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In the bustling world of ads, where content is often saturated, some brands are steering away from the conventional path. With influencer marketing being on the all-time rise and having become an integral part of marketing plans, several brands are now making an influencer from thin air for their campaigns and brand agendas. Recently, Netflix took a less traveled route to promote its series ‘Killer Soup,’ creating an influencer named SoupSalu, also known as Salauddin. In just six weeks, SoupSalu's Instagram profile transformed from a mere concept to a captivating journal, creating a buzz on social media.
Netflix's ‘Killer Soup’ campaign, executed by The Rabbit Hole, showcases the journey of a head spot boy who transitioned from staying behind the scenes to taking the forefront of social media. With 46 posts documenting his quest for the ultimate killer soup, trying different soups daily, and starting each video post with ‘Helle Gaiz’, SoupSalu stood out with his quirkiness, engaging and captivating social media users.
After a 40-day journey in search of the killer soup, SoupSalu began subtly dropping hints that led the audience's curiosity straight to Netflix.
On the 44th day, SoupSalu shifted from daily Instagram updates to a billboard campaign. Day 45 saw SoupSalu crafting a video near the Netflix office, and on day 46, the revelation unfolded: the entire adventure was a part of Netflix's series launch.
Rajat Thakur, Senior Creative Director, The Rabbit Hole, the creative mind behind the campaign, highlighted the key elements in creating SoupSalu from the ground up, one of them being an inspiration from the trend of daily posting on Instagram.
He said, “The ‘Daily Posters’ format has been on the rise on Instagram, and we’ve seen people get behind their favorite creators and follow their journey or mission. So, for SoupSalu (an Influencer created by Netflix), it seemed like the right format and platform to go on a mission to look for his Killer Soup.”
Thakur emphasized the importance of ensuring the right exposure for SoupSalu to the correct audience, which is achieved through popular meme pages that have previously catalyzed the rise of other influencers.
In a parallel narrative, another campaign that created an influencer from scratch unfolded in 2021, orchestrated by SOS Children’s Villages of India, an independent non-governmental organization (NGO). Faced with the need for corporate donations, Kinnect, the creative force behind the campaign, conceived a compelling story centered around a unique character, Chatpat.
Chatpat, portrayed by Akul Baduni, emerged as the face of the campaign, sharing ‘gyaan’ on his Instagram handle chatpatkagyaan – bringing a raw and genuine perspective to the forefront. Hailing from an underprivileged background, Chatpat became the embodiment of authenticity. Although his videos quickly garnered affection, there was a subtle yet impactful message highlighting the harsh reality of a 10-year-old navigating life and survival on the streets. The campaign won multiple awards, including 9 Cannes Lions.
Not many creators become influencers. It takes a lot of effort to make your thoughts count in the world of social media, where everyone has something to say. So, what did it really take to make consumers and brands care about SoupSalu and Chatpat in a short span of time? And why were these influencers created in the first place?
"Building an influencer from scratch is like crafting a magic potion of realness and strategy", said Hitarth Dadia, CMO and Partner, Nofiltr.
Created from the ground up, both SoupSalu and Chatpat bring a different flavor to their respective campaigns, breaking away from the traditional patterns observed in influencer marketing and campaigns made for social causes.
The influencer cookbook
There’s a bigger risk involved in creating an influencer, one that leaves a swift mark on minds. After all, the outcome can go either way.
For navigating through this unfamiliar territory on social media, where every scroll introduces us to countless faces vying for attention, a cookbook for brands on influencer creation might come in handy.
Preety Singh, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Boomlet Group, believe that there is no fixed roadmap for building an influencer from scratch, and what worked for one individual might not work for another.
Although there is no specific recipe, in general, essential qualities for influencer growth include authenticity, consistency in content delivery, engagement with the audience, adaptability to trends, and a unique and memorable persona or niche.
- Preeti Singh
She emphasized that authenticity is crucial in shaping the influencer persona, as genuine connections with followers foster trust.
Gautam Madhavan, Founder and CEO, Mad Influence, also believes that building an influencer from scratch involves crafting a compelling narrative and establishing a genuine connection with the audience.
He said, “Authenticity is paramount in shaping a new influencer persona, as it fosters trust and relatability.”
Madhavan highlighted that in the early stages of influencer development, maintaining a regular posting schedule and delivering content that resonates with the target audience are crucial for building a loyal fan base.
“People connect with influencers who seemingly emerge out of nowhere because of the perceived authenticity and relatability, which are critical factors in their success. To quickly build an influencer presence, individuals should possess qualities like genuine passion, a unique voice, and a willingness to share personal experiences,” he added.
This was observed even with the ‘Chatpat ka gyaan’ campaign, which increased brand impressions by 1506% on all social and traditional media.
Furthermore, Thakur highlighted that people are becoming increasingly aware of branded campaigns, and that makes creating something authentic an even bigger challenge and yet an important goal.
Similarly, he also believes that there is no one recipe for successfully building an influencer. Instead, he suggests that the key lies in answering the question: What would make someone curious to follow the influencer?
He said, “Once you have the answer to that question, it comes to identifying the right character for the task based on how they look, what their tone of voice is, and most importantly, what’s an inherently interesting quality about them.”
