Let’s get right into it: Influencer marketing is a tantalizing option for most marketers, but with its popularity on the rise and more than 320 new influencer platforms and agencies in the market just this year alone, marketers have to do extra due diligence on who they partner with. This week we take a closer look at the National Advertising Division’s (NAD) crackdown on one platform’s data verification practices.

It’s a story that reminds us all that influencer marketing, while certainly not new anymore, is still largely unregulated and that marketers are very much responsible for making sure they protect their brands (ahem, Fyre Festival). For those of you that need a quick primer on the state of influencer regulation along with some basic rules to live by, we’ve compiled a few three-minute reads on the subject: what you need to know about the FTC’s 2018 crackdown on influencer marketing, how to prove influencer marketing ROI and six tips for choosing the right b2b influencer.  

This week we also talk to Stoli Vodka senior brand manager Lauren Longenecker for the fourth installment in our “Understanding and Marketing to the Modern LGBTQ Community” series. Even with a 25-year history of LGBTQ marketing initiatives, Stoli is still learning about how to engage this market. Go inside their portfolio to read some of their most recent lessons learned.

Jack Daniel's got our attention this week, too, with its augmented reality app that enables users to point their phone at any Jack Daniels bottle and unleash animations, content and stories about the brand. We just hope it still works even when the bottle is half empty.

Have a great weekend!

Jessica

Jessica Heasley
Content Director - Chief Marketer