Next in Media discusses the evolving role of influencers in marketing with Megan Pagliuca, Chief Product Officer at Omnicom Media Group, and Khurrum Malik, Head of Marketing for Walmart Connect, focusing on how data and new strategies are integrating influencers into broader media plans to drive sales and brand building.

💡Takeaways:

• 🛒 Retail Data for Influencer Selection: The integration of retail data, particularly from large retailers like Walmart, is revolutionizing how brands select influencers. 
• 📈 Shift to Niche and Rising Influencers: There's a growing recognition that niche and rising influencers can offer more resonance and relevance due to their authentic connections with smaller communities, leading to more impactful campaigns compared to relying solely on celebrity endorsements.
• 💡 Influencers as Content and Performance Channels: Influencers are no longer just a PR function or a branding tool. 
• 🔗 Convergence of Social Commerce and Retail Media: The lines between social commerce (driven by influencers) and retail media (focused on direct outcomes) are blurring. 
• 📊 Influencer Marketing Becoming Programmatic: The process of working with influencers is becoming more programmatic and scalable, moving away from purely custom, one-off integrations. 
• 🤖 AI's Role in Content Creation: AI is emerging as a significant factor in content creation, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses, by simplifying content generation and enabling one-click buying. 

🎙 Guests: Megan Pagliuca & Khurrum Malik

🎤 Host: Mike Shields

📺 Sponsor: Walmart Connect

🎬 Producer: FEL Creative