Influencers on Inclusion: LL Cool J and WHOSAY Deliver Best Practices

The ANAamp8217s recent launch of its Center for Brand Purpose along with an oftrepeated reference at the conference a coalition of BrandsForGood provided an appropriate opportunity for the Viacomowned company to show both their influencer and inclusion chopsamp160 The influencerstar asked each brand chief to discuss how they are advancing diversity within their organizations and using inclusion to drive growth amp160As LL Cool J said to Pritchard of PampampG the largest US advertiser amp8220Youamp8217re impacting the collective zeitgeist of the countryamp8221 amp160With lights cameras and action centered on the high impact WHOSAY studio at the conference capturing videos of each interview now distributed by the ANA it was clear this is a company that has played in the influencer space beforeIt was also clear that the stunt wasn39t just a celebrity interviewing some people it was amp8220a person who is extremely interested in the topic who came there to learn from the CMOs and came away understanding inclusion is not a simple thing to do and there39s no one way to approach itamp8221 explained Kontonis amp160The very aspect of LL Cool Jamp8217s interest in DampampI is a big ingredient in not only why he was invited as the influencer for this event but representative of a key ingredient in influencer marketing in general matching a celebrityamp8217s authentic interest and brand with the advertiser values and messaging strategyamp160LL Cool J was also a good fit to represent Viacom not only as a star in a Paramount network show but as somebody who39s been a role model and apropos the business conference and brand executives is currently enrolled in an executive MBA program at HarvardTo further align itself with evangelizing inclusion Viacom has made the videos available for ANA members and the marketing industry amp8220because it is highly educational and what all these major brands are doing is inspirational in many regardsamp8221 explained KontonisWHOSAY which was acquired in January this year is part of Viacom Ad Solutions adding to Viacomamp8217s intention to be a solutionscentric partner for advertisers and marketers and offer nextgeneration platforms and innovations beyond just advertising Kontonis is eager to have influencer marketing along with experiential and shopper marketing as more offerings to help brands leverage Viacom programming amp160Along with WHOSAY in Viacom Ad Solutions are Vantage which is advanced advertising Velocity which is the creative group Vidcon that supports with experiential and AwesomenessTV which is part of the branded programming offer amp160Each supports Viacomamp8217s ability to offer more strengthened capabilities to clients that effectively reaches and engages consumers wherever they areIn the 10 months since the acquisition WHOSAY can already point to solid accomplishments with the Viacom Ad Solutions group amp160For example a Google Pixel 2 campaign brought in Viacom talent RuPaul amp160amp8220It started off as an influencer campaign that then ran on TVamp8221 noted Kontonisamp160 amp8220So it39s something where we show that we can leverage the talent the inventory of Viacom the audience and the reach of Viacom all to expand the influencer marketing offersamp8221Best practices for an influencer campaign Kontonis advised are to amp8220start with creativity Talent cannot take a bad idea and make it good amp160You need to start with the right idea the right creative strategy that can then be executed with the right talent collaborating with talent to create creative assets that you need to then run in targeted distributionamp8221Targeted is also the operative wordamp160 amp8220Organic reach is very limited on many of the platformsamp8221 Kontonis addedamp160 amp8220So the mindset has to change from looking at how many people influencers reach to amp8216Wow look what they can do with our brand creatively Look at this great piece of content they39re going to make that we could run anywhere we want within their social handles within thirdparty publishers and go to TV as well and target the right audienceamp8217amp8221Kontonis circled back to inclusion amp160amp8220Itamp8217s key to making diversity succeedamp8221 he saidamp160 amp8220You have to have an inclusive mindsetamp160 It39s okay to say that there are people with different thoughts and experiences in different networks and different knowledge and different backgrounds if you39re inclusive you39re able to help them all feel welcomed within the same place amp160So that39s the way we are thinking about it from within our organization but also within the larger picture of the content we put out thereamp8221Click the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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Influencers on Inclusion: LL Cool J and WHOSAY Deliver Best Practices

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Influencers on Inclusion: LL Cool J and WHOSAY Deliver Best Practices

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