Leo Burnett Australia non-executive chairman Todd Sampson joins Visual Amplifier’s board

Todd Sampson (left), Leo Burnett Australia non-executive chairman, co-host of The Gruen Transfer, regular panelist on Network Ten’s The Project and one of the most influential identities in the Australian media and communications industry has recently joined Visual Amplifier’s (VAMP) board as a non-executive director.

Sampson was also co-creator of the Earth Hour initiative – the largest environmental movement in history, reaching more than 1.4 billion people, in over 5,500 cities.

As the ‘social economy’ continues to evolve, influencer marketing company Visual Amplifiers (VAMP) is disrupting the space with a new approach which places influencers and its creativity in the power position.

VAMP believes influencers are redefining how to visually tell brand stories and connect with consumers through social media, with VAMP helping them manage their increasing influence to enable authentic brand connections, which results in innovative marketing that resonates with their audience.

Says Ben McGrath, co-founder, VAMP: “Todd brings to the table a vast amount of experience and industry knowledge. Our ability to attract influential industry leaders of Todd’s calibre to the board within the first 12 months of launching is testament, not only to the growth potential of social influencer marketing, but also the strength of VAMP’s unique model.

“Word of mouth marketing continues to be one of the most powerful mediums for brands because, when done well,  it is authentic and persuasive. It is important for brands to maintain authenticity in social influencer campaigns by integrating into the influencer’s channel rather than disrupting it.

“You only have to look at the quality of the content our talent has produced for clients including eBay, Samsung, Toby’s Estate, ASOS and Uniqlo to see that influencers are progressive marketers in this channel. VAMP is currently focused on Instagram because it is a positive visual communication channel that is a fertile and a growing opportunity for brands.”

According to Sampson, this ecosystem naturally cultivates influential personalities – including everyday people – feeding a steadily growing audience. It’s a lucrative opportunity for brands, and start-ups like VAMP are well-placed to capitalise on this growing segment of the marketing industry.

Says Sampson: “Social media continues to disrupt how brands interact with consumers. We’ve moved far beyond creating an ad and posting it. Innovators in the industry, like VAMP, are really playing in the ecosystem, using social media, and its passionate content creators and curators, to work smarter and more authentically for them.”

According to Nielsen’s 2015 Global Trust in Advertising Report, passionate brand advocates can be powerful allies to amplify a brand’s message, with 83 per cent of consumers trusting opinions from people they know and 66 per cent trusting consumer opinions posted online, and marketers are now starting to turn to brand advocates to generate not just buzz but campaigns that lead to sales.

In its report The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies, McKinsey & Company estimates that up to one-third of consumer spending could be influenced by “social” interactions, which could mean that $940 billion of annual consumption in some US and European categories could be influenced by social input.

VAMP is a one-stop-shop for brands and agencies from talent recruitment, product delivery, talent payments all the way through to reporting, analytics and optimisation.

VAMP’s selection method involves targeted recruitment of social influencers with a natural alignment with the brands they are promoting, allowing them free-reign to creatively represent the brand for their own audience. This dedication to authenticity ensures engagement rates for campaigns continually surpass Instagram engagement benchmarks.

Founded in 2015, VAMP has worked on campaigns for major brands including Samsung, Uniqlo, eBay, ASOS, Toby’s Estate, Tapify, The Horse and General Pants amongst others.