Andrew, the face of Dreww , a digital advertising and production agency launched in 2020, sets the table: “It’s not about selling anymore.” Gone are the days of marketing campaigns that targeted the masses to sell a product to the masses. No one is buying generic advertising and intrusive ads anymore. There has been a fundamental shift in the role and goals of marketing. For the past few years, companies have been building their campaigns around the concerns and needs of their target customers. Today, they are going one step further to truly build a relationship of trust with their customers. They are developing high-quality, relevant content about what really matters to consumers. It has become clear that behind the success of any brand is an authentic relationship.

1. NAVIGATE THE ECOSYSTEM

To stay efficient, you have to know how to master digital technologies and the rapidly evolving environment. Or delegate this part to experts. “We live and work within the ecosystem,” explains Andrew. “It’s not a 9 to 5 job. We are absolutely part of it.” In other words, you have to eat, breathe and sleep with social media. The boss adds: “We are Millennials. We grew up connected to Wi-Fi and our cell phones. Here, we are all Digital Natives , from head to toe, from the president to the photographer. To work with us, you have to understand the ecosystem in which we constantly navigate, even as an accountant. You have to catch our world, the digital culture.” And all the literacy that goes with it: SEO and indexing, algorithms, retargeting. Being comfortable with all platforms, interfaces and applications is implied.

To follow your audience where they are and distribute your content appropriately, you have to monitor the networks and stay constantly up to date with the latest trends. Ann-Stéphanie explains: “The younger generations were born with digital technologies and have different ways of communicating. Being early adopters of new trends and platforms, we navigate the same social ecosystems. We speak the same language and we know what they want to hear and how to put it forward.”

2. BE RELEVANT. STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR AUDIENCE.

Indeed, you have to be relevant and know how to approach topics that concern your target audience in the present moment. And who else knows their audience better than an influencer? Influencer marketing allows you to exploit the network of someone who has developed a close relationship with their subscribers. It is a powerful lever. This link and this connection are at the heart of today's marketing. Beyond being seen, it is important to be credible and to build trust in your brand. "Our team is almost entirely made up of influencers," Andrew emphasizes. "How do you propel a brand when you are not excellent at promoting yourself on social networks?"

Influencers can be celebrities or icons who popularize their content on a large scale, “from fast-food reality shows like KUWTK (the Kardashians),” Andrew says. “Just think of the huge audiences that the Nelk Boys have reached.” But they can also be people like you and me who have managed to build a significant following on social media.

Consumers, constantly stimulated, are more aware and concerned about the quality and relevance of the content they consume. The Palme d'Or therefore goes to the one they can identify with. More human, more real. More distant from those who do not address them directly and do not know how to recognize their desires and needs.

Andrew is quick to say, “Social media is like word of mouth on steroids!” Trusted bloggers, vloggers, and other influencers know exactly what their audience wants to see and hear. They have the power to shape opinion. Like friends, they know what inspires their audience. And they capture their full attention.

3. BE REAL. SHOW YOUR COLORS.

“It’s important that your customers feel like they’re following you on your journey as a company. Show your colours, highlight your team, highlight your successes, but also your failures. Don’t just say that you’re good, but that you’re human first and foremost. That’s the true face of your company,” Andrew explains.

In early February, the agency released its first short film Fack c'est ça , about a young adult who was having trouble coping with confinement. Just 48 hours after its release on Facebook, it had garnered 400,000 views and thousands of shares. In one month, the film had been seen by more than a million people and had 800,000 million minutes of viewing. However, it has nothing to do with Dreww on the surface. It shows what the agency is capable of as a production studio. Sensitive and relevant, the film has the power to challenge us all in this particular period of striking current events.

4. TELL A STORY

Without a doubt, this marketing strategy tip made it to the top of the list: tell compelling, compelling stories. It’s all about being useful and relevant. But more than anything, it’s about touching hearts. We’re emotional beings. It’s how we connect. And being emotional creates a connection. An opportunity for your business to stand out. “It’s not about pushing a product under pressure anymore. It’s about engaging in conversation, connecting on the emotional narrative.”

Dreww 's video The girl next door told the story of the beginning of a love story between neighbors during confinement. Adorable, hopeful, very timely. And then, this bottle of alcohol slipped into the scenario, as a suggestion of a first drink to be had together. No loud and disturbing advertising. Pure seduction. The video, released on Valentine's Day, has garnered 465,000 views and reached more than a million people with 580,000 minutes of viewing.

5. OFFER AN EXPERIENCE

With the pandemic, most businesses, closed, had to create a transactional site to sell their products online. For some, these are the first steps towards digital. For others, this stage has already been passed. The objective today is no longer to bring customers to the site that serves as a showcase for the company's products, but to create a customer experience in its own right. Like pop-up stores (real or virtual) which are temporary and unique shopping experiences designed in the image of the brand. They can be immersive, with interactive elements that are out of the ordinary, so that we can experience, see, and feel the brand. They can also be associated with a particular event, with the objective of bringing customers back to an Instagram account to generate buzz.

Customer experience can also be experienced through a film. Dreww , as an advertising agency and digital production studio, creates memorable atmospheres and events, in relation to the brands it promotes and the products it promotes. What consumers buy are emotions and experiences. They no longer buy the product directly. The new marketing is precisely that: creativity, interactivity and emotional connection.