Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we?
Could we?

-- lyrics from “The Way We Were”

Ah, simpler times. Let’s jog down memory lane, shall we? All the way back to...January. When none of us brand marketers had a care in the world.

Oh sure, maybe we thought our jobs were complicated. But compared to now, 2019 feels as quaint as the milkman delivering glass bottles of Bessy’s freshest on your front porch.

Back in the glory days of a few months ago, when “Contagion” was just a Matt Damon movie and not our actual lives, my celebrity and influencer marketing agency was going full throttle with all of our brand clients. From spectacular brand activation events to guaranteed celeb photo placements in the weeklies, we had our formula down to a science for quickly rocketing brands to a massive universe of visibility and revenue.

And then.

Don’t get me wrong. The headwinds of a pandemic haven’t stopped my agency from creating marketing liftoff for brands by connecting them with celebrities and influencers.

But - understatement alert - the rules of the game have changed.

Brands are understandably proceeding with the utmost cautiousness right now. Sales are down for most (except for you, Clorox), and brands must urgently drive revenue. But they also have to respect the real pain of both a pandemic and civil rights movement.

Also read: “Celebrity and Influencer Marketing is Shifting from Aspirational to Inspirational. Just Like Your Brand.”

So what’s the secret to connecting with consumers during an apocalypse?

The biggest piece of wisdom I’m sharing with clients is this: no more shortcuts. Forget about a magic formula for brand marketing.

Today, it’s all about the 3 C’s:

C #1: Cross-platform/ strategy

Since the pandemic started, social media use has exploded. Great! Right? Uh, not exactly.

Quarantine-ish lifestyles have translated into such a saturation of the social airwaves that reach has shrunk.

And that means there’s less bang for your brand’s buck right now. Even if a celebrity has 10 million followers, her post about your brand (you may need to sit down for this one ) may barely get seen at all. That is, unless you slip the doorman a Benny (i.e., boost your posts.)

Nowadays you have to be everywhere and do everything to achieve the same level of visibility you could snag without breaking a sweat last year. Sorry, but your brand can’t just go deep on one platform. You need to be on all of them - Instagram, IGTV, YouTube, TikTok, and so on.

Plus, your brand needs multiple strategies for its content across platforms, all of which tie to specific goals. Is your brand looking for overall branding and exposure? Driving retail? Driving direct to consumer sales? Different content strategies connect to each of these goals, so you’ve got to get crystal clear.

Whatever your goals, all brands should now hedge their bets like a poker master and include a blend of strategies and content in their marketing mix. This includes celebrity marketing, celebrity and influencer social media marketing, branded original content, and digital activations and COVID-proof events.

And if you can create single campaigns that encompass multiple strategies and platforms? Well, my friend, then you get a gold sticker AND a lollipop.

Olivia Wilde at The United Nations for Thomas and Friends Partnership. Photo Michael Simon

For example: I engaged Oliva Wilde for a partnership with the United Nations and Thomas and Friends to inspire the next generation of global citizens. Olivia joined a panel at the UN Headquarters to continue the conversation around how to leave the world a better place for our kids. She participated in an interview with E! Entertainment TV, we took some photos that landed in every celebrity outlet in the world, and she posted on social media to share the important message as a Mattel Partner. The result: meaningful press, social love, incredible brand exposure and multiple platforms.

Another example: I wrangled a group of influencers in a promotion for my client, Surprizamals. Each influencer designed their own Surprizamal, which they promoted across their social channels. This led to each influencer creating a YouTube video , then attending an in-store event for fans, which begat another YouTube video by the brand, which generated even more publicity and exposure across media and social platforms and Goodyear blimps and skywriters (ok, maybe not the last ones).

In short, Dorothy, there’s no simple “swipe to buy” shortcut to Kansas anymore. Brands need to click their heels three times AND spread their marketing spend across multiple influencers, platforms, and marketing approaches.

C #2: Content diversity

Are you a wingman? Well, stop that right now. Winging it won’t cut it with content anymore. You need a strategic content plan so that your content can be repurposed in myriad ways. After all, your brand’s marketing content needs to live on many platforms now, and that affects the kind of content you create.

And just like everything else, you need to gear your content to the new realities of our current circus funhouse, where “conventional wisdom” has become an oxymoron.

