Lions Live 2020: 'Growth can give you an audience but engagement can lead to a fanbase'

On day four of Lions Live, Dazed Media had four representatives share their perspective on where they see creativity heading in the next few months. 

 

Labelling this the era of ‘monomass’, which the world is changing by the second, each of the representatives picked on different trend.  

 

The death of the tribe

 

Frederick Paginton, creative director, Dazed Studio, explained how the next generation are looking to adopt fluid identities. 

 

“The death of the tribe is a description of gen Z. Gone are the days of the singular tribe. The next generation are adopting fluid identities. How can brands connect with this audience? They must create a new kind of persona - a collective persona. Gen Z's interests are amorphous. If you’re a fashion brand you have to understand that your audience cares about more things than just fashion. They move beyond this interest to find culture-crossover points. Use data insights and build a map into their collective persona,” he said.

 

Rising Revolutions 

 

Priya Matadeen, MD, Dazed Media, spoke about how social purpose has become more prevalent in culture and in people’s identities.   

 

She explained, “The murder of George Floyd sparked protests in the United States which spread across to 18 other countries making it the world's largest civil rights movement. This showed the power of the individual to rise up against political institutions and leaders. Over 60 per cent of the gen Z are most concerned about environmental issues, race equality, women's rights and LGBTQ rights. People and institutions are really important. Brands can create positive change in the world by looking internally first - are they representing a diverse range of perspectives and voices within our company? From an action point-of-view, look at your current processes and systems and is there anything you can evolve or re-think to create radical positive change? Look at potential partners, organisations, individuals who you can connect and collaborate with. Finally use your brand voice as a platform for others to spread a message and provide monetary support to individuals, charities and communities that need it the most. 

 

End of the influencer

 

Izzy Farmiloe, senior creative strategist, Dazed Studio, explained how the word influencer has gained a new meaning. 

 

“Covid-19 and the systemic inequalities that still exist within our society have shifted our mindset and made us question the values and models on which our society operates. Celebrities and influencers have faced an overwhelming backlash as both of these events expose the lack of meaning and substance. We have seen TikTok explode during this period and TikTok influencers being coined the new Instagram influencers. We really need to think about why and question what's next. Only six per cent of the audience feel that bigger influencers with 100k+ followers have an influence on their purchase decisions.  It's clear that audiences now need to connect with something on an emotional level, with something that is real and cuts through the clutter and in turn counteracts the lies we've been fed. With this increasing distrust and lack of leadership from governments and institutions, paired with the urgency of a dying planet and pandemic, we really need icons who put social and common good first,” she said. 

 

She the laid down characteristics real life heroes need to have and stated that brands need to champion and provide a brand for these kind of icons. 

 

1: Relatable

2: Purpose driven

3: Honest

4: Courageous

5: Decisive

6: Experts in their field

7: Authentic

8: Compassionate

9: Team players

10: Put others before themselves

11: Dependable

 

The power of media 

 

Ahmad Swaid, head of content, Dazed Media, explained how we are living in an age of content overload.

 

He said, “When it comes to the verbiage of metrics we speak so much about reach and impressions. But is your content reaching and impression people on an emotional level? The best way I can illustrate that is that social media has become another form of channel surfing but brands need to find a way to get people to tune in. It's not enough to just grow your follower numbers. And this is why engagement is important to consider. Growth can give you an audience but engagement can lead to a fanbase. No pun intended but we are living in post-viral world, it's not enough just to go viral online. Ask yourself this - would you rather be a one hit wonder or a have an album that stands the test of time?”