Black Friday has been a staple in companies' marketing strategies for several years - until now.  Recently, a lot of brands have been rethinking their involvement in the profit-led holiday, and found ways to re-position their relationship with it. Why do this? The reason's threefold: planet, perceived brand value and profit.  

We are all familiar with influencer culture, its etched into the fabric of our hyper-connected, e-commerce world. Whilst most brand builders know what Influencers are about, what's not always clear to is the difference between the four types of influencers that exist.

Community marketing is a concept that every brand’s heard of, but not every brand implements. If you are struggling to build a business case for integrating community marketing into your strategy, look no further. We’ve weighed up the pros and cons to help show you should have it as part of your strategy, and what you need to consider when putting it into action.

Whilst the pandemic has caused hundreds of household names to shut up shop, a select few companies have managed to thrive in the last 18 months by evolving innovative ways of engaging with their customer base. Their not-so-secret weapon? Leveraging thousands of brand ambassadors using Ambassador Storefronts - an innovative way for brands to work with their fans to sell products on their behalf to their friends, family, and followers.

2020 has pulled the chair out from underneath seasoned marketers that entered the year with swelling budgets and confident growth strategies. Advertising budgets have deflated, retail activity has plummeted and the fight for brand loyalty has only become more competitive. The interesting element of these shifts is that the economics of a COVID-conscious world did not create them, it only accelerated them. 

Today’s customers are more difficult to please than ever before, and brands have a lot to lose if they can’t deliver an exceptional experience. 61 percent of consumers are willing to switch brands purely based on receiving a better customer experience, and average, satisfactory experiences are simply not enough. 

The best brands of the last decade have grown through a strong passionate following, which has led to organic word-of-mouth and high retention. This combination allows brands to organically grow their following quickly and cost effectively. 

Back in 2008, Kevin Kelly, the founder of Wired Magazine and all-round future gazer, wrote an essay called ‘1,000 True Fans’ on how an individual, band, artist or craft person only needs 1,000 true fans to make a living. 

Throughout history, human beings have made important decisions based on the trust they put in their friends, families and networks. It started with villagers relying on localized information, trusting their neighbours to find the best bakers or carpenters in the area. Marketers were held accountable by the reputation they could build amongst their customers, and as a result, they needed to provide a certain level of service to compete.