Web3, the metaverse, NFT’s, crypto. When it comes to opening the next chapter of digital experiences there is no shortage of opportunities for brands. Yet, as with any big leap, making an impact demands cutting through the noise.

For Callum McCahon, Executive Strategy Director and Partner at Born Social, helping brands and businesses to cut through the hype is a key focus. This starts with cutting down the fundamental shifts afoot into building blocks that can drive brand action. “Asking a CMO what their metaverse strategy is, isn’t helpful,” he explains. Instead, the agency works at breaking down these mass opportunities into building blocks for broader change. For example, by advising brands on how to build and test in VR.

He believes the current key challenge for marketers lies in bridging this understanding and action gap. “They almost don't know where to start; the metaverse is in every trend deck but the truth is there is an understanding gap.”

This understanding gap is exacerbated by the fact that the true opportunity lies beyond the realms of marketing. “This shift is more than marketing; it sits across every department,” explains McCahon.  Pointing to the example of brands that are getting it right with NFT’s he notes that they are taking the opportunity to build out entirely new products and revenue streams. An approach that goes well beyond the traditional silos of marketing.

Moving beyond marketing

Yet moving beyond these traditional silos requires not just telling new stories from an agency perspective, but ensuring those stories travel beyond the four walls of an office or zoom screen to the broader business.

“Our challenge is access,” notes McCahon; reflecting the fundamental issue facing the broader marketing industry. The future of ecommerce, digital and experience are issues that extend far beyond the realms of the marketing department. Yet moving beyond silos demands a step-change from agencies. 

He explains: “We need to stop talking in marketing speak and bring things back to the fundamentals - to commercial growth.” An approach which he believes will help to build a bridge between marketing and innovation. 

The new creator economy 

It is a challenge that comes at a pivotal time for the industry in the midst of a number of competing forces and brands. As McCahon explains: “There is the big debate around decentralisation and Facebook going all-in on the metaverse is really in opposition to that decentralised Web3.”

Then there is the huge opportunity presented by the new creator economy. For while traditional media was at pains to dismiss this new era of decentralised influence as little more than ‘detestable freeloaders’, progressive brands and agencies have shifted both spend and attention. Yet that spend has not always been evenly distributed; a lack of fairness which McCahon hopes the industry will address. 

As he explains: “My big hope is creators being able to make a living from social and making revenues a bit fairer. The big promise of this next era is that it fairly distributes revenues. If we can get that right we will have come a long way.” 

But do brands understand the power of the new creator economy? McCahon points to the shift from ‘influencers’ to ‘creators’ as evidence of minds and marketing budgets alike opening up to the potential of this new structure.

Pointing to the growth of Substack he notes that this shift is all about people being rewarded and recognised for their talent. “A big part of the backlash in the early days of influencer marketing was what particular skill are these people bringing,” he explains. Noting that now we are seeing a new era of brand partnerships based on revenue sharing and co-creating products with creators being recognised for specific skill sets and unique talents. 

The influencer CEO

This new creator economy is having a huge impact on the broader business industry; where brands have become synonymous with the personal brands of the founders. Brand building via the creator economy. 

As McCahon explains: “You look at brands like Gymshark and Huel and they have driven business perceptions through that social lens.”

In effect, these CEOs are opening up their businesses to a previously unprecedented level of transparency. “It’s interesting to look at the sorts of content these CEO’s are putting out - they aren't just promoting their business.”

It is a personal branding strategy that is playing out via a life lived on LinkedIn; a platform which has continued to grow in the wake of the pandemic which put face-to-face networking on hold. It is a change McCahon believes has given LinkedIn a whole new persona and one that is creating change for individuals and brands alike.

He explains: “A LinkedIn strategy used to be about a company page. Now, employers are getting more open to that as an idea - particularly in the agency business where there is an understanding that clients buy into people. The more agencies invest into their people, the better profiles they build.” 

Choosing Change

In the midst of the myriad of headlines and data points underlining the reset or resignation moment companies are facing, McCahon believes the onus is on brands to reflect on their own strategies. “It is not just about effectiveness and results, increasingly brands should consider the ethical implications of their spend.” A tough topic, which he believes will only become more important in the next wave of social. 

A next wave which brings with it a huge opportunity for brands and agencies alike in 2022. “In the past, social used to be a really executional add on at the bottom of the food chain, but over the past year and a half social has really changed,” he explained.

Pointing to the examples of Guinness and Nandos, McCahon believes that the sweet spot for brands is making social the lead channel at the heart of the marketing mix. “When we look at where consumers sit and consume media that really starts with social; it's vital to root social media in the fundamentals of brand building.”

It's a shift that demands a step change; one that embraces the fact that social is not outside the core of marketing. The new creator economy is about far more than outdated stereotypes of lazy influence. “There is a purpose to growing social influence,” adds McCahon. A purpose that is increasingly difficult to ignore.