To what extent are digital influencers creative?

Abstract

Our research goal is to assess creativity and innovation in the profiles of digital influencers (DIs) and examine how they participate in the shared process of content creation with their partner brands. Based on in‐depth interviews with 30 Brazilian DI who had at least one partnership with a brand, we showed that they expressed four out of the nine dimensions of creativity, in addition to a new attribute that we designated as ‘Originality’. We also found that DIs regard as strategic sharing creative, innovative, quality content and also being involved in content production with the brands during the different stages of message development. The current literature tends to stress DIs’ reactive role in the co‐creation experience. We analysed how they manifest (process) their creative task as well as their strategies for generating innovative content. Our results help brand managers to cooperate more efficiently and respectfully with their DIs.

All in One: Digital Influencers as Market Agents of Popular Culture

“…The role of the media has been re-signified based on the resonance of social networks (Pedroni, 2016;Sette & Brito, 2020). They lower barriers to social participation and debate, thanks to their public sphere nature, allowing different agents to take part in media text production (Paiva et al, 2017).…”

“…Influencers are usually appreciated for their reliability and authenticity (Childers, Lemon, & Hoy, 2018;McQuarrie et al, 2013;Sette & Brito, 2020;Uzuñoglu & Kip, 2014), attracting consumers looking for identity projects with which they identify (McQuarrie et al, 2013), and affecting their choices and interests based on the personal influence they have on other individuals in their network (Sette & Brito, 2020;Zanette et al, 2013) based on what the marketing literature agrees is word-of-mouth communication (Godey et al, 2016;Zanette, et al, 2013). YouTube has become one of the most conducive platforms for digital influencers (Sudha & Sheena, 2017).…”

“…Such platforms allow not only instant feedback on the level of interaction and scope for the propagation of the content produced for the media, but also allow users to form direct and interactive relationship channels (Van Dijck, 2013). Social media are exponents derived from possibilities for new marketing strategies based on communication practices that, among other factors, legitimize the role of digital influencers in this context (Sette & Brito, 2020;Zanette et al, 2013).…”

“…Increasingly, consumers rely more on these influencers than on brand communications, hence they have become the target for marketing endorsements (Magno & Cássia, 2018;Uzuñoglu & Kip, 2014. Digital influencers build their authority from the trust and authenticity they display when expressing identity projects that are congruent with their audience's perspectives and expectations (McQuarrie et al, 2013;Sette & Brito, 2020;Zanette et al, 2013). When different marketing agents -as is the case with digital influencers and their audience -converge into manifestations of consumer identity projects, they are even able to legitimize, destabilize, or transform market ideologies (Thompson, 2004;Thompson et al, 2018).…”

“…Accordingly, it is common to investigate how digital influencers usually lead their audience's attitudes and perceptions, becoming relevant agents for the media promotion of brands (Sette & Brito, 2020;Uzuñoglu & Kip, 2014). The contents which they produce can be understood as complementary texts that allude to mainstream content.…”