We’re being a little tongue in cheek with the title there. There are tons of benefits to collaborating with influencers, and it’s something we love to do. We’ve even written about it, more than once.
But for a new project we’re launching with KEF we decided to take a slightly different tack, featuring creatives on the basis of their weird and wonderful specialist knowledge rather than their follower count. The idea was simple: show audiences what KEF is all about by aligning them with inspiring and respected voices in the space. Position them as trusted authorities on sound - the go-to for audio systems that do justice to the visions of sound artists. Here’s some thoughts on how we did it.
Shining a Spotlight
We’ve been collaborating with KEF, creators of luxury speakers and sound systems, on a suite of projects for their online platforms Sound of Life and Sound Lab. With each, we’ve focussed on bringing their key message - ‘Listen and Believe’ - to life by creating moments that demonstrate why KEF sound is exceptional. For the latest, the Spotlight Sessions, we created a series of short films profiling sound artists and connoisseurs, and the moments of sound that mean the most to them.
Our Spotlights subjects ranged from a multi-talented music producer to a sound designer for horror genre video games and all of them had something fascinating to say about their unique world of sound. We made sure each video was based around extensive conversations with each subject about their careers and personal passions. Their input and ideas were vital to the kind of films we wanted to make - individuality and authenticity was the name of the game.
The first four episodes, profiling legendary field recordist and artist Jez riley French, finger-drumming star Gnarly, musician and producer Lack of Afro and sound designer Mark Angus are live now on Sound of Life with a new film launching every week through February and March.
What does this tell us about KEF?
Comments from enthusiastic YouTubers illustrate the value of KEF shining a spotlight on these creatives:
Our subjects’ sheer love of sound and passion for its finer details remind audiences how much can be gained by listening to sound exactly as it was intended to be heard. And by leveraging the legitimacy and expertise of respected creatives and connoisseurs, KEF position themselves as just the kind of people you’d want advising you on how to achieve the best possible sound experience.
Some of our subjects had existing platforms and a community of social media followers; others didn’t. The opportunity for them to share the content with their communities was a great bonus, but in this case it wasn’t our first motivation for working with them. Instead, their specialist knowledge and the unique stories they could tell about their personal journeys with sound were what made them awesome partners.
We’re taking away a reminder that there are a hundred different ways to collaborate with creatives, and even more reasons for wanting to. We’re inspired to think outside the box this year about new opportunities to highlight all the diverse perspectives out there, and what they can offer brands.