A Truly innovative approach to influencer recruitment -

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by Lindsey Francy May 27, 2023 News
A Truly innovative approach to influencer recruitment -

Truly Hard Seltzer and Craft Public Relations launched the brand's first-ever C all-For-Creators, seeking three of Toronto's most "bold and flavourful" content creators.

There was a breakdown of what the brand was looking for in aninfluencer, including a public-facing account with at least 2,000 followers, a willingness to share content as a "collab post" with Truly, and someone who reflected brand attributes such as joyful, inclusive, and unapologetically

In a break from the norm, the Call-For-Creators explicitly stated the compensation they would give each influencer.

Behind the scenes, most negotiations between brands and influencers take place, with the brand or its agency typically going through its database to find suitable candidates, then reaching out to a short list to discuss details and contracts. It is an approach that can lead to vastly different levels of compensation for different people.

The process of salary negotiations, which are also conducted in private, can place employees at a disadvantage because they don't know what compensation is appropriate. She said it was very similar. We pay different people different amounts of money for the same thing. It raised a lot of questions as to why that is the case.

Ensuring fair and equitable compensation is something that Pasquin is passionate about. She announced earlier this year that her agency would make its salary information public.

She said that the ask gap can lead to huge discrepancies in salary for women and people of color. A big part of what we're trying to change is that we don't talk about money.

It has made inclusivity a cornerstone of its brand, but wanted it to be more than just a campaign slogan. The brand works with a lot of people, and saw an opportunity to make a difference in the world.

You do your best work when your clients challenge you. We were challenged to say how do we bring inclusion into all of our interactions.

The goal was to make the process more transparent. Everyone is negotiating blindly without transparency of what compensation looks like for a project.

Everyone is set up for those conversations according to their experience and representation. When it comes to negotiating, there tends to be gender and race differences.

According to a study conducted by MSL US and The Influencer League, there is a "vast racial divide" in the field of influencer marketing, with an average pay gap of 29% between caucasian and all bi-partisans.

The racial divide in marketing compensation is overshadowing other industries, including education, business and financial, construction, and media, sports and entertainment.

The creator economy is divided by a "not-so- invisible" line. The industry is diverse and inclusive, but it has failed to overcome the biases of traditional industries. The pay disparity between ethnicities shows that minorities are still treated differently.

The creation of anInstagram account dedicated to documenting the issues of disparity in compensation has been spurred by this. The account has grown to more than 50,000 followers and allows them to post anonymous offers they have received.

It's not surprising that race-based pay gaps are common in most industries and the workplace. The Toronto agency works as a conduit between brands and different types of people.

When a white creator is getting signed on to a program for $50,000, but that same offer might be coming to a Black, Indigenous, or Asian creator for half that rate, it's necessary to have rate transparency. It's going to move an industry forward in a new way if you can be transparent with your work.

It is important to him that underrepresented communities are represented in the space. He said that he was the person who was making sure that fair compensation was coming through for whoever was signing onto a program.

While Truly and Craft are doing a really interesting and unique approach, it is likely to hold more appeal for those with a smaller following than those with a larger one. He wanted to know what the future looked like for more macro creators.

The Call-For-Creators received nearly 100 applications before it closed this week. Learnings from the process and feedback from creators will be used by the brand to further refine the process.

She said that they intended that this was the new way forward.

The approach is capable of leading to deeper, more rewarding relationships according to Pasquin.

A process like this invites people to put their hand up if they are interested in working with the brand, rather than us going to a creator and saying 'Would you be interested in working with Truly'

Truly was brave to put their compensation information on the table.