Let’s start with celebs. Once glam and often out of reach, they’re now Zooming from their carpeted bathrooms with grays poking out of their heads. Or telling Insta stories wearing masks and COVID-crap-wear. Or showing us in a million other ways that they can be just as grubby and boring as the rest of us.

Along the way, they’ve become a lot more relatable.

Which is…fantastic! Because celebrity endorsements need to feel natural, as if the brand is a real part of their life. Forget about asking another zillionaire in a Rolls Royce to pass the Grey Poupon. When celebs are just like us, we can believe their embrace of regular products.

This was already true before COVID. Anytime it feels like celebs have been paid to hold a product, consumers can smell the fake a mile away.

That’s why I create immersive “experiences” with celebs to foster an authentic connection with brands. Like the Barbie birthday party we developed for Scott Foley and his daughter. Or the Wyler’s Light lemonade stand we created with Tia Mowry and her kids.

Influencers have always had a knack for relatability, which is what draws massive followers. Some of the social media campaigns I’ve launched with influencers have landed more views than the most addictive TV shows.

Whether your brand is building a relationship with an influencer or celeb, patience is a must. It takes time to see results. The talent has to connect with the brand in a meaningful way. Consumers have to trust the relationship. And the content that talent creates for their social channels needs to be strong enough for repurposing within all of your marketing across all of your platforms.

Picture this: we created a suite of diverse content for our client Squeezamals with one campaign. The concept was a scavenger hunt, where influencers were given clues along the way to find their own Squeezamal. The influencers documented the hunt through Instagram Story in real time, with their fans following them step by step in real time. The Nancy Drew extravaganza culminated in a big reveal event of unboxing and an influencer packed video for YouTube. The result: huge product sales and one very happy client.

Content diversity also means creating content that you can actually monetize on its own. I’m developing a feature film right now that’s completely funded by brands, featuring some of the biggest creators from YouTube. This follows in the steps of a prior influencer-driven film that I produced with brand support, “Next Level,” which created awareness and revenue for the participating brands.

When you create branded content, you can integrate your brand within bigger projects in an organic way. You also end up with ownership of a revenue-generating product that extends your brand image. Sweet!

Diversifying your content game is non-negotiable right now. Very rarely does a single content approach deliver a brand everything they’re hoping for - again, remember: there are no more easy shortcuts. But a careful blend of celebrity and influencer marketing can generate the kind of consistent, fresh content that delivers visibility and sales.

C #3: Creativity

Look, we’re all burned out right now, and it’s easy to feel stuck. But you’ve got to wipe away those tears of frustration, pull on your big girl athleisure, and get creative. Innovation is your best and only salvation for marketing success in COVID times.

Set aside the old formulas. Yes, people are Zoomed out. So what CAN you do? How CAN you reach people and entertain them in a new way?

Events may be on perma-pause. But Twitch is on fire. So is IGTV. People are re-engineering their content game to connect through video.

For example, I’ve got a group of influencers teed up to host a “watch party” for America’s Got Talent. Together with their fans, they’ll watch the show play by play, live on IG, watching NBC, commenting along the way, to drive tune-in.

Want to talk about creative? Check out the gorgeous socially distanced “back to school” video that American Eagle created through Zoom with TikTok sensation Addison Rae and dancers from all over the country.

“I have been wearing American Eagle jeans for as long as I can remember, so being a part of the back to school campaign felt authentic to my real style,” Rae said in a statement, echoing the importance of a genuine celeb-brand connection. “AE understands what my generation wants, and I love how the brand empowers kids to express themselves, which for me is through music and dance.”

Amidst a Corona-crazy world, we all have to come up with creative ways to show people how celebs and influencers are actively using or loving your brand. It’s time to challenge yourself to develop ferociously fresh marketing ideas that wave buh-bye to the old tactics and embrace the new ab-normal of our lives.

Got it? Now go out and crush those 3 Cs!

(A final note: you don’t have to do this on your own. A full-service celebrity and influencer marketing agency with deep experience and built-in relationships in this area is the way to go. May I suggest my agency, The Loft Entertainment? Full disclosure: I’m totally biased.)

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Kristi Kaylor is the CEO of The Loft Entertainment, L.A.’s leading (according to us) marketing and content development agency that helps brands leverage the power of celebrities and influencers.