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Brands often want to be strategic with influencers, yearning to build long-term relationships with them rather than one-shot deals ( PRN, Dec. 8, 2016). Strategy discussions also are held concerning events, as communicators attempt to extract as much benefit and ROI from them as possible. Amisha Gandhi, head, global influencer marketing, SAP, has combined these discussions, as illustrated in the chart above, which she calls Event in a Box.
“As a PR pro who wants to provide value to your company,” she says, “think strategically about the long-term effect this one event or program can have across your entire company.” Talk to your marketing colleagues and “ask them what their strategy is and you can base your strategy off that.”
When dealing with influencers, Gandhi says, “You need to ask, ‘How do we align with the right experts to amplify what we’re doing in an authentic way that’s going to resonate with our buying audience?’ To get strategic, you have to think about how and whom do you do that with? Why? And what you expect the outcome to be?” She adds, “Once you have your outcome, you can plan your whole program and execution around that.”
Head, Global Influencer Marketing, SAP
At SAP she brings influencers to the brand’s annual conference. When planning an event, determine content strategy, which “must be bigger than the news at the event…ask, ‘What will be the main messaging?’” Then tie that to a trend so you can tell a story. Next, decide on content creation and assets (e.g. videos, blog posts, live streaming). The right side of her chart shows important post-event tactics, such as sharing content assets with sales and marketing.
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