CommPRO News UpdateDS Simon Media is taking a new approach to Influencer Marketing. The goal is to turn an organization’s leaders and experts into Influencers. “What we’ve seen is that the idea of having paid Influencers speak for your brand on TV lacks authenticity and is filled with challenges and peril, says Doug Simon, CEO at D S Simon Media. “Third-party “experts” hired by brands as media spokespeople can be less familiar with the story and more prone to error and misstatements.” Instead we work with Influencers to engage with your experts as media bringing your spokespeople to their followers and audiences without the risk.  By acting as media, the influencers we connect with help amplify your internal spokesperson’s profile and by association build your brand.Proprietary research of in-house communications teams found they were more than twice as likely to be satisfied with the ability of their in-house experts to help earn media compared with third-party spokespeople. They were four times more likely to be very satisfied with the performance of in-house experts. But they also said it’s harder than ever to earn media with their experts.This new division at D S Simon Media will fill the void. It relies on video to significantly raise the profile of an organization’s leadership to accomplish business objectives. Service offerings in the space include Influencer Media Tours, Influencer Media Packages, Influencer Video Series and Influencer Junkets.The Influencer Marketing division at D S Simon Media has established key partnerships and joint marketing initiatives with financial news portal and investor community Equities.com, consumer influencer marketing platform HouseParty Inc., online advertising leader Looksmart and Cat Schwartz and The DGTL ADVISORS which has an influencer network sharing content through Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and SnapChat. “Never before has it been so important to establish an organization’s leadership as influencers in order to achieve key objectives,” says Doug Simon, CEO at D S Simon Media. “Aligning with these key partners allows us to bring a first of its kind solution to the market.”“Turning CEOs of emerging growth companies into influencers is critical to their success,” says Silvia Davi CMO at Equities.com. “This partnership allows us to significantly raise the profile of these industry leaders and disruptors.” “This approach on influencer marketing is unique,” says Cat Schwartz, founder & CEO of The DGTL NTWRK. “By associating with our vast network of influencers on the major social platforms with D S Simon Media’s video content, we jointly can help clients increase reach and influence.” “We see a great synergy with this initiative,” says Chris Maher, CEO at HouseParty.com. “This is another way for brands to engage effectively with our platform of one million micro influencers to accomplish key business objectives.” “D S Simon Media has revolutionized the influencer marketing category by utilizing a brand’s untapped resources – their own spokespeople!” says Mike Onghai CEO at Looksmart.  “We’re proud to make our vast network available to help clients amplify their message, raise their profile, and reach their business and marketing communications goals in a smart and cost effective manner.”The D S Simon Media team will feature SVP Eric Wright, VP Sarah Katz, Director Media and Content Strategy, Mike Bako and YouTube Influencer Drew Penkala. It anticipates the majority of business will come through partnerships with public relations and communications firms with other work contracted directly through non-profits and brands.