Before yesterday, Instagram allowed influencers to advertise or sponsor certain products from brands. However, the photo could not be promoted, so it was only visible to the influencer’s followers. While this is still allowed, the thing changing is that the photos will be available to be promoted now. Now, these photos from the influencers will be promoted to people with the same interests that are non-followers. Not only does this help the brand awareness, but it also gets the influencers name out as well. Instagram also has offered this to all instagram users, rather than keeping it limited. In 2019, the Instagram influencer marketing is expected to be at $2 billion.

I think that doing this is a good idea because this helps the brand name get out more, as well as the influencer. Most influencers collaborate with brands of their interest, so many times, they have the same kind of followers. I think Instagram is doing brands and influencers a favor by doing this, and it will also make Instagram more money by doing this.

https://adage.com/article/digital/instagram-lets-brands-promote-influencer-posts-ad/316869/

Tesla announced that they will be closing most of their locations and selling cars online only. This is crazy, right? Well, Tesla’s reason for this is that it will save them money; therefore, they will be able to release a new car. The car they are wanting to release is the Model 3, which will be sold for $35,000. Also, if this happens, it will allow them to drop the prices of the Model S and Model X.

I think that it is crazy that a car company would only want to have sales online, because most people want to test drive a car before they buy one. Tesla has a solution for this. That being that someone can place a $1,000 deposit on a car and drive it until they hit 1,000 miles on the car. If they do not like the car, they can return it. Tesla says they are working on this process as well, to make it run smoother.

I think what Tesla is doing is interesting, but I also think it could work. They are already a known brand, and the people buying from them are most likely existing customers. If they are not an existing customer, then they most likely know what they want, since the brand is more luxury. I think it will take a while for the process to get going, but I do think it could be successful. Also, Tesla is a brand that has been around for a while; therefore, they know what they are doing. The internet is part of our daily lives, so I think this will be successful once the details are figured out.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/tesla-close-stores-online-sales-model-3/

 

Energizer is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of batteries. It is a known brand, and many people buy their batteries because they are long lasting. Energizer wants to partner with Interpublic Groups of Cos.- owned media agency UM. They would like them to help out with their media planning and buying in North America, which I think is a great idea. Any brand needs to have a reliable company help out with certain parts of marketing, advertising, etc. Energizer was working with GroupM’s Wavemaker for media planning and buying, but now they cover the rest of the global markets. It did not state what happened between Energizer and Wavemaker, but it did say that “the decision comes after an agency review that kicked off in fall 2018 with Ebiquity.” I assume something happened with the brands, which lead to them not work for this region anymore.

Now that they are wanting to work with UM, there could be some disadvantages. For example, since they have a new company working for them, they have to start all over with their strategies. It will take time for them to build up their brand with this new company, but there are also some advantages as well. An advantage is that they get a fresh start and something new. They will be able to give new ideas to help the brand. Obviously, this will still take time to do, but it will be great for Energizer.

Energizer knows what they are doing, and they would not pick a company who they do not trust. No brand would every do that to themselves because they want what is best for their brand.

https://adage.com/article/agency-news/energizer-charges-um-media-aor-north-america/316733/

Payless is a shoe store that everyone knows about. It is known for paying less for good quality shoes. Unfortunately, it was announced that Payless will be closing down its U.S. stores. It is said that some stores will close in March; however, most will be open until May. They will also be closing their online store. The reason for this is because the company could file for bankruptcy for the second time. This is surprising to me, because Payless came out with their Palessi ad to show people that their cheaper shoes are high end quality. The ad was successful and it got many views. I thought that this would bring many customers to Payless, but I guess this was not the case. At the same time, there are many stores and boutiques that have more trendy shoes. People want to be up-to-date on the latest trends, and they found themselves going to another store.

Also, there are many online shops that people shop at. Some people are busy and do not have time to go to actual stores; therefore, they just order online. I feel that Payless is not a store people see themselves just going to anymore. There have been many new stores and other opportunities for people to buy shoes from. I do not think that payless closing down will affect many people because there are many other cheaper options that are just as good of quality. While I do feel bad that they will be closing down, I believe there are other options for people.