Thank you to the US Open for giving me the perfect case study and excuse to talk about why brands keep getting this wrong.
First of all, if your company is referring to content creators as ‘influencers’ you are fucked from the get go.
Your brand should be approaching them and treating them like ambassadors. This needs to feel genuine. Most people know nowadays that if somebody with a following is posting about your product, majority of the time it’s gifted or paid. So trust is So Far Gone, to quote a famous Canadian.
Rule One: The product comes first.
The US Open is so concerned about having their viral moments that they forgot the main principle, which is that the product has to come first. So in this case, it’s Naomi Osakas serve. Not her having to wait for your talent to get their perfect shot. Which I bet they didn’t post because these shots weren’t perfect, just loud. These influencers, seemed to have all access. Meaning they treated a grand slam, like a TikTok Wonderland. No area was off limits, resulting in their respect for the sport, also being nowhere to be seen.
Rule Two: Have a fucking plan.
There was clearly no brief or real plan as to what each influencer was going to capture. Or what narratives would be pushed to different audiences.
For OCSC, ‘influencers’ were a non-negotiable from above. So I made it work. We had different sections that we were selling to different demographics. So we made sure that the Mommy bloggers - again, not where I would choose to put money, were sitting in the family friendly section. Making sure they know the moments of the match via a run sheet, that we had special activations in that section. These people didn’t know that a soccer match is often 0-0. So we had entertainment for the kids who just wanted to see something.
For the millennials that we created a date night pack for, we made sure they had the romantic view of the beautiful stadium and sunset background, you’d get to experience.
The follower count didn’t mean anything to me. Often it put me off, as it meant harder to deal with for less return.
Rule Three: Authenticity sells. Follower counts don’t.
And I have the receipts to prove it. Ambassadors who were interested in soccer before they worked with us outperformed and outsold the mommy bloggers with 10x the following.
I do believe that ambassadors programs can work. They just need to have a plan that is both consistent and genuine. For example, if you are a running brand, partner with an athlete that feels on brand but create a plan that takes us on the journey of his training schedule before a big race. Don’t just show up on race day and expect to medal.
As always,
Thanks for reading.
Hayden
PS: For my Aussie audience.. you might have noticed this with the NFL game this week.. Send me back your best examples of influencers trying to influence with zero purpose.