THE ERA OF ‘THE PRODUCER ECONOMY’ – THE EVOLUTION OF INFLUENCERS

 ‘The Producer Economy’ refers to the evolution of influencer marketing and companies opting to take control and become their own ‘influencers’.  They will have more control over messaging, and the same messaging can be taken through the entire brand journey and not necessarily only social media. 

 

This is a natural progression as there must be a lifecycle to an influencer campaign.  I am not saying bringing in influencers is not a great strategy, because it is.

 

The role of an influencer is to create brand credibility, but the secret is to do it in a way that is authentic to the influencer, using a tone that the person uses to communicate with their specific community. Hence the influencer should have some say in the way the message is portrayed.  Macro, micro and celebrity influencers are extremely important and make a great difference.  As a PR agency we have seen huge successes, but this cannot be seen as a ‘forever’ strategy.  Hence the introduction of The Producer Economy and this is where PR agencies can be extremely valuable.  It is the role of PR to use the goodwill generated from an influencer campaign and integrate into corporate and brand messaging.

 

The Brand being its own ‘influencer’ has numerous benefits.  Creating its own messaging, the distribution of such (what platform to use including email, OTT, TV and anything else) and the speed with which it can be changed or built upon.  Companies also believe this is the ‘safest option’ and can prevent any backlash from an influencer or the way the messaging is portrayed.

 

It is all about greater control.  However, here is a caution:  Influencers attract attention because of who they are and brands on their own can be passed by as ‘just another ad’. 

 

The best advice we can give – combinations!

·        The Producer Economy is a natural progression in the world of the influencer – a good strategy!

·        Using influencers, whether macro, micro or celebrity in campaigns is essential – they are invaluable and create instant awareness. 

·        Create partnerships!  Use an influencer image, quote, meme and build your own story around it between campaigns and for continuity!

·        If budget allows, use multiple influencers

 

The landscape out there is cluttered!  Extremely cluttered and very busy!! Being your own creator is hard work and needs extremely creative thinking!   No sooner has one brand managed to get heard above the clutter and the competitor takes it that one step further.  Influencers can be heard above the clutter!

 

And finally, ALWAYS bring in the creative PR team.  After all, a PR’s job is to tell stories.

 

·        An interesting stat:  Brands spent over $6.5 billion in 2019 and this doubled to $13.8 billion in 2021. (report compiled by Statista)

 

 

Great Excitement as the KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Festivals resume for the 2021/22 season

 

KFC Mini-Cricket Provincial Festivals resume for the 2021/22 season

 

 

South Africa’s leading cricket development programme - KFC Mini-Cricket, is set to resume when the provincial festivals kick-off on 18th February across the country.

 

The season restart coincides with the 12^th anniversary of KFC’ sponsorship of the Mini-Cricket programme that provides an enjoyable but more importantly, safe environment for the kid to get active and have fun.

 

The KFC Mini-Cricket programme has touched the hearts of many communities as it introduces kids not only to the fundamentals of cricket, but also to traits and values to become the best versions of themselves. It forms a critical foundation step in the development of South Africa’s future cricketing heroes and is the first step in Cricket South Africa’s ‘pipeline to the Proteas.’

                                                                                                                                                            

The KFC Mini-Cricket 2020-21 campaign was an unorthodox one, as the programme had to adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The usual blockbuster festival had to be scaled down into a series of smaller activations and the annual seminars, which usually attract the top Mini-Cricket volunteers and administrators in one venue, had to be hosted virtually.

 

However, with the country’s lockdown restrictions being reduced to level 1, the programme organisers are thrilled to bring smiles once again to the kids by allowing them to do what they love, playing the game of cricket.

 

“We are really excited that we can host provincial festivals again. Like everything else in South Africa, the programme was heavily affected by the pandemic and through our season theme of “Imvuselelo” or “Recovery” we are looking forward to continuing our journey back to normality by hosting the festivals,” said KFC CSI Manager Andra Ferreira Nel.

 

Through the help and hard work of the KFC Mini-Cricket coaches and coordinators, the kids will once again get an opportunity to play their favourite sport and create new friendships and unforgettable moments of laughter on the field in a more safe and secure way.

 

“These inspiring individuals epitomise all that is great about South Africa. Their selfless dedication allows the programme to be all-inclusive and teach the kids important life skills whilst they get active in a fun and healthy way by playing a sport that they love. They champion the spirit of community by keeping the Mini Cricket fire burning in their corners of our country and we could not be more proud to partner with them for the coming season,” continued Ferreira Nel.

 

However, safety is still an important factor in ensuring a safe and secure environment for the Mini-Cricketers while they showcase their talent on the field.

 

“We are excited to resume the 2021/22 KFC Mini-Cricket season. However, we are still aware that the pandemic has not ended, and safety will still be a priority with all protocols still having to be observed in the upcoming seminars and festivals,” reassured CSA Mass participation manager David Mokopanele.

 

“The majority of our administrators and volunteers have been vaccinated. We hope this will go a long way towards increasing the safety within the KFC Mini-Cricket season, allowing us to get more kids active for a sustained period this season,” Mokopanele concluded.

 

Since the inception of the programme, a total number of 2.5 million kids have played KFC Mini-Cricket and over 120 players have gone on to represent various national teams. And over 6 600 schools across the country joined the programme.

 

 

About KFC Mini-Cricket

KFC Mini-Cricket provides a platform for kids in South Africa to have fun and get active. KFC Mini-Cricket is the largest grassroots development sports programme in South Africa and is also an essential building block for learning cricketing basics and entrenching a love for the game. 

