Social Media Spotlight - Chris Kubby
Tell us about your history in marketing. How did you get started?: When I was 12 years old I was big into drawing and art and I would critique ads on tv and in magazines. My parents must have thought I was a weird kid. I begged them to buy me a book called 100 Careers In Advertising, I read it cover to cover and decided I wanted to be in advertising.
At 14 I started as an intern at an ad agency, sweeping floors and getting coffee. By 16 I was doing graphic design and in my spare time building websites.
From there I was hooked on marketing.
You're the CEO at Kubb&Co, which you founded. What led you to create your own agency?: I always wanted to own my own business. My father, step-father and father-in-law all run their own businesses, so you could say I’ve been around entrepreneurs my whole life, and that rubbed off on me. I guess I’ve always had this feeling like I could do it better than the competitors.
Within your role, what do you most love doing and why?: My role is actually constantly changing as the agency grows. When it started I was doing everything, now I have very talented people on all fronts, so my role has changed. Today I love working on the future of the agency, directing where we will go and empowering others to help us get there.
What are the biggest challenges you face within your role?: Sales. Keeping the pipeline full is currently where I’m putting most of my efforts.
You've had some great clients, but what has been your favourite campaign to work on and why?: I think it would be really hard to choose a favourite, so I will go with something recently we did to win a pitch. We actually went and made the whole video beforehand, or at least a version/template for how we thought the video campaign should be.
This was great to make because we knew the client would be surprised and we knew we were making something great no matter if we won the pitch or not.
Recently you featured in AdAge for your work with Essence Cosmetics. What inspired you to create a virtual influencer?: We’ve been watching the virtual influencer market for a while and have seen the success of some of the influencers. We were approached by essence to do a deeper study and determine if it would make sense for their brand. We did the study and it was compelling.
So you could say the insights and data drove the inspiration and decision.
How easy/difficult was it to create the virtual influencer and were there any challenges you had to overcome?: It was extremely difficult. It’s fairly new ground we’re breaking and there’s no real playbook.
Some of the challenges have been technical, how do it etc...but I think the biggest challenges have been around community management. We needed to have responses and ideas to many different possible comments and replies.
What are the benefits of creating a virtual influencer?: More engagement. Doing something innovative brings in attention. Building a new channel and owning a role model/spokesperson is very attractive for most brands.
Are there any downsides to using a virtual influencer over a human influencer?: Costs.
Do you think there is a future in the market for a virtual influencer?: Yes. Absolutely. We’ve only scratched the surface and technology is getting better and better.
You have a good following for your personal accounts, what inspires your content?: I think there’s a lot of content from other marketers and entrepreneurs out there but it can be ambiguous and maybe one-sided. My aim is to be a bit more balanced and provide more depth.
Do you have any personal branding tips for our audience?: You have to be passionate about what you’re talking about first and foremost. If you’re just jumping on a train because it looks lucrative then you will lose.
I love marketing and business, so it’s easy to learn, grow and speak about these areas.
Second I would say you need to have a brand. Brands are built on a spirit, a cause or something that others can get behind. Try and develop your story and values, and how to present those values.
What's your favourite social media platform for building a personal brand?: Instagram by far. It’s got everything at the moment. But LinkedIn is becoming my second.
As there are so many changes to social media, how do you keep up to date with the latest information?: There’s a lot of changes, especially to new features and new trends. Take for instance duets in TikTok. Might be just a feature but it becomes an important tool in the social toolbox.
I keep up to date by spending lots of time on each platform and seeing what others are doing. It’s the quickest way.
What has been your favourite social media campaign (Big or Small) this year so far and why?: The death of mr. peanut has been pretty epic. Well, it’s all social right now, but then will be a big super bowl ad soon. I like that it’s started in social.
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