On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on the TechTO stage in 2020. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Charlie ↗
In their words
they were the anti celebrity they were the people that you did trust because they were people like me they were people that you could trust to have an opinion on stuff because they weren't being paid for it
authenticity is really the key word for where the future of influencers is going
having somebody who has 800 followers and who really knows their onions about something rather than somebody who has 800,000 followers and is just taking the money and running with it
Quick answers
What was Charlie Almond's TechTO talk about?
Why 'influencer' had become a dirty word. He drew a line from his PR work on Gillette in the UK 15 years earlier — when magazine journalists resented bloggers being invited on press trips — to influencers today, and argued authenticity is what decides which partnerships work.
What does Charlie Almond do now?
He leads dentsu's business transformation (BX) practice across the Americas. He was previously Chief Strategy Officer for dentsu Creative in Canada, and before that VP Brand Experience & Strategy at Isobar in Toronto.
What is Isobar?
Isobar was Dentsu's global digital agency network, including a Canadian arm in Toronto where Almond led brand experience and strategy. The Isobar brand was folded into dentsu Creative as part of Dentsu's agency consolidation.