Consumer goods giant Unilever is cutting ties with “influencers” on digital media who buy their followers.
With increased calls for transparency in advertising, the mega consumer packaged goods (CPG) company said that it would never buy followers or work with ‘influencers’ who did.
Influencer fraud has been identified as a growing problem for the ad industry. Influencers have started buying followers to earn themselves more money. Unilever says this is unethical and erodes public trust.
Unilever’s chief marketing officer Keith Weed said: “Trust comes on foot and leaves on horseback, and we could very quickly see the whole influencer space be undermined,” Weed told the agency.
“There are lots of great influencers out there, but there are a few bad apples spoiling the barrel and the trouble is, everyone goes down once the trust is undermined.”
“At Unilever, we believe influencers are an important way to reach consumers and grow our brands. Their power comes from a deep, authentic and direct connection with people, but certain practices like buying followers can easily undermine these relationships,” Weed said.
He added that it was part of his commitment in February to rebuild trust in digital ecosystems by pledging not to work with platforms that incite hate, spread division or fail to protect children.
Unilever’s commitments are three-fold:
- Transparency from influencers: Unilever will not work with influencers who buy followers
- Transparency from brands: Unilever’s brands will never buy followers
- Transparency from platforms: Unilever will prioritise partners who increase transparency and help eradicate bad practices throughout the whole ecosystem
At this year’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Weed will convene a group including the World Federation of Advertisers, Instagram and PR agency leader Richard Edelman to work towards increased trust, transparency and integrity in the influencer space.
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