James Watt, the founder of BrewDog, is venturing into the influencer market with a new initiative, just a month after stepping down as chief executive of the craft beer giant.
On Monday, Mr Watt unveiled plans for Social Tip, a fresh app platform he claims is designed to transform everyday consumers into influencers. The enterprise will enable Brits who post about their favourite brands on social media, which are registered with Social Tip, to earn money based on the level of engagement they generate.
Mr Watt expressed that the economics of utilising influencers have "massively changed" for businesses, implying that they could reap more benefits by rewarding regular people who use and pay for their products.
"On a macro level, a lot of major influencers aren't offering the return to businesses now that they were a few years ago," he stated. He added: "What people engage with is changing and people are looking for something more authentic."
"We don't think there is anything more authentic than customers who actually use and cheerlead your products spreading that. Yes, they have smaller individual followings, but there is more benefit to having hundreds of those than spending the same amount on one big name."
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The entrepreneur, who continues to serve as an adviser and non-executive director at BrewDog, revealed that he consulted his girlfriend Georgia Toffolo, a former Made in Chelsea star and influencer, during the development of the new venture. He said that the craft beer giant "grew on word of mouth" and he reckons his new venture, Social Tip, will help other companies do the same.
He added: "The businesses we are speaking to are really excited about the prospect of this. We will be marketing ourselves from day one, so people see the opportunity to make money from their posts, but companies will also be wanting their customers to be aware of this, aware of the opportunity to share their experience while profiting from it."
The firm has already teamed up with a host of brands such as Huel, PureGym, and Dash water. Watt is set to steer Social Tip with Thomas Matecki, ex-chief technology officer at fintech company Zilch, and Georgia Lee, who previously managed food delivery service Supper.
The app is schdeduled for a summer release. After stepping down from BrewDog, Watt has been actively investing in start-ups, recently leading a £500,000 investment round for beverage company Living Things.
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