Why Brands Are Shifting to Community & IRL Experiences w/ Kirby Kennedy (Sargento)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Influence Factor by The Influencer Marketing Factory
Episode: Why Brands Are Shifting to Community & IRL Experiences w/ Kirby Kennedy (Sargento)
Date: May 13, 2026
Host: Alessandro Bogliari (A)
Guest: Kirby Kennedy, Sargento (B)

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Overview

This episode explores the evolution of influencer marketing, focusing on why brands are moving from transactional influencer relationships to community-driven and real-life (IRL) experiences. Kirby Kennedy shares Sargento’s approach to building authentic, long-term partnerships with creators, utilizing in-person events to deepen brand loyalty and develop more impactful, collaborative content.

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Guest Introduction: The MAP Framework

[00:54–02:28]

• Mission: Kirby aims to make her job fun and exciting, while safeguarding the Sargento brand and helping creators retain their authenticity.
  • "My mission at the end of the day is to make my job fun... while protecting the brand and empowering creators to maintain their authenticity." — Kirby [01:33]
• Achievements: Personally proud of embracing her own authenticity and bridging her creative, artistic side with corporate life.
• Purpose: Motivation comes from curiosity and passion, which Kirby views as her “secret ingredient.”

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Key Discussion Points

From Transactional to Collaborative Relationships

[03:35–05:10]

• Brands now seek ongoing, deeper relationships with creators instead of one-off campaigns.
  • “We've evolved... to move past these one-off transactional moments and to allow us to really have a true relationship that goes deeper than just, you know, campaigns throughout the year.” — Kirby [03:35]
• Early steps involve truly understanding the creator, their process, their audience, and even engaging with agents for smoother collaboration.

The Co-Creation Process

[05:10–07:24]

• Briefings should serve as "open canvases"—brands “share the pen” rather than dictate scripts.
• The creators are briefed with clear objectives and messages but are encouraged to pitch “white paper concepts.”
• Back-and-forth shaping occurs with creators and brand teams collaborating on ideas, not just executing preset orders.

Maintaining Authenticity vs. Brand Alignment

[07:24–10:04]

• Sargento emphasizes authentic brand voice; for example, letting creators naturally express Sargento’s “family” narrative, not just insert a tagline.
• The team presents product benefits and family messaging, but wants creators' voices and ideas. Messaging alignment is continually fine-tuned through this collaborative process.

Experimenting with Content Formats

[10:04–10:49]

• Sargento currently favors experimentation, integrating multiple marketing formats (short-form, long-form, vlogs, event content), emphasizing that content is just one part of a broader, experiential campaign.

IRL Experiences and Community Building

[12:57–14:23]

• Sargento’s brand ambassador trip to Wisconsin aimed to make creators feel part of the “cheese family” and included educational segments (e.g., cheese 101, meeting master cheese graters, factory tours).
  • “Our brand ambassadors are a true extension of our brand and... co-authors and our partners.” — Kirby [13:11]
• Value is in helping creators internalize the brand, so their content is naturally aligned and impactful year-round.

Internal Process & Systematization

[14:23–17:49]

• The company now employs robust project management tools and cross-functional teams, moving from siloed execution to collective, transparent workflows.
  • “Videos are going all the way up to our CEO, right? It’s not just my manager that's seeing the video and saying thumbs up, you know, get that posted.” — Kirby [16:03]
• Ensures alignment across campaigns, integrates influencer marketing into broader marketing efforts, and uses CRM-like systems.

Industry Trends & The Move to Brand Ambassadors

[19:04–20:20]

• Shift from influencers to dedicated brand ambassadors who embody and champion the brand.
  • “You’re going to see a lot more brands shifting from just having a long roster of influencers versus having more true brand ambassadors…” — Kirby [19:05]
• Prediction: Brand ambassadors will become present not just online, but on packaging, at retail points, and at real-life events.

Balance of Online and Offline (IRL) Experiences

[20:20–21:43]

• Sargento targets about a 70/30 balance between digital campaigns and IRL experiences, recognizing in-person touchpoints as crucial for trust and community.
  • “You build trust and consistency through having a strong community and then it... takes it away from like having to have so much reach because you have that loyalty.” — Kirby [21:43]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• "You want to share the pen, you don't want to write for the creator..." — Kirby [05:17]
• "Videos are going all the way up to our CEO..." — Kirby [16:03]
• "Moving ahead, you’re just going to see these influencers showing up in a lot more spaces outside of social channels..." — Kirby [19:38]
• "Having a strong community... takes it away from having to have so much reach because you have that loyalty." — Kirby [21:43]
• "I'm just excited to be... in a space where I can lead with curiosity and passion as a creator myself... And who doesn’t love cheese, right?" — Kirby [22:45]

