Imgur’s Laurel Hodge Keeps It Real To Connect With Millennial Men
The online image-sharing community has more than 150 million monthly active users, of which 86% are millennial men. Connecting with them comes down to one word, according to Imgur’s director of creative strategy.
Laurel Hodge is director of creative strategy at online image-sharing community Imgur, which, she said, is “on a mission to lift people’s spirits for a few moments every day.”
But there’s a lot more to it than that. Imgur has more than 150 million monthly active users, of which 86% are Millennial men, the most ad-adverse and toughest audience for marketers to reach.
“We’re kind of the epicenter for geek-culture interests, defined as above-average interests in video games, science, fantasy, technology,” Hodge explained. “It turns out that we have a lot of people who are at the forefront of impacting pop culture.”
Imgur uses its cultural fluency to help brands connect effectively with this coveted target “in a way that feels authentic, in a way that they actually appreciate and enjoy,” Hodge said.
Authenticity is key. “When you use the language in an authentic way and you actually provide information that people want to hear—or information that is relevant to people—then you’ll see some really great results,” she said.
Highlights from this week’s “Marketing Today” podcast include:
- “We want to create ads that don’t suck.” (3:00)
- Overcoming the culture of ad blocking. (5:25)
- Creating brand engagement with a brand-skeptical audience: Imgur’s partnership with eBay. (8:05)
- Three things marketers can do to reach ad-adverse audiences. (10:25)
- Making an impression: Up-and-coming brands usually do one thing and do it well. (19:23)
- Adding value: Brands have to work harder in a hyper-distracted world. (20:41)