From a communications perspective, we want to be a strategic partner to brands whether that’s in beauty, fashion, travel or ‘lifestyle’ brands with resonance with consumers. Our aim is to work in partnership to grow the profile and tell the story of each one of our clients. From established global brands through to start-ups, we love being able to get under the skin of a brand, listening to their needs and working with the brand team to understand their customer in order to build a tailor-made communications approach.

The word influencer is becoming over-used with too broad a meaning. We look for people of influence or with influence, with notable credentials both on and offline and with an ability to connect directly with an audience a brand wants to talk to. The content produced by people with experience and gravitas is often a by-product of a successful creative career in, for example, fashion, beauty or journalism. People with authoritative voices have an innate ability to confidently share brand messages. When matching a talent with a brand - how genuinely a brand can organically sit within the digital story being told by a talent is critical.    

 
What do you believe is essential to a good relationship between brands and influencers?

Each needs to understand what the other is trying to get out of a partnership – what the aim, objective and end goal is. Manage expectations on both sides. We’d like to think we are perfectly positioned to advise brands about the best way to work with talent and vice versa so that they both get the most out of the relationship. Putting in place a framework with a view to establishing a positive long-term relationship between the brand and talent and thereby increasing the authenticity of the partnership. 

What can brands learn from you, in regards to working with influencers/talent?
 

• That traditional ‘influencers’ aren’t your only option. There is a huge amount of talent who are influential but many of them don’t consider themselves an ‘influencer.'
• Understand the value of endorsement and not just reach/numbers. Big audiences don’t necessarily equal high engagement, sales or increased love for a brand.
• Work collaboratively with the talent; listen to their ideas and feedback. They know their audiences better than anyone and have by far the best sense of what will work best on their channels – and what won’t!
• Digital and more traditional communications can and should work together; integrated communications plans should be just that – a holistic view to a brand’s approach to how it speaks to its customers wherever they may be.
• Get to know talent and their audience and always question whether they reach the right people for your own brand. Don’t just follow the crowd; brands that are winning are those that are constantly looking for new places to speak to their customers/recruit new ones.

Not to look at things in isolation. The whole point of an integrated approach is to consider the impact of a campaign, event, launch etc. in its entirety and across all channels – both on and offline. Social media in all its forms is a peer-to-peer environment which is why it can be so effective in terms of brand awareness and sales. However, many brands still don’t value the power of social media in the same way they do ‘traditional’ advertising, which we believe they should. 

How does having a DIARY directory membership benefit you as an agency? What do you most use it for day to day?

We use DIARY Directory day-in, day-out! In particular, it is our go-to font of information to check contact details and we love the daily emails which keep us up to date with all that is going on in the industry.
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What have been the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from your previous roles and experience?

Listen to what people/brands are aiming to achieve. Work as a team to get there. Enjoy what you do and the people you work with. Be flexible; constantly adapt and react.
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What are your plans and goals for the next year?

To build the most talented team with a can-do approach to deliver the best results for our clients on both the brand and digital partnerships side of the business. Our aim isn’t to be the biggest but the best at what we do.
 

A full list of BLANKET's clients can be viewed on DIARY directory.