Building an international creative agency producing branded content and travel production with influence…
Spencer Kohn, Co-founder and Creative Director of Supercharge (an integrated community of content creators, producers, and influencers, utilizing their talents to create unique branded experiences), shares his story with George Manley (CEO & Co-Founder of SOULER) in the MouthMedia Network studios. Presented by SOULER.
In this story:
- How Spencer started Supercharge with him and a business partner two years ago
- Spencer was coming off a stint as creative director of magazine, looking for something new to explore
- Multi brands sharing the cost of a campaign, and international trips
- First trip to Nicaragua
- Brands paying influencers to travel for free, campaign with imagery and video, and influencers agree to post
- Campaigns have brought him to St. Lucia, Morocco, Cuba, Mexico, Bali, Finland, Croatia
- Looking forward to traveling for fun for the first time in a few years
- Recruiting more influencers
- Larger scale projects, waiting for brands to come to them, and brands becoming exclusive with those influencers
- Justifying that the images and assets that come from the trips will generate ROI for brands
- Requiring brands to hire content and marketing teams alongside Supercharge’s work
- Influencer have a large following that cares what what that person is saying, like modern day celebrities
- WinkyLux as a success example
- Instagram very valuable but changing, influencers very curated and very focused are getting it done
- How Spencer got into photography, inspired by mother, being working as photographer since 15, but entrepreneurial since 12
- Always understood value of money
- How skateboarding knowledge got him a photo gig
- When Spencer bought his first pro camera because another camera broke
- Creating a collective of fashion people and other creative people
- Having a small portfolio of NY models while on West coast
- Building a meaningful portfolio
- Spencer known for surreal photo scheme, with special effects all done in-camera
- All the people Spencer’s been with in past dozen years — still with them and still good friends
- Shooting for major labels, major celebrities, his work in major magazines – -all before age 26
- Spencer never had a bad experience with a celebrity—only with people who think they will be celebrities
- Finding what peaks your own creative interest
- When an unsolicited email from Instagram changed everything and made Spencer go viral, and why he didn’t take as much advantage of that as he should – online fame but few jobs through Instagram
- Spencer’s friends are his greatest cheerleaders, never had to formally market himself
- Loving photography, what makes Spencer pull his camera out – personality
- Musicians are awesome to work with, and why Spencer is inspired by writers
- And — the birth of a possible collaboration
