Detch Singh, CEO of influencer creative content platform Hypetap, founded in 2013, spoke with AdNews about how the business has evolved, the attraction surrounding influencer marketing and his role at the new influencer awards.
What was the allure to working with influencers and content creators?
“Influencers weren't a new concept when we started Hypetap. Influencers and celebrities have been around forever.
“However, social media really democratised influence, allowing us to find different pockets of tastemakers and thought leaders in every vertical.
“It became really clear to us that this was going to be a turning point in the way people consume content on social media.”
What do you believe is the attraction towards influencer marketing?
“Where do I begin? Obviously I'm biased, but there are so many benefits to this category.
“The content. We always say content needs to be fit for purpose and fit for channel. Creators are so brilliant at being able to create social-first, branded content. Often we're able to repurpose this in so many ways for clients in order to maximise those assets.
“Their media value and their 'influence' - influencers have a highly trusting subscriber base.
“Some stats: 70% of teens trust influencers more than traditional celebrities and 86% of women use social media for purchasing advice. In fact, when it comes to influencer marketing, over half of women made purchases due to influencer posts.”
How has Hypetap evolved since 2013?
“We have seen so much change in the creator ecosystem and Hypetap has evolved with it.
“In 2015 we moved from a self service platform to a full service agency driven by our own proprietary technology.
“To this day, 50% of our headcount is still data science and software engineering, but we have a world class team that can help clients manage all the nuances of the category and advise on everything from campaign creative to best practice, execution and reporting. The vision for Hypetap now is to be at the forefront of the creator economy."
Did the pandemic help or hinder Hypetap?
“I think the pandemic was scary for all marketers. There was a lot of uncertainty and lots of budgets were frozen initially.
“As we started to get a better picture of what was happening, influencer marketing certainly took a bigger share of the pie.
“We also had a lot of the more traditional advertisers try the category for the first time and they saw great results. This was definitely a positive.
“I feel lucky to say that Hypetap definitely benefited during this period. Being a market leader in the category we certainly saw a lot of growth.”
Describe your role in the AiMCO Awards
“I was the inaugural chair (and currency deputy chair) at AiMCO from inception in 2019 until earlier this year.
“Hypetap was also a sponsor and entrant. However, most of the credit for the awards need to go to the awards committee.”
Can you name any exciting projects you've worked on recently or have coming up?
“Probably the most fun pieces of work for the team at the moment are anything live-stream shopping.
“We're loving being at the forefront of this phenomenon in Australia and it's been amazing to bring these programs to life for our clients.”
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