Consumer-Centric Interview

Interviewee: Callum Mullin

Interviewer: Ryan O’Callaghan

Firstly start out by telling me what it is you do as a job

and the various roles that you play within the vocation
of an ‘influencer’?
I guess the simplest way to put it is that I have built up a presence on social media, which puts me in the
position where I have various opportunities to promote brands, attend amazing events and shoots, work with
some of my favourite designers and creatives, express my own art/creativity and I get to travel to some pretty
cool places too.

Have you seen a shift in the way young/digital

consumers shop online, with the 2nd hand market being
on the rise and set to double in market share within the
coming 5 years?
Definately, me included, I way prefer going online to shop for nearly everything, not just clothing.
For me, I just see it as a million different high streets and stores in one place. From my
perspective as an influencer, I have definitely seen a big change in the amount of people,
especially my sort of age, that are using the internet to both buy and sell, nearly everyone I know
have bought 2nd hand clothing at some point and it just seems to be a lot more frequent recently.

What methods would you say prove most effective for a

brand trying to resonate or appeal to modern
consumers in a digital format? Please provide some of
the most memorable examples.
I would say social media is a big one. Being active and regular with social media plays a big part
for me when buying into something, knowing that they are tapped into the modern climate really
speaks volumes to me. Partnerships are always good too, seeing someone who may not be as
established, working with a big official brand adds a lot of weight to a brand, gives me a lot more
reason to trust them. Brands like Supreme who are officially partnered with UPS, just fills me with
a bit more reassurance that I will get a good service. Brands that are passionate about charity and
giving back to the community is probably the biggest appeal for me, seeing a big corporation
being empathetic to real life is a rarity these days and it just makes me feel a lot happier giving my
money to them to be honest.

Do you see influencer/ambassador marketing as an

effective way to market your product/service to a more
youthful consumer (Less than 30 years of age)? If so,
why?

100%. Without being rude, I think consumers need to be told what they want sometimes, having
a trusted figure or a fan favourite of some kind, instils way more of a connection between
business and shopper, I think it also plays on the idea of aspiration too.

Gen Z and Millennial consumers are moving to the

forefront of marketing focus for most businesses, do
you see them as being the deciding factor in the
success of a modern business? If so, why?
Yes and no. I think it would really depend on the company in question as every one is different. In
terms of most brands I engage with or am aware of, then yes, we are the now of consumers and
we are also the future of consumers; if you annoy a woke sustainable consumer about such a
serious topic, you have probably lost that consumer forever, and if we are going to be the main
consumers for the next 20 years, that company may not survive very long.

Do feel as though a platform that guarantees complete

protection and online safety for all involved parties
gives an added sense of value and uniqueness to it?
I literally have a room full of clothes I don’t wear and this would just be a godsend. I think anything
that is beneficial for the environment, beneficial for consumers and unique is going to do really
well and have an added layer to it. After seeing what happened with StockX aswell, security is just
such a hot topic and being able to provide a platform with such safety measures would answer a
lot of prayers.

Finally, do you think you - and like minded friends/peers

- would be interested in a platform that allows you to
securely and safely trade garments with the option of
authentication?
Like I just said, it would be a godsend. I see so many people, friends and strangers, on Facebook,
Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter and even Youtube trying to trade clothes and fashion items, all of
these are just social media platforms and don’t really have a trusted or secure means of payment.
If you were able to grab the attention of these people, and shout about the security and
accessibility of the app, I can’t see why it wouldn’t catch on.