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Segment Highlights with Timestamps

• Introduction & MAP Framework: [00:54–02:28]
• From Transactional to Collaborative: [03:35–05:10]
• Co-Creation Approach: [05:10–07:24]
• Authenticity vs. Brand Safety: [07:24–10:04]
• Content Format Evolution: [10:04–10:49]
• Brand Ambassador Trips & IRL: [12:57–14:23]
• Systematization & Integration: [14:23–17:49]
• Industry Trends/IRL Focus: [19:04–21:43]
• Wrap-Up & Kirby’s Closing Thoughts: [22:45–23:02]

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Takeaways

• Brands like Sargento are moving beyond viewing influencers as just distribution channels, focusing on longer-term, authentic partnerships.
• In-person experiences (e.g., trips, events) are crucial for embedding brand values and fostering creator loyalty, which in turn builds stronger communities.
• Systematic internal processes are key to ensuring campaign alignment and maximizing impact.
• The future of influencer marketing is hybrid—balancing community, IRL engagement, and digital reach, with a focus on brand ambassadors over short-term influencers.

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This episode is an insightful look into the shifting landscape of influencer marketing, offering practical strategies and forward-thinking perspectives for brands seeking deep, authentic community connections.

Transcript

[A]

Before anything, like understanding the creator and their process and their audience and how they like to create content and then spending some time getting to know them as well as if they have an agent. I think it's really important.

[B]

Hey, Kirby. Welcome to the show. How are you?

[A]

I'm doing amazing. How are you doing?

[B]

It's good, it's good. Today it's sunny, it's still cold in the city. But as I was telling you before getting started, up until, like, doesn't snow, there are no blizzards. I don't want to drink it. Because you never know, right? Living in, in the city one day is in the 80s and then it's snowing, and then you think that it's over. And then.

[A]

So, you know, we had, we had every, every season last week, like all of the weather, it was intense.

[B]

Exactly. So, so today kind of complain, to be honest, you know, compared to. To previous weeks and months. I'm very excited to have you here today. Before we get started, you know, with, of course, you know, your experience and talking about companies specifically, we always try to introduce our guests with this thing called the map. Basically, it's divided in three main sections to learn a bit more about yourself. Right. For people listening today. And basically it's divided in the mission. So what do you aim to achieve with your work achievements? Anything that you know you're proud of could be notable, milestone your life, your career, both if you want. And the last one is the purpose. So why you do what you do?

[A]

Yeah, so I would say, like, my mission at the end of the day is to make my job fun, is to make it fun and exciting while protecting the brand and empowering creators to maintain their authenticity. My notable achievements, I would have to say for me, is just personally like leaning into my most authentic version of myself and carrying that through with everything I do, especially being in corporate life as an artist, as a creator, myself. So I really lean full send with my. With my truest self and then my purpose. Honestly, I fell into this role straight up out of curiosity and passion. And I think that is my secret ingredient as far as, like, what makes it so much fun is that I maintain a level of curiosity and passion to deliver the best work that I

[B]

can, especially in these industry. Right. Being curious all the time, it's very important. Every day there is something happening. The moment that you lose that, right. You lose the angle, you lose the, you know, that, that, that value they can bring on the table. I would love to start with something that has been quite an important topic these Days as you know, content creat creators and influencers that are not anymore just, you know, distribution channel these days. You know, back in the day that was the case. You gave something to an influencer, they promoted it. You see that as a distribution channel, you finish the campaign, you check on the metrics and that, that's it. But these days, right, we are seeing more companies, right, using and collaborating with influencers also on another side, right? More on the almost being creative partners, right. So we look at how do we collaborate with influencers, what can bring on the table. We collaborate, we co create. In your case, right? We start trying to like are you doing that? Are you seeing that happening? And if so, how do we approach that when it comes to again finding the right influencers and collaborate with them instead of again just using it, merely just distribution channels.

[A]

Yeah, sure. I think, I think we've evolved and in this space to move past these one off transactional moments and to allow us to really have a true relationship that goes deeper than just, you know, campaigns throughout the year. So what that looks like for me and the team is, is really understanding before anything like understanding the creator and their process and their audience and how they like to create content and then spending some time getting to know them as well as if they have an agent. I think it's really important versus just, you know, here's the creative brief, here's the email, send it through, get some content back. I think having the relationship grow both on the creator side and if they have an agent on the agent side. Because at the end of the day to be able to have face to face conversations, direct contact with creators that we're partnering with saves a lot of time and effort at the end of the day, especially when you're, when you're collaborating together and you're not just asking for a transactional piece of content back.

