Retailers should look to tie up with influencers for their marketing

When David Cameron was filmed gobbling a pack of Pringles on his way back from the Algarve, it quickly became a minor Twitter sensation. It’s an indication of the way that brands have broken out of traditional channels, and how a story is often driven by the public rather than brand managers.

Competing snack brand Doritos recognised this and took the brave step of going all out with social media for a summer push on its core market – lads.

The Walkers’ chip teamed up with website The Lad Bible, to engage with hard-to-reach 18 to 30 year olds in a way that’s fun and irreverent enough to cut through.

It kicked off by sponsoring a couple of Lad Bible staffers to head out to Ibiza for a 12-hour summer holiday, and be back at their desks for 9am the next morning.

Along the way, the lads had to undertake a series of challenges, and naturally it was all documented and played out to an appreciative audience on social media Twitter, Periscope and Snapchat in real time.

Brand engagement

The Lad Bible is one of the largest communities for guys aged 16-30 in the world, and they were soon following the #12hourholiday hash tag, sharing the Ibiza adventure and no doubt wishing that they were in tow.

For an audience familiar with scripted reality shows such as The Only Way Is Essex and Made in Chelsea, it’s familiar territory, but unusual for a brand to pull it off with such élan.

The storytelling felt a natural fit for the audience, and provided Doritos with a hook for a competition soliciting user generated content of ‘bold summer experiences’ for the site. Given the sort of responses that Doritos could get, it’s quite brave, although also in line with its current ‘For the Bold’ positioning.

Retail opportunities

Could retailers be so bold? There’s no reason why not. Doritos cleverly tied up a large community that dovetails with its own demographic, and capitalised on that audience.

To do so it really had to bring something worthwhile to the party – in this case, fun and an evolving storyline, plus the chance to become part The Lad Bible content by submitting user generated content.

Retailers should be looking for opportunities to tie up with influencers, be it a blog, community or individual, and recognise where they have more credibility or pull, and look at how the brand can facilitate and leverage it.

Imagine what Mothercare and Mumsnet could do in this space, or how about Gok Wan taking you shopping for underwear at Bravissimo?

Social and digital have changed the rules for retailers. They have to think beyond traditional media schedules, and look for new ways to add value for customers.

• Matt Pye, chief operating officer at Cheil UK