Once the very first filter is set and a dash of consistency is added to the mix, new faces on the internet – marked by their authentic narratives – do possess a unique power, the ability to go viral.
Bizarreness, wholesomeness, the element of surprise, the element of shock, relatability, and complete unrelatability—all contribute to the unique virality factor of different influencers, and it’s essential to pick what your audience wants to feel or take away from your campaign.
-Rajat Thakur
Another such campaign where an influencer was built from scratch was of Zepto, when the brand strategically molded its identity by featuring 'Sharma Ji' as the face of the brand. Recognizing the online affinity for quirky characters, Zepto introduced 'Uncle Ji' ahead of its new campaign launch and shared relatable content.
The brand claimed to have reported organic success, with 10 million impressions and 10% engagement on social media, trending at #6 on Twitter. Notably, Uncle Ji's presence was acknowledged and shared by popular Twitter celebrities and Instagram meme pages, contributing to a rapid follower growth of 30K+. This campaign exemplifies Zepto's use of relatable content to connect with a wide audience and achieve substantial online visibility.
Singh outlined that relatability is a critical factor that can be attributed to the success of overnight viral individuals. She said, “People can connect with content that is relatable to their day-to-day lives. If the content is simple and catchy, odds are it has a higher chance of going viral.”
According to ASCI’s 2023 Influencer Trust report, the reason for influencer trust for relatable content is for more than 50% of respondents.
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Deciding the right platform
Once the authentic batter is ready, the next step is to find the right platform that could mold a creator’s identity to a great extent.
There’s undoubtedly a growing influence of short-form video content, with both brands and content creators strategically leveraging these platforms to shape effective marketing strategies. The latest insights from Statista reveal that Instagram has emerged as the predominant destination for influencer-brand collaborations in India, garnering the favor of 47% of respondents.
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Leveraging platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, and employing strategies such as consistent content creation and engagement with followers, works best when starting from zero.
-Gautam Madhavan
For the SoupSalu campaign, the consistency was centered around experimenting with various weird flavors of soup, such as karela moong, ragi baigan, cheese ketchup, etc.
Arushi Gupta, Business Head, Influencer.in believes that for creating an influencer from scratch, Instagram and YouTube are effective platforms.
She said, "The next step is actively engaging with your followers. Responding to comments, asking questions, and fostering a two-way conversation creates a sense of community. Instagram's visual appeal and YouTube's video format provide excellent avenues to showcase authenticity and connect with audiences on a personal level."
Similarly, Thakur suggested picking the platform where the desired audience is present and identifying formats or trends that the users most engage with.
He recommended using products that the platforms are promoting at the moment; for example - if Instagram is pushing Reels, it’s easier to get traction on reel content.
Furthermore, Singh believes that when it comes to selecting a platform, it is better to start with one and then move on to others, as different platforms support various formats of content.
She said, “Depending on the content an influencer wants to post, they can choose the platform; for short-form content, Instagram is the go-to option. Constantly engaging with the audience is crucial, so the influencer must keep posting content at regular intervals for higher engagement.”
As seen for the influencers SoupSalu and Chatpat, Zepto also established a dedicated Instagram channel showcasing memes, Reels, GIFs, and stickers featuring Uncle Ji, integrating the character into everyday conversations. The sassy persona, candid observations, and the catchphrase 'Nahi milega' formed the cornerstone of Zepto's communication strategy.
Sharing what led to these campaigns and the overall idea behind Zepto’s marketing strategy, Amritansu Nanda, the then CMO of Zepto, had told Social Samosa in an interview that the brand intended to break clutter with the campaign and rather than directly conveying their point – Quick Delivery, they took the ‘setting the context approach’ and hoped to land on the correct audiences’ page.
Following a similar trend of launching brand agenda-driven influencers, fashion e-commerce platform Myntra launched a virtual Influencer, Maya, who is made part of Myntra Style Squad.
Tips for planning influencer from scratch campaigns
While there is no set formula to find the right ingredients for building an influencer but brands can follow a blueprint to get their fundamentals right.
Thakur highlighted the importance of understanding the audience's pulse and platform dynamics. He further said that it is pertinent to define campaign goals, trust instincts, and hope for success.
Singh advised prioritizing authenticity over virality in influencer campaigns. To achieve a balance, brands should forge relationships with influencers whose values align with theirs, creating meaningful and relatable content. This ensures the development of authentic and engaging material, tailored to specific campaign objectives.
Dadia provided quick success tips: be flexible, real, and embrace trends. For new brands, he recommended aiming for attention while emphasizing the trust factor. Authenticity, according to him, is the secret ingredient for a powerful connection in the influencer world.
Madhavan also stressed the importance of balancing widespread attention with building trust and authenticity for brands and agencies planning influencer campaigns from scratch. He suggested aligning with influencers whose values match the brand's, fostering genuine collaborations, and focusing on audience-resonating content rather than solely pursuing virality.
At the end of the day, the recipe for building a new influencer from scratch might not always go your way. However, brands can focus on authenticity, creativity, and consistency to lay a path for them and trust the platform to work its magic, bringing in a new flavour for the world to see.