[B]

What type of conversation are you having when it comes to co creation and collaboration, right. Is it about jumping around like ideas and brainstorming about what could be the creative concept? It is about coming up with potentially a new product or maybe something that is a drop, right of an item, a new product that maybe is available only like no thanks to the influence. Like there are different ways, right. So I'm curious to see like how do we approach it when it comes to that?

[A]

Yeah. So like our first approach is internally making sure we understand what it is, you know, like what, what do we need to be done? What's the job to be done? And understanding the, the program or the Campaign itself, I think will go a long way when you're starting to bring the creator on to brief them. That upfront briefing for the piece of content that you're going to be asking for should really be very an open canvas, an open space, right? You want to share the pen, you don't want to write for the creator, you don't want to tell them, here's what we want you to make. It's going to feel, from a creator standpoint, that's going to feel very restrictive and you're not going to get that true authenticity that is, that is true gold, right? So I think for us it is briefing them, but giving them the tools and really empowering them to do what they do best and that comes through with what is the clear objective that, that we need to land on. What are any of the upfront important key messages that need to come through in the content that they're going to create? And then how do we inspire them, how do we give them thought starters, how do we show them what else that we might have working behind the scenes while they're creating the campaign? This is a bigger piece of a campaign, right? It's not just a one off with a creator. So how are we leaning into that space to show them what we're doing, get them excited. And then a lot of times the next step is after I brief them for the creator to come back with what I like to call white paper concepts. Just type up, you know, frame it up, give me your idea so I can go back to the brand team, so I can go back to Sargento and say, here is what, here's what this creator, our brand ambassador, is looking to do. And then we kind of shape that together. That's where the, I would say, like the, the collaboration really starts to come to life. In the beginning, we're just getting them excited, right? We want them to be inspired and understand why we're asking for the type of content that we're asking for. But we want them to come back with all of their ideas and then we see, see what lands the best internally.

[B]

And how do you balance that, right, between giving these, you know, their authenticity, their tone of voice, even the freedom of really jumping around ideas, right? Because maybe you didn't think about something and then they actually say, oh, you know what, there is these trends or my audience usually love these. And so how can you be open but at the same time also respecting either the guidelines, the brand safety and so on, right? Like each brand has different type of balance. There so I'm curious, like what is yours? Like, do you have a framework there? Do you send them guidelines or do you give more like an idea of what to expect more or less. And then you can also have your own freedom to say maybe this time we push towards that and we see how the audience likes it or not that type of content.

[A]

Sure. I think something, something new that we did, we kicked off our, our brand ambassador brand trip that was really helpful to get the team to understand our family promise, our family messaging. So to, to get somebody to basically reiterate your brand messaging doesn't always feel authentic. And I think throughout the past years doing this, I started to feel like I'm just telling them what to say. I don't want to tell them what to say. I want them to say it in their own words. I want it to be authentic and I want it to, to really feel real to their audience. So I think the biggest thing that we do up front in the briefing is to really give a clear overview of again, what are the objectives, what are the product benefits that we're looking at? Why, you know, why is this product so important? But how do you weave in our Sargento family messaging? And that's really important because we take a lot of pride in being a family owned company, third generation for 70 plus years. So we need that to come through naturally in the content that they're creating and not just be a one line dropped into their video because that's going to feel so out of place from there. We're just then giving them thought starters or some creative territory to build around. But then their ideas come to life through that upfront briefing and once we see their concepts, it starts to connect the dots on like, okay, maybe they need a little bit more, we need to have a little bit more conversation around how to, to, to deliver our messaging a little bit stronger. It's not coming through you, things like that, but the whole time we are collaborating and making sure that it's feeling heard and seen at both ends.

[B]

In addition to the messaging, have you identified any formats that for a company like Sargento, it's working these days. Is there anything that you are doubling down this year or are you still kind of doing a marketing mix where you experiment with different formats, short form, long form, some, some vlogging behind the scene or have you identified, you know, something and be like, actually this year we are doing like 80% of our content. It's primarily that one is working well. I'm very curious because I'm hearing Like a lot of different opinion on that, right? There are companies that even if they identify their best formats, they still want to experiment and play around and having fun. Others are like we tried everything. This is the one that works. This is the one that brings the majority of results. So we keep with that. What are you doing these days?

[A]

I think we're leaning into experimenting. I think we're learning how to evolve in a deeper long term relationship like not just as distribution channels but you know, experiential or moments that we can again host and bring our brand ambassadors here to the cheese capital of the world. Like the brand trip we just did. So I think we're finding ways to really thread that needle throughout a 360 marketing campaign versus just hey, here's, here's one video that, that you're going to see on TikTok.

