How Brands Can Measure An Influencer's Reach
YOU'VE seen the front rows full of millennials with millions of social-media followers, the celebrity/blogger fashion collaborations and scrolled to view what your favourite public personality wore out the night before.
As the power of the influencer becomes more powerful than ever before, how can brands harness the promotion and ultimately revenue it can bring? Launchmetrics, a new digital platform that is the result of a merger between Augure and Fashion GPS, thinks it has found a way.
Using advanced algorithms, it is able to "provide brands with data from their events that measures the impact of the social reach of guests who have attended", with a view to develop relationships with key influencers and, in time, attract consumers. But what are the greater implications of a digital innovation such as this? Will it mean that brands are discouraged from partnering with ambassadors who have no online presence? How can they track a translation to sales? And who is using it so far?
This is what Michael Jais and Eddie Mullon, CEO and president of Launchmetrics respectively, can tell us from their interview with Vogue...
What's the reason behind the brand?
EM: In 2002, I was approached to create a sample tracking system to manage the workflow between publicists and publications. At the time, the industry was managing this process with a paper filing system. Once I realised that users loved the product and really appreciated what I created, I decided that I needed to create a company that focused on building more of these efficiencies. My aim has always been to build great products that simplify complex processes through technology.
MJ: For a decade, Augure had been working on enhancing big data and social intelligence for the fashion, lifestyle and luxury industries. It was our goal to build tools that helped brands use data to accelerate their launch to market of products and maximise their exposure by leveraging influencers. When I met Eddie about two years ago, we knew that our combined product offering could really be a game changer for the fashion industry. Our clients are experiencing more and more pressure to quantify everything they do - our vision is to provide them with tools that make that task effortless. Our combined Launchmetrics platform provides clients with an end-to-end solution to create the right exposure with the right people and easily measure how this impacts their business.
How long did it take to develop?
MJ: While the platforms have been around for a decade, it was in 2012 that we began to work on our proprietary algorithms specific to audience analysis and influencer data. We have even partnered with INRIA, the leading institute for digital science and technology (think Central Saint Martins of the data world). As the industry changes, so do our tools, which is also reflected in the investment our company makes in data development. We have a fully operational lab incubator where we are studying exciting new methodologies linked to the future evolution of the fashion industry and how we can bring innovative solutions to its development.
How can you tell if a promotion translates to sales?
EM: 75 per cent of marketing and communications professionals think that their influencer engagement efforts have been effective or very effective to drive sales. That means that without the right insights, brands are diminishing their true sales potential. What Launchmetrics does is provide the tools for the industry to target the influencers and media who will best reach an audience that is most likely to purchase. This is what our rich data and technology provides, which allows companies to launch products in the most efficient, organised way and ultimately make smarter business decisions that translate to sales.
How exactly is an “influencer’s” social reach measured?
MJ: Before we talk about social measurement for an “influencer”, I think it’s important for us to define what that means. At Launchmetrics it goes beyond bloggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, but also encompasses anyone else with a measurable footprint i.e. editors, stylists, buyers, etc. People measure influencers in different ways, but Launchmetrics has built a proprietary algorithm that ranks influencers with a combined score of exposure (reach), echo (audience engagement) and participation (relevancy to the topic).
I think the most difficult part about measurement for brands is confusion as to which of the three is most important. For example, an influencer at first glance may have a wide reach, but if their audience isn’t relevant to what your brand is selling, then they will never engage in the campaign. Our tools use a discovery method to help brands connect with over four million contacts worldwide, identifying the relevant influencers that are unique to each brand, based on keywords and the communities they influence - this is an extremely powerful tool.
Will influencers know that they are being studied in this way?
EM: I think most influencers know that brands are monitoring them and trying to understand more about the value they bring to them. It’s the same phenomenon that allowed influencers to charge for sponsored tweets, blog posts and so on. I think it will be interesting to continue to watch this space and see how it evolves, as brands continue to quantify these relationships and government organisations start to get involved to impose regulations (just as the FTC is doing in the US now).
Which fashion houses and well-known brands have signed up to use Launchmetrics?
EM: We have been working with brands and agencies for years to give them the right tools to identify influencers, with tremendous success. This includes brands of L’Oréal, LVMH and Richemont groups. We have just launched an Influencer Concierge system where we can help brands engage with the best audience for them and provide data to measure the results of the launch. Alexander Wang used this service for his recent spring/summer 2017 Adidas collaboration launch show. All Launchmetrics clients will be able to access data, which will help them manage their launches in our newly merged platform.