 

In the previous full season, 2019/20 there were over 126 000 kids from over 6600 schools active in the KFC Mini-Cricket programme who are coached by over 13 600 volunteer coaches. Year on year there are a minimum of 45 000 matches played each year. KFC has sponsored KFC Mini-Cricket since 2010 and in the 2012/13 cricket season KFC became the title sponsor of the KFC T20 Internationals.

 

 

Date		Event
18-Feb	Friday	Mpumalanga
05-Mar	Saturday	SWD
11-Mar	Friday	Western Province
12-Mar	Saturday	Boland
16-Mar	Wednesday	Kei
17-Mar	Thursday	Border
19-Mar	Saturday	EP
30-Mar	Wednesday	Limpopo
08-Apr	Friday	Northern Cape
09-Apr	Saturday	Free-State
22-Apr	Friday	KZN Inland
23-Apr	Saturday	KZN Coastal
29-Apr	Friday	Easterns
30-Apr	Saturday	CGL

GIVE A THOUGHT TO THE GLOBAL OLYMPIC SPONSORS – ARE THEY GETTING THEIR ROI?

I read an article on sponsors remaining largely silent leading up to the winter Olympics in China, and that got me thinking about the impact politics and negative publicity against rights holder has on brands. 

 

Sponsors spend enormous amounts on rights fees to partner with an event as big as the Olympic Games.  The sponsorship grants them logo use, branding and activation rights to leverage their own brand which could cost as much as the rights fees! And sponsorships are negotiated long term. Then they rely on the rights holders to decide countries, venues, fixtures and so forth.  After all, they are not specialists in running sports events, but rather in managing their own brands, and the sponsorship must work for them as they must answer to their shareholders and stakeholders as to why they are in the sponsorship in the first place!

 

The pandemic brought the planning of the 2020 Olympic games (which took place in 2021) to a grinding halt and sponsors had to pivot quickly.  They had to anticipate how the new reality would impact the live event, if it happened at all, and decide the best way forward to leverage their association and how to achieve an ROI through product sales.  Awareness is one thing but using the opportunity to create sales is another.

 

Many international Olympic sponsors chose to lie low during the 2020 summer Olympics in Japan due to public anti-Olympic sentiment.  Getting on the wrong side of the consumer is tantamount to killing the brand. 

 

Sponsors also had to contend with the new pandemic consumer insights.  Brand loyalty went out the window and trying out new brands became a norm, which smaller brands capitalised on.  But the most important consumer insight pointed to customers wanting brands to directly connect with them.  They wanted personalisation and to know that brands cared for the community – giving back to those that supported them through the years.  Therefore, Olympic sponsors had to pay even more attention to the consumer feeling and listen to the talk.

 

And now we have the Winter Olympics in a country that is well known for allegations of human rights violations, not to mention the questions being asked on their climate change policies, disregard for equality and inclusivity and general disregard of human respect.  For all these reasons many Global Olympic partners and sponsors have opted to keep a low profile, which has opened the door for local Chinese companies to grow their brand awareness.

 

The idea behind China’s hosting of the Olympics was to use the opportunity to promote the country as a tourist destination and promote and inclusive, Green Olympics, hence their slogan ‘faster, higher, stronger, together’.  But I question as to whether the opposite is happening?

 

The opening ceremony was a spectacular affair showing off China’s tech prowess.  The symbolic Olympic flame was specially designed for the first ever futuristic underwater torch relay using gaseous fuel that was smokeless and free of pollution. There can be no doubt China is in the forefront of anything technical.

 

But both Olympic Games were spectator free, so everything went online, and people consumed the Olympics via traditional TV, OTT and CTV (i.e. streaming using various different devices). 

 

Sponsors would have taken to online and TV, but so did every other brand not to mention the publics ad fatigue and the ability to skip the ads. All that sponsorship money and where is the uniqueness?

 

What about the off-the-field activations around the country staging the games, not to mention the fun activation areas at the entrance of each stadium where fans get involved in fun activities that the sponsors normally put on.  This is all part of the fun of a live event such as the Olympic Games.   And this also is where sales are generated, particularly for the FMCG brands such as Coca-Cola.

 

Whether the sponsors got their monies worth in Japan and China is questionable.  I cannot answer for them but having been intricately involved with many of the sponsors over the years at these massive sports events, and travelled the world with them, my heart goes out to their dilemma.

 

When controversy hits a sports body or event, sponsors get dragged it, which is a pity.  They sponsor events in good faith and when they must put the entire PR team onto reputations management to protect the brand, it is not fair.  Yes, brands are aware that things can happen and go wrong, and the PR team is always in the loop, but to be brought in to answer rights holders’ controversy is taking it to another level.

 

My observation over the 30 years that I have been in sponsorship is that there is a lack of foresight many rights holders have on the repercussion of their behaviour on sponsors.  After all, sponsorship is the lifeblood of any sport.  Lack of sponsorship impacts dramatically on any sporting association and the level of event they are able to produce. 

 

My final thought on the matter is that sports associations must bear in mind the impact that the pandemic has had on the bottom line of all companies (small, medium and large corporations), and when sponsorships come up for renewal, if they are not careful, the money could well dwindle somewhat.   I reiterate, sponsors are there to grow their brand and not to look after sporting associations. They have boards and shareholders to answer to!  Never forget!