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The Influencer Imperative
Ray Kotcher, senior partner and chief executive officer at Ketchum
In his opening remarks at the Corporate Communications Conference, Ray Kotcher, Ketchum senior partner and chief executive officer, urged the public relations sector to embrace "the power of influencers" before other consulting and marketing disciplines integrate it into their strategies.
"The most powerful development shaping the discipline of public relations is the growing role of influencers and influencer relationship management in forming public opinion," he maintained.
"We have not so much a window, but a crawl space of opportunity to lay claim to this potent strategy before we become marginalized by other forces," he insisted. It would be a "fatal mistake," he added, if the public relations industry continues to use outdated tools and tactics when today's world demands fresh approaches.
Mr. Kotcher noted that information overload bombards consumers each day — 10,000 to 30,000 commercial messages alone — that they are beginning to tune it out. Instead, he said, they are relying more on people they trust for advice — influencers — to make their decisions for them.
He cited results of a Ketchum survey of Americans, the "Ketchum Point of Influence Survey," to determine which influencers are most important to people when forming opinions about a company and its products. The survey found that a neighbor who works for the company is the most credible source of information, followed by an employee and the local newspaper and local TV news. Ranking far below them were the company's chief executive officer, a local politician, a lawyer and the company's spokesperson.
"People pay more attention to the advice and opinions of people they trust — their spouse, their family and their friends as well as those influencers who they look up to and emulate," he said. "One size does not fit all any more."
Mr. Kotcher said harnessing the power of influencers can:
- Affect the creation of consistent, positive company perceptions
- Accelerate a shift in consumer and influencer behavior
- Strengthen and extend the credibility of our messages
- Generate valuable expert insight and support
- Leverage the opinions and commentary of these influencers to create clearer differentiation for the company
He noted that Ketchum has launched Influencer Relationship ManagementSM (IRM), a proprietary and customized program to identify and harness relationships with an organization's key influencers, usually 100 to 150 people from many walks of life. Several clients including FedEx have made IRM a key element of their communications strategy and as part of their overall reputation management strategy.
Read the full text of Ray's speech, "The Influencer Imperative"