While many remain on the lookout for a possible mail strike, Canada Post is quietly making moves to bolster its long-term relationship with customers with the creation of a dedicated influencer marketing role.
Jennifer Campbell, who has worked with the Crown corporation for 10 years, made the transition from general manager of commercial marketing to GM of influencer marketing over the summer, though there has been no official public announcement about the change. Campbell told Marketing that while working with influencers has long been part of her mandate, it would now have the attention it deserves.
“There are all those things that in the past might have fallen off the side of my desk and onto the floor, such as how to educate and inspire marketers, particularly those starting out on the client or agency side, and even into those at the post-secondary level,” she said. “Splitting that back out allows me and the team to focus.”
Though the role is only a few weeks old and Canada Post will begin actively looking for someone to take over Campbell’s commercial marketing duties, she said it would have considerable scope. This includes potentially expanding its customer events and forums to 10 or 12 cities compared with a handful. Campbell is already a visible face of Canada Post for what it calls Smartmail marketing. She will be among the speakers, for instance, at the second-annual Marketing Evolution Summit taking place in Toronto on Sept. 21.
“Although we have a vested interest in direct mail being very successful, so do lots of companies, as an advertising platform,” she said. “The challenge is we need it to be other voices in addition to Canada Post in order for the message to resonate widely.”
Of course, influencer marketing in B2B may not look quite as straightforward as what works with consumer brands. Beyond events, one of the items on Campbell’s to-do list will be what she called an “advocates” initiative that may look somewhat like the Royal Mail in Britain’s ‘Mail Men’ campaign, which used agency and brand execs to talk about the value of direct mail.
“They’re all senior marketers known in their industires and obviously embrace the power of physical mail,” Campbell noted. “It’s been a whole platform and providing a voice with reach for their advocates that’s directed by Royal Mail.”
Data can also be highly influential, Campbell noted, citing Canada Post’s ongoing investment into neuroscience to track how people respond to opening an envelope versus clicking on a link or opening an email message.
“Ultimately do we see it in the numbers,” she said. “With our research, this is your brain talking. I can’t fake this.”
