Influence Digital’s Newsletter, December 2022

Influence Digital’s first newsletter features the best campaigns of the year, a rundown of the most important trends of 2022 and some predictions about what’s to come for 2023.

Campaigns of the year:

This year, we’ve done fantastic work across multiple clients and campaigns. Below, we’ve highlighted some of our most successful campaigns of 2022.

Counter Terrorism Policing- Be Safe, Be sound

Influence Digital was tasked by Counter Terrorism Policing to develop a creative, social and OOH campaign to make live music spaces safer, by providing young people with clear, memorable and actionable messages.  We wanted to normalise reporting suspicious activity and empower live music event goers to act confidently. Through highly relatable pop-culture style creatives and clear and simple messages, we created a suite of assets to be utilised by the Met Police and music partners throughout the festival period. The campaign exceeded expectations with endorsements from Glastonbury, Radio 1’s Big Weekend, Reading & Leeds festival, and many more.

The Science Museum- Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of the Imagination

In 2022, The Science Museum embarked on a mission to launch its most ambitious exhibition ever, Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of the Imagination. At Influence Digital, we were ready to get on board, taking charge of a larger-than-life creative, social, and OOH campaign. Appealing to London-based and nationwide demographics, we played with the exhibition’s intergalactic and artificial intelligence themes to create out-of-this-world visuals and messaging, referencing some of pop culture’s most celebrated sci-fi franchises to appeal to dedicated fans and curious consumers alike.

Watch our amazing hero video here:

 

 

The Cambridge Club- 2022 Creative Refresh

The Cambridge Club is a feel-good festival of Disco & Discovery for all ages that takes place annually in Cambridge. Before the launch of The Cambridge Club 2022, the festival wanted to elevate its look and feel as the festival gained more popularity and success and tasked Influence Digital with a full rebrand. We decided to give the festival a rebrand that guaranteed a premium but playful feel and gave us many options when creating individual social assets. We aimed to leave room for imagination; Rather than illustrating the wonders of the festival, we wanted to leave subtle hints and allow the audience to form their own ideas. 

The Cambridge Club 2022 was a huge success, and our rebrand presented the festival as fun, fresh and dynamic. Through bespoke icons, high-quality photos and videos, and catered and specific messaging, we showed the festival as the place to be in the summer of 2022!

Impressed? Read the full Cambridge Club case study on our website here.

Our Favourite Advertising Campaigns

We also want to highlight work done outside of the agency. These are 3 of our favourite advertising campaigns of 2022:

Christmas ad of the year- J&B

Although there was stiff competition for the agency’s favourite Christmas ad, our winner is slightly untraditional this year. J&B’s Spanish ad ultimately won over the agency, leaving everyone in tears. We don’t want to spoil it, but make sure you have some Kleenex nearby before watching!

 

The Lost Class

A stunning campaign demonstrating the impact gun violence has on America’s youth. The Lost Class holds a graduation ceremony for the 3044 students who would’ve graduated from high school in 2021, had they not fallen victim to gun violence. Two well-known gun advocates are invited to hold the commencement speeches- watch it yourself and see how it goes.

Watch it here.

Backup Ukraine

Here at Influence Digital, we love seeing new and exciting technology being put to use for good. For this reason, the Backup Ukraine campaign by UNESCO and the 3D startup Polycam was one of the agency’s favourite campaigns of the year. Through the metaverse and cloud technology, Ukrainians could virtually save their cultural heritage sites from bombings and destruction, ensuring that Ukrainian culture wouldn’t be destroyed.  

Top trends of the year:

These are some of the most prominent and exciting trends we saw in 2022 that shaped our work as an agency.  

Artificial Intelligence

The rise of AI that can be harnessed for creative use, such as AI language platforms and AI image generation, has been one of the biggest trends of late 2022. The trend drew further attention with the launch of ChatGPT in late November, and we are all asking ourselves if we should fear for our jobs. 

Our lead creative, Ned Carr, has written a wonderful blog post about the potential of AI in the industry that can be read here.

