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Lead Like A Girl
PERSONAL
DEVELOPMENT
APRIL 2015 •
PPB
• 61
Off Camera
PROMOTIONS
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TACY DEBROFF
IS fluent in
“Mom” speak.
The former attor-
ney has written three best-
selling books on parenting
and is a former brand
spokesperson-turned-market-
ing consultant helping
national brands reach the
most-coveted influencer
groups around—moms,
Millennials and empty
nesters, to name a few.
PPB
spoke to DeBroff about these
groups and her ideas for
attracting their attention.
PPB
What is an influencer,
and what should promo-
tional products profession-
als know about this type of
consumer?
DeBroff
Influencers offer up
first-person, passionate rec-
ommendations to their online
and offline communities, and
they can be segmented either
by demographics such as
Millennials or empty nesters,
or by interest such as foodies
or travelers. Because they
provide an authentic experi-
ence and perspective on
issues of deep relevance to
their communities, influencers
have the ability to deliver
strong marketing results.
Promotional products profes-
sionals need to know that the
key to reaching influencers is
that these products should be
both deeply related to the
brand, but also have a value
that makes it a fair give-get
for an influencer to talk about
with their communities.
PPB
What marketing trends
do you predict we’ll see in
2015?
DeBroff
One key trend is
“surprise and delight” cam-
paigns will go mainstream.
Today, marketers need to
stay at the top of their game
each and every day as con-
sumers continue to have
more choices than ever
before—and, at the same
time, more and more outlets
to communicate their dissatis-
faction. Last year, we saw the
rise of surprise and delight
campaigns where brands ele-
vated their services and expe-
riences to creative, new
heights—from Virgin Atlantic
enlisting Santa to hand out
Microsoft Tablets to passen-
gers on a London-Boston
flight to Canadian-based TD
Bank launching its
#TDThanksYou campaign that
offered up cash and gifts to
customers. As we move fur-
ther into 2015 and the mar-
keting landscape heats up, I
predict surprise and delight
campaigns will become the
new normal.
PPB
What trends do you
see specific to promotional
products?
DeBroff
Within the promo-
tional product space, I
expect to see the continuing
rise of personalization. This
January, to thank our clients
for their partnership and to
mark the beginning of 2015,
we sent out Influence
Central-branded Chocomize
Bars that celebrated the con-
nection we have with our
clients. Moreover, I focus on
promotional products that
give consumers an ethos of a
brand’s
esprit de corps
, and
most importantly, that come
with unique twists that folks
find super helpful. For exam-
ple, I love the multiple con-
nector I got from Yahoo for
charging items on your com-
puter. Today, we charge so
many items from our lap-
tops—particularly during
business travel—that this
connector has become one
of my go-to items.
S
Five Minutes With
Stacy DeBroff
Founder & CEO, Influence Central
For Children Only
PRODUCT SAFETY
69
72
Stacy DeBroff
74
Seeing
Green
FEATURE STORY