Social affinities can be used to make the right choice between many eligible spokespeople

Social affinities represents two sides of the same coin: reaction and receptivity – consumers will react to the marketing messages around them using social media, but what ultimately counts for marketers is which brand, TV show, or celebrity will make the greatest impact. The question is: which choice is most likely to be most resonant with my existing and potential audiences?

This is the question that Pepsi was pondering when they brought in AffinityAnswers to help determine which music artist would be the right choice for a new spokesperson. Four artists were up for consideration: Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj.

Of course, it’s not enough to just make a decision; marketing choices must be viewed through the lens of ROI. Therefore, the solution that would best benefit Pepsi would need to be able to choose among four artists that all had appeal to their brand’s fans and demonstrate that the chosen artist was the best decision possible.

Based on mutual affinity, and the overlap of each artist’s fan base with Pepsi’s fan base, AffinityAnswers recommended Nicki Minaj as the best choice for spokesperson. Despite being in the lead, any one of those four artists could have been a viable choice, so how does Pepsi know that they made the right decision?

The chart on the right illustrates that Nicki Minaj fans were very receptive to Pepsi ads and content over a six-month-long period. The reach of Pepsi fans among Nicki Minaj fans doubled from March to September 2012, indicating that Nicki Minaj audiences were also becoming Pepsi audiences.

AffinityAnswers has built the industry’s first platform for predictive branding. This allows for choosing the best addressable audiences: ones that will be highly receptive to your brand’s content and messaging.

Contact us at hello@affinityanswers.com to find out how affinity-based audiences can uniquely bring solutions to your brand.