Micro-influencers

A micro-influencer is someone with a social media following larger than an average person but smaller than a celebrity, landing somewhere between 10,000-100,000 followers. Micro-influencers are usually more niche than full-on influencers and will create content targeting a particular audience or interests, such as books, reading,  or sewing. In 2022, we saw brands engaging more with micro-influencers, with some building campaigns with the help of the smaller creators. The benefits of micro-influencers are plenty: they are cheaper to work with, you get access to a specific community, and the audience engagement levels are usually higher. 

Curious? We have a blog post on all things micro-influencers here.

TikTok Marketing

This year we have noticed a shift in the content posted by brands on social media: Where edited and professional-looking content was highly sought after before, brands are now tapping into authentic and platform-native styles. The steadfast rise of TikTok and Reels has been vital for the trend, as Gen-Z audiences are notorious for scrolling past content that doesn’t adhere to the look and feel of the platforms the content sits on. To make engaging content for young audiences, learn what is trending, adopt native filming styles and nail the lingo. 

Need advice on Gen-Z slang? Read our vocabulary guide here.

Nostalgia

Nostalgia in marketing is tapping into familiar, positive concepts from previous decades to build trust and engage with an audience. This can involve using fonts and graphic designs that were popular in the past, featuring a celebrity who was iconic in a previous decade or making the campaign soundtrack a golden oldie. Research has shown that people tend to find comfort in nostalgia during times of uncertainty and chaos, words that pretty much sum up 2022. We have dipped our toes in nostalgia marketing this year- spot any blasts from the past in the Science Fiction video?

Personalisation

In 2022, we saw a trend of personalising content to individual users based on the data that exists on them. Personalisation ensures each user gets a unique and authentic experience and could include anything from a personalised and highly relevant call-to-action to personalised product recommendations. 84% of consumers value being treated like a person rather than just another number, and 74% feel frustrated at impersonal web content, and Hubspot revealed that personalised call-to-actions perform 202% better than generic ones. With that in mind, we are sure to see personalisation well into 2023!

Bright and bold ads!

In 2022, ads were bright and bold! Shying away from pastels or earth tones, a big trend this year was using bright and energetic colours that drew the audience’s attention straight away. Similarly, bold illustrations and designs, in both 2D and 3D, complimented the bright colours and led to daring and fun creative work. Our clients DreamValley festival and Strawberries&Creem both jumped on the trend with some bright and bold assets. 

Want more information about what Gen-Z wants to see? Check out our findings from a recent survey here.

From the Agency: Music and Audio

“The most important digital marketing trend has been the impact of positioning music and audio on social media platforms, especially on TikTok. From new releases from Tion Wayne, Central Cee and previously released songs from artists such as Kate Bush re-emerging on TikTok and having a domino effect on the charts, it has shown how music on social media apps has carved out a significant role on its own. It’s not just about visuals. Audiences are taking sections of songs, creating trends, dialogues, dances, and memes and repurposing to funny, light-hearted and digestible content.”

-Our Account Manager, George Osei-Prempeh

Hope you enjoyed our first newsletter – stay tuned for more!

  • Outstanding Agency! I've been working with Influence Digital and they consistently impress. Their expert team, clear communication, and innovative approach make them invaluable partners. Highly recommend!Alvaro Lopez, Primavera Sound
  • Across Paid Social and Creative, ID are experts in their field. Their collaborative approach, expert insights, strategic optimisation and passion for our business have been pivotal to the success of countless major film releases over the years.Chris Besseling, eOne Films
  • From straightforward project management and scheduling to more creative ideas, Influence Digital are flexible, innovative and adaptable. I am always grateful for the support and incredible experience.Niko Michault, Push Music Management (Jack Savoretti)
  • Influence Digital have been a crucial part of the Anjunabeats and Above & Beyond story for over 15 years, and we hugely appreciate the cutting edge expertise and sage advice they have given us during that time.Tony McGuinness, Anjunabeats / Above & Beyond
  • We were very fortunate to have had Influence Digital involved in promoting the P!nk Summer Carnival 2023 shows in the UK. They managed the campaign throughout and ensured we achieved the results we were after. It is always a great pleasure to work with the talented Influence Digital team.Ben Martin, Marshall Arts (P!nk and Elton John)
  • Influence were and continue to be paramount to the success of a number of projects across the ATC roster. They are brilliant creative thinkers, always on the ball, understanding of the artist's vision and a joy to work with.Jai Shaw, ATC Management