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We’re constantly hearing about blogger and brand collaborations, but how do they come about? Who is approaching who? How do the pitches work? Is there a foolproof formula to work out who’s the right fit for your brand/blog?
One company that has got the blogger campaign down pat is Schwarzkopf. Here, Schwarzkopf communications manager Lauren Gooch gives us the lowdown on nailing the blogger/brand campaign approach.
What are the top three things you look for when choosing a blogger for a campaign?
- Brand fit. Does it make sense for our audience to receive a message from this blogger and does it make sense for the blogger’s audience to receive a Schwarzkopf message?
- How they relate to and engage with their community.
- Do they inspire and excite their audience?
What is the best method for approaching bloggers you wish to work with?
Maybe I’m lucky, but because the brand Schwarzkopf is synonymous with quality and trust, bloggers have been really open and proactive about working with us. I work with agents and bloggers directly and have really loved building all these relationships professionally. I think it is such an exciting and fast-moving space to work in - one day, you can have an idea and then a week later, you see it come to life! Essentially though, it’s about mutual benefit. There should be something in it for everyone.
Would you be open to bloggers approaching you with pitches of their own?
They do, and I love it! Working in a large corporation often means lots of planning, approvals and following global guidelines, it’s easy to get lost in this. Bloggers often approach me with their own ideas – and I love this. They should do it more!
Who are some of the bloggers you have done campaigns with?
This is the third year in a row we have collaborated with bloggers on a campaign. The campaigns have grown over this time. This year we had a larger group, collaborating with hair, fashion and beauty bloggers like Christina Butcher from Hair Romance, Bonnie Gillies from Oz Beauty Expert, Zanita Whittington from Zanita Who, Sonia Bavistock from Sonia Styling, and Katie 'Monty' Dimond from Show and Tell, just to name a few.
How do you choose which bloggers to work with?
I approach it in more of a mutually beneficial way. I write a brief, keeping it pretty simple, and put it out to bloggers that are a good fit with both the brand and the campaign objectives. Not every campaign will suit a blogger/blogger’s audience, so I leave that detail up to the blogger to decide.
How do you work on a campaign with a blogger? Do you go to them with your idea or do you work together on a pitch?
Both. I or our media agency will brief bloggers on a specific campaign or activity if we have this planned, but I also like to discuss ideas and collaborate together to formulate the plan with bloggers. It’s my opinion that they have gotten to where they are today with a dedicated following of fans by being smart, creative and aspirational. I want to create with them.
What are your top tips for bloggers hoping to work with brands?
- Essentially, you or your blog is your brand, so make sure you stay relevant to your audience and gain new fans while at the same time maintaining your advocates.
- Understand what makes your blog unique and how you set yourself apart from your competitors.
- If you have an idea, just approach brands and see if they’re up for it.
- I think competitors are interesting… From a brand point of view, we don’t want you to work with our direct competitors, especially when you are working on a campaign with us. But we do understand you need to sustain your business, and also not be seen as ‘one sided’. Like with any good relationship, respect each other’s needs and communicate openly from the start.
What advice would you give to brands wanting to work with bloggers?
One of the biggest advantages bloggers have is their ability to influence their audience’s behaviour. Work with the bloggers you feel are relevant for your brand to try and tap into this for mutual benefit.
What are some of the craziest campaigns you have down with bloggers?
Not that crazy - but getting eight different bloggers to re-create eight different on-trend, fairly crazy hair colour looks themselves was not the easiest to co-ordinate! I can tell you the shoot was two days of crazy chaos, but the end results were just stunning. The bloggers, even the really, really nervous ones, excelled.
Which blogger campaigns are you most proud of?
They’ve evolved and gotten bigger, more creative and more exciting! I have really enjoyed the Hair Happiness Campaign we developed this year, which is all about calling people out on the excuses that are stopping them from achieving good hair days. It’s exciting to see how each blogger puts their own flavour onto the concept of the campaign and brings it to life to connect with their audience.
In one campaign, you got Christina Butcher from Hair Romance to dye her hair. Are you normally able to convince bloggers to do quite out-there things for a campaign?
Maybe because Christina has been with us from the start, she’s worked on every blogger campaign I’ve run, so there was probably a good level of trust there. To be honest, all the bloggers that dyed their hair were nervous – and not all that keen! But we managed to convince them all, which really came back to the core idea of the campaign: to overcome the fear of dyeing your own hair. And we will be looking to do it all again if anyone is keen... check out https://style-studio.com.au/colour_college/!
Will you look to continue to work with bloggers on future campaigns?
100 per cent. I really enjoy working with bloggers. It’s an exciting space, it’s fast-moving, and it’s non-traditional - something all marketers get excited about!
Why would you choose to work with bloggers over celebrities or models?
It comes down to the campaign, objectives and budget. I’ve worked with all three this year, and I would just say that bloggers are in the same class. They’re approachable, influential, and you can measure the results.
Do you believe working with bloggers helps benefit the brand more so than a model or celebrity?
It depends on the brand and the campaign objectives specifically. For us, it has been the right approach, but I wouldn’t say it’s right for everyone. Models and celebrities also have strong influential power, and are definitely relevant in the beauty industry.
Do you have any upcoming campaigns with bloggers that we should keep an eye out for?
The Schwarzkopf Colour College is live now, where we convinced eight super-brave bloggers to dye their own hair (some for the first time). We made Monty go green, and she did it! The campaign lives on the Schwarzkopf Style-Studio.com.au and we will be looking to re-create new looks with new bloggers in the future.