[B]

Hey, if your brand is ready to grow, we are here to help. At the influencer marketing factory we run full service influencer campaigns that actually move the needle. We handle everything. Creator identification, campaign strategy, contract shifting, logistics, you name it. We have supported brands of every size from world recognized Fortune 500 companies to ambitious BTC startups. And with our in depth ROI tracking, you always know what's working and why. Just visit the influencermarketingfactory.com to learn more and get started. And specifically to the trip like we have been seeing like many companies, right? The beauty companies and fashion and there are so many that are organized organizing the years, right? What worked for you specifically in that case? Was it to bringing the people together and then having them reacting in an authentic way, generally way during the experience? Was it to meet them in person and potentially also doing some sessions? Because I'm also seeing that some of these travels is not just about the content, right? It's also to meet in person because maybe something that you cannot do on a zoom call whenever you are in a room or somewhere, right? With the brand and the influencers and content creators on site. You can bounce ideas around, you can have a better, you know, and quicker sometimes to reaction to things. So I'm curious like even in the case, did you use that time also for that or was it primarily to again creating content and then you kind of wait till the end of the trip to, you know, make all the edits and so on? Like I'm curious like how do you use a trip? Is content based only or more than that?

[A]

Yeah, it was way more than that. While content is fun and exciting, our mission was to, to bring our brand ambassadors on site to Sargento, to not only experience the cheese capital of the world and see what it's all about, but to meet the CEO, to meet our leaders and our stakeholders, to understand the importance of, you know, high quality product and what that means to us. So I think for us it was like a lot of education, a lot of education because our brand ambassadors are a true extension of our brand and, and they are co authors and our partners. So we wanted to make sure that they were able to see it and experience it firsthand. From cheese 101 training, to meeting our master cheese graters, to doing factory plant tours to see how our cheese is made. Right. So I think in those moments, allowing them to feel just as part of the Sargento family, as part of the brand really helps them take that, take that insight back and weave that into their content that they're going to create throughout the year and truly understand it, but bring it home in their own words versus us trying to tell them how they should think about it. We wanted them to experience it firsthand.

[B]

And when it comes to systems, right again, these days we have tons of campaigns and creators and nano to celebrities and some on TikTok, some are gonna do like a live streaming on Twitch. Like there is a lot happening, right? And metrics are important. You want to be sure that you are collecting the, the data in the proper way. You want to analyze the videos, you want to really have an understanding of their alliance on managing expectations, right. It's so important these days understanding what to expect from the campaign, from influencers and so on. What system have you built internally to be sure that everything is smooth, it's aligned, you know, totally. Right? You work on identify direct influencers, the trips, the content. But what happened during it, what happened, you know, after that, right. I'm also curious for you, what are the metrics that these days matters because back in the day was a lot of brand awareness. These days it's a lot of, you know, conversion based depend by the, you know, product and category and industry of course. But I'm curious like how do you manage everything when it comes to especially long term relationship so that they stick around and you have better attention with, with both customer and, and influencers. So yeah, I'm curious like did you build something internally and, and how do you manage the, your day to day

[A]

for us process is everything. And this year we spent a lot of time refining and making sure that our process is allowing a lot of people the visibility to see just tracking like where we're at with the project, I think, you know, previous years I was doing a lot of work, but a little bit siloed, right? It's like by the time I get the video, I'm like, oh my God, here's the video.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, today we're using tools, project management tools and a team of people for reviewing, collective feedback, approval. I mean videos are going all the way up to our CEO, right? It's not just my manager that's seeing the video and saying thumbs up, you know, get that posted. That's, there's, there's a lot of eyes on it and we have a really, a really good flow when it comes to, to managing that. And so that helps us stay on track and be able to deliver all of our content on time and not miss any many steps along the way. So that's been really helpful.

[B]

I think, you know, when you mention about, you know, CRMs and being able not to have in silos, I think that these days is extremely important because, you know, before influencer marketing was this thing that was a bit outside of everything else, right? You were trying to get maybe a budget allocated for influencer marketing. There was still skepticism. It was sort of like a part. And yeah, you got this money you can invest, but it was not part of the 360. But these days when you want to go out with influencers, you want to understand, okay, what else are we doing, right? Can we integrate these other maybe TV commercial with maybe an influencer? Can we use that, you know, out of all metabol advertising. So there is much more, right? So do I understand when you say not being in silos because it's that easy, right? To maybe you know, misunderstanding of like this is our messaging for all the other platforms and then why are we doing this on TikTok, right? Or why the messaging on YouTube is different. Right. So that's why I was curious, right? Like how do you talk with other either departments or also different creative aspects to be sure that you are aligned and the message that goes out there is coherent.

