Ogilvy PR launches global business influence offer

From left: Poppy Regan, business influence manager; Rahul Titus, global head of influence; and James Baldwin, influence director

“Using influence in business is not new, but many businesses have only been utilising a small portion of its potential, and focused at the conversion stage. Extending business influence impact across an end-to-end business landscape unlocks exponential value that companies can’t always access through other channels.” James Baldwin, business influence director.

Business influencer marketing is predicted to generate $11.7bn in revenue by the end of 2022. This represents a shift in brand mindset – by using credible industry individuals with a proven track record, businesses can address issues from face-value sales and reputation management to fully integrated business builds and employee advocacy. Whilst some of the world’s biggest legacy B2B brands use influencers, business influence remains in its infancy. Ogilvy has set up a team of business influence specialists who have been partnering with clients in the business influence space for years.

“Business influence is the new frontier in influencer marketing. Similar to consumer audiences, authentic credibility has overtaken hard sales when it comes to increasing trust and B2B growth. Those companies and brands who get this right are poised to reap the benefits of an ever-growing creator economy. The future of business influence is around real people driving real impact. Own your conversation, or someone else will.” Rahul Titus, global head of influence.

According to Forbes, 90% of today’s sales-driven B2B audiences no longer trust sales messages but 92% of B2B buyers agree they would engage if the professional is a known industry thought leader. The authentic credibility of business influence has overtaken hard sales as the foundation of B2B growth, yet help is still needed to unlock the potential. 74% of B2B marketers agree that influencer marketing improves relationships with brands, yet only 19% are running ongoing influencer programmes. (Forbes)

Since 2017 Rahul has worked with Ogilvy’s influence team to establish the network’s unparalleled leadership and authority around the influence economy. Rahul and his team have continually redefined the industry through their industry-leading thought leadership, launching the network’s inclusive influence initiative and unveiling Ogilvy’s recent commitment to combat the misuse of beauty and body editing across influencer content. Ogilvy’s influence expertise has set industry standards resulting in flagship new business and Ogilvy becoming the most awarded agency by the Influencer Marketing Awards for the fourth year in a row.