Welcome to the latest issue of Cuppa, a quick-fire newsletter for internet-first brand builders. Filled with analysis on the art, science and culture of building breakout brands in a digital age, it's quick enough to read over a cuppa. (Or something stronger if you need it...no judgement!). To get it direct to your inbox every other week, subscribe here.

‍

ART

‍

‍

ASOS is turning their employees into influencers

UK fashion retailer ASOS has revived its "Insider" influencer initiative that transforms company employees into social media content creators. First established pre-pandemic in 2020, the program was put on hold during COVID but now returns with 36 style-savvy staff members from various ASOS departments. Dubbed "style enthusiasts" by the company, Insiders are tasked with bringing "the most relevant fashion product to consumers" through curated picks, outfit inspiration, beauty advice, and trend insights across social platforms.

At its core, ASOS is harnessing the expertise and passion of its own employees to serve as relatable influencers, bridging the gap between their brand and their audience. It's an efficient and cost-effective take on influencer marketing that platforms insider passion into commercial success and it's not a new phenomenon.

This approach isn't limited to retail brands; we're witnessing a similar trend emerging across different sectors. Young media companies like Sheerluxe, Buzzfeed and Refinery29 have turned many of their staff members into on-screen personalities, giving them a spotlight and in turn, a following.

So... what can you do to incentivise your employees to start acting like influencers for your brand? 🤳👀

‍

Our key takeaways from META's Reels insight session

• Reels are roughly 30% more responsive than statics/normal videos on Meta.
• Creatives which are lo-fi, entertaining, or educational work best.
• Types of content which work well for brands include...
  • Listicles - e.g. here are the 5 benefits of using x - clear call-outs and labels work well here
  • Product demonstrations - especially good for products which are apps - e.g. a user with a green screen backdrop of the app/website, running through how to use it
  • Before and after's - showing a user before and after they use x product, quick/eye-catching transitions work well with this type of creative
• Meta recommend using catchy music in Reels, and they have a library here https://www.facebook.com/sound
• Hooks within first 3 seconds of Reel works best.

If you're looking for advice on how to improve the performance of your paid social creative, drop us a line, our creative studio is on standby! 🎬

‍

Client announcement: Spacegoods

We’re delighted to announce that we have been chosen to lead Spacegood's influencer strategy, helping them to strengthen their growth ecosystem with our proven method of transforming influencers into a revenue-driving performance channel. 💪 Spacegoods is an iconic DTC brand founded by Matthew Kelly that's disrupting the supplement marketing with their revolutionary functional mushroom brand. We're thrilled that we are working alongside their ambitious team on the next chapter of their success story. ⚡️

‍

SCIENCE

‍

Google launches Meridian, stepping into the MMM game

Last week, Google announced Meridian, their latest release into MMM measurement and a similar approach that we use with COmpass, our attribution solution at Charlie Oscar. Google previously had a version called Lightweight MMM, and Meta have a similar product called Robyn.

At Charlie Oscar we think this is good news, it pushes the industry further down the route of proper incrementality measurement, and it should help brands understand how to use MMM approaches alongside traditional digital tracking.

As these approaches get more common place, and the big tech players release their own toolkits (to protect their revenue streams), it is crucial everyone understands the full extent of their capabilities, and where a solution like ours, COmpass, can help give visibility on their 3 blind spots:

1. Digital Channels Only
SAAS solutions (like Meridian, Robyn, Fospha) only look at paid channels (usually only paid digital channels). COmpass looks at all growth levers; paid, owned and earned. Including offline, influencers, PR, Promotions. We know that paid performance massively increases with Influencer support or during promotional periods. If we ignore these we don't see true value.

2. One Size Fits All
SAAS solutions apply a one size fits all model. COmpass is custom built per client. It doesn’t make sense to apply the same consideration curves to a £15 fast fashion brand and a £3k tech purchase.

One size fits all models will also under value consideration impact for longer consideration cycle products, and under value upper funnel channels.

3. Budget Allocation and Channel Interactions
SAAS solutions give CAC values and tell you where to assign budget. COmpass does this but also tells us HOW to spend budget based on short, medium and long term contribution by channel. COmpass tells us how channels interact with each other (eg how meta prosecting drives brand search).  

SAAS platforms will tell you to turn off an underperforming channel. COmpass will help us to improve performance of an underperforming channel.
Running proper MMM type modelling is hard, and is an end to end process.