend

The promotion of products through celebrities or influencers in this day and age is a normal thing. Brands and companies here right at home are embracing this preset trend as a marketing strategy. You want your brand or product to get a particular attention, increase sells, why not use a familiar public figure or influencer?

Celebrities and influencers have one thing in common: followers. They can influence consumer behavior through their social status to help promote a product.

The joint venture between rapper P. Diddy and beverages giant Diageo for the Ciroc Vodka brand is among the most successful celebrity partnerships in the history of the industry. Ciroc’s net sales have grown from just under 50,000 cases a day at the time the partnership was announced to a nearly 2-million cases per day today.

Examples of Influencer Marketing at play

The joint venture between rapper P. Diddy and beverages giant Diageo for the Ciroc Vodka brand is among the most successful celebrity partnerships in the history of the industry. Ciroc’s net sales have grown from just under 50,000 cases a day at the time the partnership was announced to a nearly 2-million cases per day today.

Right here at home we have King Kaka who was picked as the face of “One Life Live Them” campaign by French cognac maker Rémy Martin. With his multifaceted personality, and his dynamic style you can see why the French Company chose him. Other influencers are the likes of the Mercy Masika, the multi-talented gospel musician who is the face of Ariel, a cleaning powder soap. Celina Kamau, who we have seen multiple times grace our televisions advertising Harpic, a toilet cleaning detergent. The actress has represented the brand for a few years now. Janet Mbugua, the former Citizen TV anchor and the founder of Inua Dada initiative, is the Kenyan Brand Ambassador of Lifebuoy, advocating for hygiene by using the germ-protection soap and the list goes on.

Applying this to your marketing

Choosing the right celebrity as an influencer of your brand plays a major role – it is not only always about the number of followers they have.  If the combination of celebrity personality and your brand image are matched well, it can lead to profits and immediate change in public perception of a company. If done with no research and deep thought put into it, it can be the downfall of a brand (or at least serious wastage of your marketing budget).

How do you pick the right influencer?

Well I thought you would never ask. The right answer is that you would need a survey done to match your brand personality with the influencers you have in mind. However we recently concluded a research of the most popular music artists in East Africa and I would like to share these with you to act as a guide

In Kenya:

Sauti Sol, Willy Paul, Mercy Masika, Nyashinski and Otile Brown are the highest rated musicians in that order.

In Tanzania:

Diamond Platnumz, Harmonize, Rayvanny, Ali Kiba and Aslay are the top rated. From that list, it is only one artist (Ali Kiba) who is not from WCB Wasafi. The good news is that if you think of Tanzanian artists you have a one stop shop.

In Uganda:

Eddy Kenzo, Chemeleone, Radio&Weasel, & Abdu Mulaasi are the stars of the industry.

In Nigeria;

If you are thinking of superstars from Nigeria then here is the top 5 list: P Square (though the group split in 2017), Davido, Tekno, Sinach and Wizkid.  

To download the full report with the top 50 artistes in each country free of charge click here.