YCP pushes retailers toward creator marketing

Short-form and niche platforms reshape reach.

Retailers looking to boost organic engagement should focus on creator partnerships, short-form content and niche online communities, according to Eucel Maximo, Partner at Yamato Capital Partners (YCP) in an interview at the Retail Asia Summit in Makati on March 11.

Maximo said brands often weaken campaign performance by trying to control influencers too tightly. “One of the things that I presented is to work with influencers,” he said. But many teams fail to treat creators as specialists in audience engagement. “Content creators are successful for a reason, and that's because they are amazing at creating content.”

He said brands should collaborate rather than micromanage. “They know all their hooks, they know their audience, they know the words to use.” Giving creators more freedom can improve reach and reduce strain on brand teams. “If you let them do their own thing… the views or the content that they generate for your brand will fly and be viral.”

For retailers, platform choice is also becoming more important. Maximo said, “The first thing is, you have to be on short form. So if you're a brand, and you're not yet on short form, then you're already very behind,” noting that it accounts for “90 plus percent of the current engagement.”

Beyond mainstream platforms, he pointed to Reddit and Discord as underused channels for targeting specific communities. 

He said these platforms are gaining traction as consumers seek “interest media” built around communities and hobbies. “Reddit and Discord… are excellent in narrowing down to specific interest groups and specific communities.”

Maximo concluded by saying retailers should first build a strong short-form presence, then expand into niche platforms to deepen audience engagement.