Popular Latvian bloggers, TV presenters, singers, actors and celebrities will take part in a conference to speak openly about cooperation with businesses
On 26 October, the Baltic States’ only conference on influencer marketing, Click&Connect, will take place at the five-star Pullman Riga Old Town hotel, bringing together business representatives and celebrities with a combined audience reach of more than 8 500 000 people. The conference participants confirmed so far include vlogger Stas Davidov, singers Aminata and Roberto Meloni, fashion bloggers Alina Keller and Agnija Grigule, entrepreneurs Vlad Korjagin and Svetlana Lev, radio personality Natalya Olesika and event presenter Yelena Tonova, as well as the editors of popular websites and magazines, Yevgenia Shafreneka (brunch.lv) and Inna Avina (Ļubļu), among many others.
The conference will discuss how local businesses can promote their goods and services with the support and advertising of celebrities. The conference is supported by Coca-Cola, the five-star Pullman Hotel Riga, the Strekoza clothing brand, the real estate company Interbaltija, the CopyExpert printing house and others.
“As a musician, it is important to me that cooperation aligns with my ideology and is long-term. Of course, sometimes I also agree to publish just one post on my Instagram. I channel all income earned from such collaborations into my professional development—recording songs and music videos,” reveals Markus Riva, whose Instagram account has more than 150 000 followers.
“There has been a major revolution in the advertising world. People do not buy what is advertised on television channels and in magazines; they buy what opinion leaders recommend on their social media. Social media users acknowledge that in more than 60 percent of cases they have purchased something precisely because of a blogger’s or celebrity’s recommendation, and this trend is becoming increasingly relevant in Latvia,” says the conference organiser, Dmitry Krasnovsky, head of Advanced Learning & Communications.
According to singer Aminata, she only recently began offering her social media platforms for business promotion, and preference is given to brands that she herself likes. “I rarely agree to barter arrangements—mostly only when collaborating with designers whose clothing I can wear during my performances,” says Aminata, whose Instagram account has more than 50 000 followers.
“Using the services of opinion leaders to promote brands and increase sales in Latvia is only just beginning. At the same time, in other parts of the world, many brands are promoted exclusively through bloggers and vloggers, bypassing traditional advertising altogether. Millions are invested in successful YouTubers and Instagrammers, and businesses earn an average of seven euros for every euro invested in influencer marketing,” says the conference organiser, Alina Lisina, head of the AlinaLisina.com agency.
Click&Connect is a unique networking exchange that enables businesses to find an opinion leader suited to their needs and agree on cooperation.
Recognised brands such as Mediacom, Technoland, Socintegra, Postservice, Global Balt, Garmtech, BlueOrange Bank, Argus Radiodetaļas, Aksioma, Aestas IT and others took part in previous conferences.
Information prepared by the communications agency Advanced Learning & Communications
