Lessons from the #Blockout2024 campaign for all business leaders:
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Transparency and Authenticity: Consumers value genuine connections with brands. In the #Blockout2024 campaign, inauthentic influencer marketing tactics backfired. Businesses should focus on building trust through transparency and authenticity.
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Ethical Influencer Marketing: Carefully select influencers who align with your brand values. Partner with influencers who are transparent about sponsored content and avoid misleading endorsements.
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Long-Term Brand Building: Focus on building long-term brand loyalty over quick wins through inauthentic influencer marketing. Invest in creating high-quality content and experiences that resonate with your target audience.
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Data-Driven Marketing: Use data and analytics to track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. Don’t rely solely on influencer endorsements for success.
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Community Building: Cultivate a strong brand community through social media engagement and interaction.Encourage genuine conversations and feedback from your audience.
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Micro-Influencers: Consider partnering with micro-influencers who have a more engaged and loyal following, rather than solely focusing on celebrity endorsements.
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User-Generated Content: Encourage user-generated content by creating engaging campaigns that incentivise customers to share their experiences with your brand.
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Social Responsibility: Consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that advocate for social and environmental causes. Align your brand with worthy initiatives to resonate with your audience.
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Omnichannel Marketing: Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that incorporates various channels, both online and offline.
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Customer-Centric Approach: Always prioritise your customers’ needs and interests. Tailor your marketing messages and campaigns to resonate with your target audience.
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Long-Term Relationships: Build long-term relationships with influencers and brand advocates. Mutually beneficial partnerships lead to more effective marketing.
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Adaptability: Be prepared to adapt your marketing strategies in response to changing consumer trends and market conditions. The #Blockout2024 campaign highlights the importance of staying ahead of the curve.
Where has this threat to established marketing tools come from?
Marketing trends are always changing. Let’s explore the latest one to explode into the marketing marketplace.
The Blocking Celebrities Trend, also known as Blockout 2024, Celebrity Block List 2024, Celebrity Block Party or BlockTok, refers to a trend started in the wake of the 2024 Met Gala in which TikTokers (and other internet users) made a list of celebrities to block on social media to protest their wealth by stopping their ad revenue. High-level influencers were also included in the block list. The campaign centred on blocking celebrities to support Palestine amid the 2024 Israel-Hamas Conflict, targeting celebrities who didn’t speak up to condemn the IDF. The hashtag #BlockOut2024 became synonymous with the trend akin to the TikToker who started the trend named @blockout2024. References to the Marie Antoinette quote Let Them Eat Cake also became synonymous with the trend.
Whether you deserve or don’t deserve to be blacklisted is not important here in this risk analysis. The key is to understand how to manage the risk from changes in the marketing marketplace.
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