Create & Cultivate is an online platform and conference series for women who want to take charge of their careers and lives. Key takeaways from panels and speakers included that influencers can help expand brands through co-creation with their audiences, and that mid-tier influencers with engaged audiences of 10-20k can provide better returns than celebrity influencers. Branded experiences that create an authentic interaction between brands and audiences, especially culturally engaged women ages 20-30 on Instagram, can be an effective media channel by blending offline and online discovery.

1. CREATE &
CULTIVATE9.09.17

2. TODAY:
 What is Create & Cultivate?
 Panel & Speaker Takeaways
 Branded Experiences

3. “THIS IS
BURNING
MAN FOR
WHITE
LADIES.”

5. CREATE & CULTIVATE IS AN ONLINE PLATFORM &
CONFERENCE SERIES
FOR WOMEN WHO WANT TO TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR OWN CAREERS & LIVES.
WHY GO?
 Bloggers/Vloggers/Entrepreneurs/Micro to Macro Influencers
 Social & Content Centric Programming
 On the Microsoft campus
 SMBs galore!

6. KEY
TAKEAWAYS
PANELS & SPEAKERS

7. ENTREPRENEUR AS INFLUENCER
AS ENTREPRENEUR
• Emily Schuman: Influencer  Entrepreneur
• Ellen Bennett: Entrepreneur  Influencer
• Co-creation of brand with audience
• Ellen B. (Hedley & Bennett poses questions on her personal Instagram Stories to get real-time
feedback.) “Connection is possible so take advantage.”
• Boosting the founder > boosting the business
• Building on influence with brand expansion

8. WE’RE ALL STILL TRYING TO FIGURE THIS
INFLUENCER THING OUT.
• Express spends 70% of their marketing budget on digital/social influencer
programs.
• “You create the framework of the story, but the influencers create the
chapters.” -VP of MarComm at Simon G. Jewelry
• ROI: Struggle to quantify influencer marketing programs.
Recommendation: trackable links, engagement rates, coupons, etc.
to point back to transactions.

9. NUMBERS DON’T MATTER…
INTRO, MICRO-INFLUENCERS AKA ALL OF US
• Express has seen bigger ROI with mid-tier influencers (in the 10-20K range) when
compared to celebrity or top-tier influencers
• They drive a deeply engaged audience vs. a large but disengaged audience
• Many of their “Expressionists” are everyday people who have an engaged, activity or topic-
specific audience.
• Dormify holds a twice-yearly deep focus groups with their brand ambassadors on
platforms, lifestyle choices, etc.
• Give them experiences to get the most valuable return

10. BRANDED
EXPERIENCES
OR: EXPERIENCE AS A MEDIA

13. IF EXPERIENCE ISN’T IN YOUR MEDIA MIX, YOU’RE
PROBABLY MISSING A HUGE OPPORTUNITY.
Focused Audience
Relevance
Affinity
FREE(ish) Organic Reach

14. WHAT IT ISN’T:
 Hand-outs lacking context
 Sending influencers free shit in the mail & crossing your
fingers
WHAT IT IS:
 A 2 (or more) way, authentic interaction
 Visually engaging/sharable (think of the square)
 Relevant
 Community building
 A pop-up or collaboration w/ a larger event (conference,
music festival, gallery, etc.)

15. MEDIA COMPANIES FOR 20-30ish WOMEN
ARE LEADING THE CHARGE.

19. THE IMPACT
OFFLINE EXPERIENCE MEETS ONLINE DISCOVERY.
ANALOG  DIGITAL

20. THE AUDIENCE
20/30-ish AFFLUENT, CAREER DRIVEN, CULTURALLY-
ENGAGED WOMEN (WITH AN ACTIVE INSTAGRAM)
BRANDED EXPERIENCES WORK ESPECIALLY WELL
FOR THIS AUDIENCE BECAUSE:
• receptive to brands that speak to them
• they value community online & offline
• they share without having to be asked to

22. THE OPPORTUNITY FOR GEN Z
• GEN Z will be ripe for branded experiences
• Already being asked to co-create content and products
• They care about getting off of their devices and into the
world
• They’re politically engaged
• They’re receptive to the brands they love

23. THANKS!