[A]

I would say like we are like our whole department. We are an in house agency and our whole department upfront. Before I'm even briefing our brand ambassadors, there is clear understanding how they fit in to the bigger puzzle, right? To the bigger piece of the puzzle. So again, it is, it is weaved in all the way through from, from the kickoff of the, of our campaign.

[B]

No, again, you know, very crucial and that's what we see all the time. No matter if you have like an agency or it is in House understanding from the beginning because I saw in the past so many mistakes because of this miscommunication, misalignment between again, what you want to do with influencers and anything else in terms of marketing. So very important that I think in 2026, you know, we are finally getting that position where influencer marketing is important. It's crucial, it's part of the marketing mix and should be treated in, in that way. And, and talking about 2026 and also I'm curious also for the next years, what are some of the trends that you're noticing or you. Or you hope to see something more, you know, like that. That's something also that I ask all the time. What are you lacking right now? What are you betting on and what do you think is missing in the influencer marketing arena these days that you would love to see even a bit more happening or something different? Like what would you change?

[A]

I think just the shift from having influencers to brand ambassadors. I think that that evolution is huge right now and you're going to see a lot more brands shifting from just having a long roster of influencers versus having more true brand ambassadors that are an extension of their brand and to where these creators are known to be, you know, a Sargento brand ambassador. And they're, they're following their fans, their audience understands and supports that and cheers them on for that. And creators are being a lot more mindful of, of what brands they partner with to begin with. And they want to be really. Just pick the right one. Right. They're intentional. They're. They're very intentional and making sure that they support that before, just before just taking the bag and running. And so I think that moving ahead, you're just going to see these. Yeah. Influencers showing up in a lot more spaces outside of social channels. You're going to see them probably more on packaging, you know, on CPG packaging in stores or in shopper, you know, retail spaces or in real life experiential moments and events because that is, that is what gets people's attention.

[B]

Yeah, we, we did like you know, mini report about irl. Right. So not only brands organizing events, but also creating themselves, organizing them. Are you planning to do in addition to the trip like also there in terms of more experiential and having people actually especially when it's a physical product, right. That you can taste. You can try some curious. Like if you're also thinking to do a few more of these because we have been seeing there is an influx that there is a lot of interest, I'm trying to understand what will be your balance within online activities and offline and if you want to continue experimenting or I know of other brands that are saying we're trying to go out into a 70, 30 type of position. Other is 50, 50. Do you know more or less what is your balance for. For this year?

[A]

Yeah, I would say like 70, 30 is a good balance. We're always coming up with ideas. So I think, I think when it comes to irl, experiential in those types of moments, like yeah, we want, we

[B]

want to see more of that that we know. I don't know if you agree on that, but we noticed that it's a great way not only for the content but also for customers to actually meet. And we noticed that whenever you share the same value or the same love for a product, for a brand, when you meet at an event, there is also this idea of a community that gets together. So we know this is. Sometimes it's not about the brand, is not about the influencers, sometimes it's about the community. They just show up. That saves you so much, right?

[A]

100%. Yeah. You. You build trust and consistency through having. Having a strong community and then it, it takes it away from like having to have so much reach because you have that loyalty.

[B]

Exactly. Yeah. No, extremely important. I will finish on these, you know, to wrap it on the episode that we already discussed about this. But I want to highlight again and stress the fact that having a stronger like in a community of maybe, you know, fewer people compared to the typical rich Online that value, it's 2100 times. More. Right. Than just getting in front of a dozen, if not millions of people. But maybe you have those like thousand people that all the time they not only follow you, they comment, they come to your events, they are the ones sending you. I'm pretty sure that they send maybe emails and feedback about, you know, like what if you did these? I have an idea. Right. And those are the people that you want to call.

[A]

Yeah. 100%. Yep.

[B]

That's amazing. Kirby, anything else before we. We finish the episode? Like anything else that you wanted to add that I didn't ask you today that you are excited about when it comes to the industry?

[A]

Yeah, I'm just excited to be. To be in a space where I can lead with curiosity and passion as a creator myself and tap into this space and, and make it my everyday, my everyday job. It's exciting, it's fun. And who doesn't love cheese, right?

[B]

I agree that. I agree 100% K. Thank you so much for joining me today on this episode and for sharing, you know, all your knowledge with us. This was the Influence factor by the Influencer Marketing Factory. And I'll see you in the next episode.