committee which will include members from the AMAA, ANAA, agen-
cies and inf luencer providers to oversee any violations of its code.
Another area it will cover is the disclosure of paid ads, which while
Instagram offers a clear ‘sponsored’ tag, is still an issue in the space.
Currently, the AANA only recommends ads be disclosed on posts as part
of its code of ethics, however there’s a push within the industry to make
this mandatory.
The ACCC has also put inf luencer marketing on its radar, with it
expected to move on inf luencer marketing later this year.
The evolving value of influencers
Earlier this year US-based influencer Arii, with more than 2.2 million
followers on Instagram at the time, failed to sell more than 252 items of
her own clothing line – a conversation rate of 0.01%.
This prompted a conversation around the effectiveness of inf luencers
for brands, with some saying the inf luencer bubble had “burst”.
But, the fixation on reach, likes and engagement has confused people
over what the value of inf luencers really is.
The likes-focused culture of social media has driven the small, but
loud, inf luencers who have ‘tarnished’ the category by overestimating
how much “inf luence” they actually have.
“Many inf luencers that f lash a lot of f lesh or look gaudy might have a
lot of followers, but many of these followers could be voyeurs. As opposed
to trusting the inf luencers opinion, they could be watching a train wreck,”
Lund says.
“I think those are the people that are featured often in articles. So,
if they look similar to a Kardashian and they have highly enhanced
physical features, I don’t necessarily think that means that they’re val-
uable to a brand.
“They feel if they hold a product up to their face that it is actually
marketing and I don’t think that’s marketing. I don’t even think that’s
effective product placement.”
Rather than Arii’s story foreshadowing the demise inf luencers – her
follower count has continued to climb to 2.6 million – it more likely proves
that inf luencers are valuable for their creative talents which attract audi-
ences, and it’s for brands to leverage that.
Influencers have been able to spot or anticipate trends and produce
content to push it onto the rest of us – essentially they’re the creative
agencies of today. From face masks, multivitamins, fashion and protein
drinks, inf luencers have wriggled their way into every aspect of our lives
to make us desire more; far more than brands ever could through tradi-
tional advertising.
“There is clear strategic value to inf luencer marketing when done
well, and I’m confident in its ability to deliver as a strategic pillar to any
brief response that needs it,” Murthy says.
“In an ideal world, perhaps this all manifests in a movement of social-
ly-led auteurs bringing about a commercially-creative renaissance in our
newsfeeds, with brands as modern-day ‘patrons’ of art. The pragmatist
in me probably says otherwise, but we can all dream.”
Lund takes this vision for inf luencer marketing even further, and sees
everyday consumers as brands’ best advertisers.
Tribe recently raised $10.5 million as it expanded into the US. It also
recently launched its new Content Campaign platform which allows cre-
ators to produce content in response to brands’ briefs, which are then
used on the brands’ channels rather than the inf luencers.
Lund says he launched Content Campaign following strong demand
from brands for more content from Tribe’s creators.
“Many marketers are yet to recognise that the biggest value proposi-
tion of inf luencer marketing is actually the branded-content,” Lund says.
“There is no one more equipped to craft thumb-stopping content for
your digital advertising than an inf luencer who’s amassed tens of thou-
sands of followers from their own social content. The fact that they are
actually your customer makes it even more compelling.
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