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The Importance of Authenticity With Micro-Influencer Marketing and Gen Z Audiences

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The Importance of Authenticity With Micro-Influencer Marketing and Gen Z Audiences

 

‘Fake it till you make it’ is a popular phrase in the modern self-improvement culture, but one area this definitely no longer applies is marketing.

For years, brands have thrown advertising money into the furnace of celebrity endorsements. Having a big-name celebrity attached to your brand used to be a sure-fire of gaining attention, but as Gen Z emerges as a major commercial force, this is quickly losing power.

Gen Z is a demographic that has grown up in and around digital marketing and the internet. More than generations that come before it, it understands how the world of advertising works, and it is demanding change.

The idea that a celebrity is using the same products as your everyday person no longer sells. We have more access than ever before to the lives of celebrities and athletes, and we can clearly see our favourite NFL player is not wearing that watch he promised he never took off in the adverts.

There is a demand for authenticity and for a belief that a person selling you a product is, first and foremost, upfront about the fact they are selling it and, secondly, providing a genuine endorsement of a product they use themselves.

This is where micro-influencers can step in. Micro-influencers have huge followers of people who really believe in their brand. Their interests are more niche and much more accessible than celebrities or major influencers.

As such, it is essential that a brand’s values align with that of a micro-influencer. Brands should be looking for micro-influencers that share their beliefs and that have products that will align with their audience instead of just seeking out the ones with the biggest followings. A campaign for a product that is of direct interest to micro-influencers with 25,000 followers will prove to be much more profitable than randomly assigning a product to someone with 200,000 followers with no real connection to it.

Essentially, it is becoming increasingly impossible to fake in-depth knowledge or endorsement of a product. The community aspects of sports and other sectors now mean audiences are quicker than ever to spot something disingenuous and call it out. Micro-influencers, whose success relies on that strong relationship with their communities, are not going to put themselves at risk by endorsing something that does not align with their own values and beliefs.

This authenticity also applies to presentation. We’ve all had that experience where we’re listening to a major podcast, and then, out of the blue, they just start promoting a product totally unrelated to what we are listening to. All this results in is people repeatedly hitting the skip 15 seconds button on their apps until the ad is gone.

Micro-influencers understand their communities, and they understand the products that are going to interest them. They also know how to package these products to them and how to make them appeal without ever appearing pushy or like they are over-selling.

This genuine connection between a product and its intended audience is something people would pay millions for in the past. Micro-influencers have made this affordable, ensuring an excellent ROI for companies on their advertising campaigns.

It has also proven an excellent way of levelling the playing field for small and mid-level businesses. Companies no longer need to have huge advertising budgets to reach their audiences. Gen Z is also supportive of smaller business, especially those that align with their social and political values, and micro-influencers and authentic marketing provides a way for them to connect.

One thing that is clear is that marketing is changing, and Gen Z audiences are going to continue to look for the most authentic endorsements they can find. Working with micro-influencers now allows companies to get ahead of that trend and reap all of its benefits.

 

By: Troy Paul, Co-Founder and CEO of SGG Media

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Scientific Games Announces Mike Cardell as Senior Vice President, Americas Systems

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Scientific Games announces the appointment of Mike Cardell as the company’s Senior Vice President of Americas Systems. As the industry’s fastest-growing lottery systems supplier globally, Cardell’s appointment is another example of the company’s continued investments in people and products to innovate for its customers.

Mike Cardell.jpgCardell is an accomplished business technology leader with more than 17 years of experience and a proven track record in innovating technology-based products and services, including enterprise and consumer-facing applications, transaction processing platforms, large-scale IT conversions, strategic growth and impactful results.

He will lead all aspects of the company’s Americas lottery system business, driving incremental revenue and expanding product offerings while nurturing existing client relationships to grow lottery profits responsibly. Cardell will also be executing product and business development strategies as well as overseeing central and regional operations, service and contract management.

John Schulz, President, Americas & Global Instant Products, said, “With a keen understanding of developing strategies for sustainable growth, Mike will be instrumental in growing our systems business and ensuring innovation and operational excellence in our existing system operations. His strategic mindset and leadership experience make him a valuable addition to Scientific Games. We are excited to welcome him to our team.”

Before joining Scientific Games, Cardell spent more than 11 years at Fiserv where he most recently served as the global fintech and payments company’s Vice President and General Manager of Next Gen Solutions: Signature and Cloud Solutions. In this role, he managed the modernization of legacy enterprise account processing software solutions and cloud transformation solutions for large financial institutions and financial technology companies. He also spent five years managing business development and marketing for Hewlett-Packard.

Cardell holds a B.A. in Public Relations from Texas Tech University.

Scientific Games is a trusted partner to 150 lotteries in 50 countries around the globe, providing games, technologies, analytics and services that responsibly drive maximum returns to their beneficiary programs.

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Navajo Gaming Honors 186 Team Members for Employee Milestones

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This month The Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise (Navajo Gaming) honored 186 of its total 1200 team members for reaching significant employment milestones including 15, 10, and 5 years of service for the enterprise. The event at Twin Arrows Navajo Casino Resort in Flagstaff, Ariz. showcased the impact and journey of each hard-working team member, with a special highlight for 29 employees who have served for 15 years.

Less than 10 years after Navajo Gaming was created by the Navajo Nation and charged with the mission of creating jobs, increasing revenues, and stimulating incremental economic development within the Navajo Nation, the gaming enterprise created over 7425 direct, indirect and induced jobs with an overall economic output of over a billion dollars.

“Navajo Gaming employs 1200 people, 85 percent of whom are Navajo citizens. The award-winning AAA’s coveted Four Diamond Twin Arrows Casino Resort shares Navajo Culture through architectural nuances and local artists. Each of the property dining eateries feature ‘Navajo Beef,’ and traditional cuisine of the Navajo people, and our invitation to stay, play and relax at one of our four properties or Travel Center is an open welcome to the Navajo Nation’s beautiful scenic transformation,” Matthew Shunkamolah, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Navajo Gaming, said.

Team members recognized for 15 years of services have worked their way up to a wide variety of position within the enterprise from General Manager and Executive Director of Slots, to Director of Security, Food and Beverage Supervisor and Executive Director of Government Affairs.

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The International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) Announces 2024 International Gaming Summit in Washington, D.C.

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The International Association of Gaming Advisors (IAGA) will hold its 41st International Gaming Summit Monday, May 27 through Thursday, May 30, 2024 at The Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C.

As a premier event that brings together leaders from all global gaming sectors, the Summit will provide operators, suppliers, attorneys, investors, bankers, regulators and other advisor delegates with an unparalleled opportunity to meet and discuss the most important issues facing gaming.

“We are looking forward to holding this year’s 41st Annual International Gaming Summit in Washington, D.C., and are pleased to announce an agenda that includes a specific focus on some of the key sports betting issues the rapidly expanding US market is facing. As part of this focus, we will bring together representatives from global sports betting operators, regulatory agencies, professional sports leagues and other experts to discuss how the industry’s sports betting stakeholders can better work together to ensure a sustainable, responsible sports betting environment that is built on best practices lessons learned from other markets,” John Stawyskyj, President of IAGA, said.

“Beyond our sports betting focus, our diverse agenda includes discussions on other issues of importance including the growing impact of fraud and cyber breaches on regulated operators, a look into the federal and state lobbying process, an update on what’s happening in other gaming markets outside North America, a deep dive into new technologies and how they might impact gaming and more. I look forward to welcoming our delegates to Washington and participating with them in lively discussions about these critical issues and more,” Stawyskyj added.

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