The Influence Group has unveiled a new tool to facilitate smarter media planning and drive greater influence through marketing campaigns: The Influence Audit.
The Influence Audit applies bespoke qualitative and quantitative data to establish benchmark metrics that enable marketers and agencies to understand what influences consumer choice, the relative weight of those influences and how they differ, ultimately informing a plan to amplify the impact of media activity.
In a case study revealed to a room of over 100 marketers and creatives at the inaugural Influence Upfront staged by The Influence Group’s company Social Soup this week, The Influence Audit was applied to consumers’ decision process in choosing a television program to watch.
In demonstrating that the decision process is far from linear, the research (conducted by The Influence Group’s strategic consulting and insights business Pollinate) highlighted that layers of influence – from mass advertising to editorial coverage and word of mouth – play individual roles in how viewers determine what is worthy of their attention.
In the case of television, a close circle of friends was revealed to be 1.7 times more influential than mass advertising in driving awareness, and 4.6 times more influential at driving a decision.
The Influence Group Director and Pollinate Founder and CEO, Howard Parry-Husbands, said: “Influence is the elephant in the room right now: we see it, we sense its impact, but we still haven’t grasped it and we certainly don’t plan with influence.
“The Influence Audit aims to change that, by applying hard data to increase the accountability of influence and help businesses understand the role it plays in delivering real ROI through amplifying the impact of other media.”
Influencer panel at the Influence Upfront
Parry-Husbands explained that three principles underpin the Influence Audit: “It’s about being able to plan smarter by understanding that influence accumulates over time, that communications have different weights of influence, and that the meaning of those communications changes at different points of the decision-making process based on social and cultural context.
“We’re determined to help businesses understand exactly when and where their communications can drive maximum impact using this tool.”
The Influence Group CEO, Henry Tajer, said: “Providing a way for our clients and partners to integrate the role of influence into their marketing strategy using a robust and quantified audit is how we believe marketing investment will be maintained, grown and drive stronger business outcomes.
“Influence-based marketing continues to be the fastest growing area in media and marketing, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 30% expected over the next five years. Developing accountable insights and tools to help our partners embrace influence is very exciting and timely.”
The Influence Audit represents the culmination of 20 years of research, consumer insights and campaign development conducted by Pollinate.
The case study presented at The Influence Upfront was based on six in-depth ethnographic interviews and a quantitative sample of 1,000 nationally representative people from across Australia.