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HOW CHOOSING A BRAND INFLUENCER CAN HURT YOUR BRAND.
Adidas has been paying Beyoncé 20 Million USD annually since 2018 (B) to be their influencer BUT IT HAS NOT BROUGHT THEM PROFIT TO DATE.
Adidas has been paying Beyoncé 20 Million USD annually since 2018 (B) to be their influencer BUT IT HAS NOT BROUGHT THEM PROFIT TO DATE. They had to terminate the deal this week. Adidas has several celebrities as their Brand influencers but only their deal with Kanye West has been profitable until the anti-Semitic scandal that crashed the deal, which is still affecting Adidas sales to date. This 2023, Adidas is making a loss of 700 Million Euros 💶, their first annual loss in 31 years (A).
The irony of this is that Beyoncé single-handedly rebranded Lion King, the movie plus the sound track and helped Disney world make tons of money in the past 4 years. Raising the networth of Lion King brand value to 11.6 Billion USD (C).
What is the point I am driving at?
To be a brand influencer is not automatic profit for the brand one tries to influence. There are several factors that govern the success of brand influencing. Let me share 3 of them:
- Affinity to the Brand’s service and products: imagine Serena or Venus Williams being Adidas brand Ambassadors. They most likely will perform better than Beyoncé in this case because Beyoncé is NOT a SPORTING ASSET. None of her music videos portray sporting strengths, for example. For any other fashionable clothing line, perhaps Beyoncé would be a smashing hit.
- Goodwill capital: Beyoncé has STRONG FAMILY ROOTS. Her father is a strong black mobilizer. That is a good asset for Disney World’s Lion King; but not for Adidas, a brand that is political and narcissistic. Beyoncé’s value system most likely worked against her ability to deploy her seduction for Adidas.
- Accessibility: Beyoncé is not accessible. Adidas is a sporting brand that is bought by accessibility to all sports men and women, at whatever level of professionalism. This may have created a disconnect and led to declines in sales. Kanye West is ‘hyper’ accessible. He is personally on Twitter, and every entertainment space so there’s relatability and connect. In marketing terms, no connection! no sales!
So as a business, if you really want to hire an influencer, please check these factors out diligently and be careful whom you pay. It may not return any positive ROI.
As a Brand Ambassador myself for a few brands including Shane’s Burger, UBIS University, et al, I have had to unlearn some cultural and belief limitations so that my personality and persona don’t work against the brands who want me to help them make money. To be a brand ambassador requires re-working your own beliefs so as to create advantage; not losses.
I hope this helps.
If you want to learn how I think, check out any of my creative works on https://selar.co/m/sobafemi
m a k t u b !!!
🐙