INFLUENCER MARKETING REPORT
EARNING OWN BRAND INFLUENCERS INFLUENCERS AND CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS ARE GENERALLY ASSOCIATED WITH NATIONAL NAME BRANDS, BUT PRIVATE BRANDS ARE GETTING IN ON THE SOCIAL ACTION By Zachary Russell
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he basics of marketing tell us that attaching a prominent or reputable face or name to a product increases the likelihood of catching someone’s attention, and eventually sales of a given product. The examples of this with well-known celebrities and name-brand companies are endless. In the private brand space, it’s more common than you might think. Just like branded products, store brands thrive when assisted by a popular influencer or social personality. According to a study released in June by Inmar Intelligence, 84% of respondents said they had made a purchase based on an influencer’s recommendation, with 61% of consumers saying they listen to influencers because they trust their product/category expertise. “Retailers should utilize influencers to be part of conversations that are already happening in the social space,” said Leah Logan, VP of media products at Inmar. “Retailers should be using tools like social listening to understand how they add value to conversations happening and then utilize authentic, vetted influencers to use their own voices to talk about what’s important to the retailer. They need to find influencers who actually relate to their shoppers and can be part of the conversation to relay their message.” Katie Burkhardt, director of brand strategy at Daymon agrees. “A collaboration should, first and foremost, reflect the preferences of the retailer’s current consumer base,” Burkhardt said. “The bonus of working with an influencer is that they come with a large, devoted fan base. Designer and celebrity col32
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laborations also help give a private label credibility. The goal is to create excitement and newness in a retail environment where many products are alike.” In addition to its name brand products, retail giant Amazon has multiple private label brands that perform well. Amazon Essentials, Nature’s Wonder, Mama Bear, Amazing Baby and Amazon Elements are just a few of those. Amazon benefits from influencers who post its private label products, even without a formal advertising sponsorship. In fact, many private brands use this approach. These influencers tag Amazon products and use the “Like to Know” platform for monetization. The website enables users to shop directly for the products seen used by influencers, in categories ranging from baby products to fitness to much more. While the influencers can be used to get followers interested in Amazon’s store brands without official sponsorship, some brands, such as Amazon Fresh, often partner with influencers officially. Julianna Astrid, Daniel Nguyen, and family influencer Sheila, ‘@OliviaSkyeandCo’ on Instagram, are all part of the recently launched Amazon Fresh influencer campaign. The latter has several sponsors, one of which being Amazon Fresh. Professional photos are taken of her and her family with products casually in the frame, and then are posted with a long caption including “#ad” that talks about the products. Walmart, like Amazon, is another example of a major retailer that often uses niche influencers to promote its private brands and services. Walmart’s Ozark Trail brand is pro-
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10/27/21 3:42 PM
