The Online Influence Conference is one of Europe’s fastest growing digital innovation conferences, and the turn out at the Passenger Engine Shed in Bristol on March 29th definitely reflected this.
The event kicked off with an introduction by Bristol’s poet laureate, Miles Chambers, who performed his signature poem, Bristol, Bristol. From here, Oi Conf began a day-long whirlwind of digital masterclasses, seminars and discussions. Main-stage speakers included Sam Bevan from Snapchat and Tasnim Bhuiyan, Head of Social at OATH.
Although the big name speakers were on the main stage, we found some of the most engaging talks at Oi Conf Bristol on the smaller seminar stages.
Here are some of our key takeaways from the event:
Advertising and Influencers: The New Rules in a Brave New Wolrd
Ross Brown, Vice President: Brand Strategy and Content, PMK•BNC
Ross held an engaging talk about how influencers have changed the marketing game. Advertising used to be easy, it was about a static image and clever copy. Now social media influencers have rewritten all the rules.
He included a quote from Guy Parker, the Chief Executive of the Advertising Standards Agency, which urged that:
[no_blockquote text=”People shouldn’t have to play the detective to work out if they’re being advertised to.” text_color=”” title_tag=”h3″ width=”” line_height=”” background_color=”” border_color=”” show_quote_icon=”no” quote_icon_color=”” quote_icon_size=””]
This is something that influencers have come under fire from in the past.
Ross then went on to explain how consumers are increasingly getting ‘brand and image fatigue’. They are bombarded with so many social media posts from influencers subtly advertising products, that they no longer trust these influencers as their content is not authentic. He went on to stress how important it is to ‘tell stories through the economy of trust’.
Key Takeaways:
- People are not born to be bored
- Advertising campaigns need to be managed holistically. This means thinking about the macro influencers (celebrities) and micro influencers that the customer interacts with directly (a barman or shop assistant).
Making Brand Content that People Actually Care About
Coris Leachman, New Business Director, Impero.
Impero is a London based digital agency that specialises in ‘Making Tired Brands Famous Again’. Coris explained the number one reason that content is so important: the internet. Brands need to be consumer-centric to create content that their customers will engage with.
Key Takeaways:
- 39% of all pages have their ads blocked
- 5% of all content generates 95% of all engagement online
- There are 3 ways to create content that people will care about:
1. Let People Talk About Themselves
Coris quoted the book ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ as an example of this, as people love to talk about themselves. As a digital marketer in today’s world, you need to partake in a digital version of ‘active listening’. He even used the example of how most people use Google Earth for the first time. You can literally virtually visit anywhere in the world and where do most people go first? Their house.
A great way of making marketing consumer-focussed is with quizzes or interactive tests that they can take – Buzzfeed is a great example of this, as people love to know which Friends character is their spirit animal or which flavour of pizza they can most identify with. Interactive marketing is a great way to get people to share your content.
2. Make People Feel Part of Something
Another thing that works well with consumers is making them feel as though they are part of a community. An example of this was the ‘Boaty McBoatface’ debacle of 2016, where the NERC asked members of the public to name their newest polar research ship, only to have a landslide victory for the name ‘Boaty McBoatface’.
Obviously, apart from being funny, this is the kind of marketing that money can’t buy. It made people rally together to feel part of something and resulted in huge amounts of free advertising & links for the NERC.
3. Be New & Surprise People
It’s difficult to think of new and engaging content, but Honda did this perfectly with the adverts for their Honda Civic and sportier version, Honda Type R.
They created a two-sided interactive film that allowed viewers to switch between a dad doing the school run and the same man pulling off a heist by typing “R” on their keyboards – a function that mirrors the Type R’s race button. It was the first advert of its kind and has been copied many times since.
Coris explained how ‘novelty promotes memory’ – seeing something new can release dopamine in the brain making it more likely to be remembered.
As well as having a range of great seminars, The Online Influence Conference is a great way to meet like-minded people and discuss the latest digital trends. We had a great time at Oi Conf Bristol and can’t wait for next year.
