By Gill Browne, Senior Account Manager
“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” The wise words of Dr Seuss rang true at Bustle UK’s first anniversary breakfast event.
Bustle UK was celebrating a year in the UK, after Bustle Digital Group extended its flagship brand from the shores of the US to our own. The premier publication reaching millennial women has made some really exciting moves stateside and is seen as the next challenger to traditional and legacy publishing houses such as Conde Nast. Its unique approach to how it respects its audience and provides contextually relevant avenues for advertisers was something we were excited about – and so were the attendees.
Propeller was supporting Bustle in introducing Bustle UK to key advertising, agency and media stakeholders, sharing Bustle UK’s first year success story, and positioning them as thought leaders within the UK industry.
The breakfast panel event: A Conversation on the State of Influence: From Love Island to the Royals was a treat for all involved. The audience heard from BDG founder Bryan Goldberg – famous for co-founding Bleacher Report – on what makes Bustle special, then from its Chief Revenue Officer Jason Wagenheim on how their work with Quantcast allows them to reach audiences in ever more effective ways, without invading reader privacy.
The audience then heard a panel debate led by Bustle UK’s Executive Editor, Charlotte Owen, with Firdaous El Honsali, Global Communications Director at Dove, Lucy Loveridge, Head of Talent at Gleam Futures and plus size style blogger Stephanie Yeboah, on the nature of influencer marketing and what brands should and should not be doing. They all agreed the most important part of working with influencers was authenticity; and emphasised the need for brands to ensure they’re working with diverse talent so that their audience feels the products are ‘for them’ – not just one type of person.
As Bustle knows, diversity is powerful. Influencers must remember the words of Dr Seuss and be authentically themselves, even when working with brands, while brands must explore the exciting and different types of people audiences identify with, embracing that ‘realness’ has genuine marketing cut-through.