Influencers may amplify poll campaigns
Influencer marketing spending is predicted to rise by ₹1,000 crore as political strategists seek to connect with the youth on Instagram and YouTube.
As the cricket World Cup frenzy peaks in November, the country will be in the grip of election fever. Five states go to polls next month followed by general elections in 2024. This will boost political advertising that is expected to run into several thousand crores.
Digital advertising agencies are expecting a slice of the campaign budget getting earmarked for social media influencers--those creators of online content on entertainment, lifestyle, beauty, fashion, health and finance with millions of followers.
“I feel Instagram and YouTube will play a pivotal role in influencer-led political campaigns this time,” said Rahul Khanna, founder, Barcode Entertainment, an influencer marketing agency. Analysts say influencer marketing spends are likely to rise by ₹1,000 crore with poll strategists approaching digital agencies and influencer marketing firms to access micro, macro and mega influencers classified on the basis of the number of followers they have.
In the last four-five months, ministers, legislators and politicians too have made their presence felt online. “YouTube star Ranveer Allahbadia has already interviewed people like Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Raghav Chaddha, Atishi Marlena and Milind Deora. They have appeared on his popular podcast though this was not paid content,” said a person familiar with The Ranveer Show. “The mega influencers are unlikely to do paid promotions for elections as they don’t want to be seen being affiliated or picking sides,” the person said, declining to be named.
It’s easy to see why election strategists are opting for these influencers. For starters, there’s no better place to connect with the youth than on social media, especially, the short video platforms. Besides, the influencer eco-system has matured since the last general elections in 2019 as more and more brands use digital celebrities to access their millions of followers. “We are reaching a level where India has close to 25 lakh active influencers across Instagram and YouTube who work on multiple brand campaigns and content creation,” said Khanna.
A study by Dentsu on the ‘Impact Of Influencer Marketing In India’ said that the methods of message amplification are undergoing a massive makeover and customers are more inclined to taking advice from influencers than other media employed in the past. It added that most people in the age group of 18-24 years, living in the top five metros follow social media influencers on Instagram. The study said 60% respondents were aware of influencers on social media and of this, 50% said they consider their recommendations.
Barcode’s Khanna said so far they have avoided working directly with political parties as they do not want to affect voting in any way. “We want the audiences to vote as per their choice and not as per the content posted by influencers,” said Khanna who works with 5,000 influencers a month creating content for various brands.
Ambika Sharma, founder and managing director of digital agency Pulp Strategy said that while some agencies and influencers may face the moral dilemma – to work or not to work on behalf of political parties -- the fact is that all election related influencer campaigns should be identified upfront as paid content if money gets exchanged or any other kind of barter takes place.
However, advertising’s self-regulatory body the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) does not track political advertising in any form. Nevertheless, an influencer’s job is to circulate accurate content to her audiences and declare upfront if it is a paid promotion, Khanna said.
But will influencers who ride the political marketing wave lose credibility and followers post elections?
It depends on the kind of content they create. If the nature of content is provocative and gets attention for the wrong reasons, their careers may see a dent, Khanna said. However, Ambika Sharma feels that credible influencers do not promote even brands directly. “So, they are likely to be mindful of political campaigns. They may do generic promotions, talk of the manifesto rather than say who to vote for,” she said. Clearly, it’s a choice that they will have to make.
As the cricket World Cup frenzy peaks in November, the country will be in the grip of election fever. Five states go to polls next month followed by general elections in 2024. This will boost political advertising that is expected to run into several thousand crores.
Digital advertising agencies are expecting a slice of the campaign budget getting earmarked for social media influencers--those creators of online content on entertainment, lifestyle, beauty, fashion, health and finance with millions of followers.
“I feel Instagram and YouTube will play a pivotal role in influencer-led political campaigns this time,” said Rahul Khanna, founder, Barcode Entertainment, an influencer marketing agency. Analysts say influencer marketing spends are likely to rise by ₹1,000 crore with poll strategists approaching digital agencies and influencer marketing firms to access micro, macro and mega influencers classified on the basis of the number of followers they have.
In the last four-five months, ministers, legislators and politicians too have made their presence felt online. “YouTube star Ranveer Allahbadia has already interviewed people like Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Raghav Chaddha, Atishi Marlena and Milind Deora. They have appeared on his popular podcast though this was not paid content,” said a person familiar with The Ranveer Show. “The mega influencers are unlikely to do paid promotions for elections as they don’t want to be seen being affiliated or picking sides,” the person said, declining to be named.
It’s easy to see why election strategists are opting for these influencers. For starters, there’s no better place to connect with the youth than on social media, especially, the short video platforms. Besides, the influencer eco-system has matured since the last general elections in 2019 as more and more brands use digital celebrities to access their millions of followers. “We are reaching a level where India has close to 25 lakh active influencers across Instagram and YouTube who work on multiple brand campaigns and content creation,” said Khanna.
A study by Dentsu on the ‘Impact Of Influencer Marketing In India’ said that the methods of message amplification are undergoing a massive makeover and customers are more inclined to taking advice from influencers than other media employed in the past. It added that most people in the age group of 18-24 years, living in the top five metros follow social media influencers on Instagram. The study said 60% respondents were aware of influencers on social media and of this, 50% said they consider their recommendations.
{{/usCountry}}A study by Dentsu on the ‘Impact Of Influencer Marketing In India’ said that the methods of message amplification are undergoing a massive makeover and customers are more inclined to taking advice from influencers than other media employed in the past. It added that most people in the age group of 18-24 years, living in the top five metros follow social media influencers on Instagram. The study said 60% respondents were aware of influencers on social media and of this, 50% said they consider their recommendations.
{{/usCountry}}Barcode’s Khanna said so far they have avoided working directly with political parties as they do not want to affect voting in any way. “We want the audiences to vote as per their choice and not as per the content posted by influencers,” said Khanna who works with 5,000 influencers a month creating content for various brands.
{{/usCountry}}Barcode’s Khanna said so far they have avoided working directly with political parties as they do not want to affect voting in any way. “We want the audiences to vote as per their choice and not as per the content posted by influencers,” said Khanna who works with 5,000 influencers a month creating content for various brands.
{{/usCountry}}Ambika Sharma, founder and managing director of digital agency Pulp Strategy said that while some agencies and influencers may face the moral dilemma – to work or not to work on behalf of political parties -- the fact is that all election related influencer campaigns should be identified upfront as paid content if money gets exchanged or any other kind of barter takes place.
However, advertising’s self-regulatory body the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) does not track political advertising in any form. Nevertheless, an influencer’s job is to circulate accurate content to her audiences and declare upfront if it is a paid promotion, Khanna said.
But will influencers who ride the political marketing wave lose credibility and followers post elections?
It depends on the kind of content they create. If the nature of content is provocative and gets attention for the wrong reasons, their careers may see a dent, Khanna said. However, Ambika Sharma feels that credible influencers do not promote even brands directly. “So, they are likely to be mindful of political campaigns. They may do generic promotions, talk of the manifesto rather than say who to vote for,” she said. Clearly, it’s a choice that they will have to make.
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