Digital marketing expert and writer Marie Munza launched Black’influencers Agency(BLK Agency) with the aim of boosting representation of diverse creators in brand campaigns. In the three years since, Marie Munza says brands and influencer marketers have progressively embraced the notion of diversity and inclusion in campaigns, although the challenges remain. In this interview, Marie-Inaya Munza outlines how brands and creators can overcome perceived barriers to become more inclusive, and the rewards that await them when they get it right.
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It's moving in the right direction. Diversity — different socio-cultural profiles, religion, gender, sexual orientation — represents the DNA of a society. Today, more and more brands are sensitive to this. Today consumers need to identify and recognise themselves within [spokespeople]. Brands are increasingly aware of this. It's an evolution and a progression of brands wanting to be inclusive and to work with diverse profiles. I don't feel that this is something that has diminished. On the contrary, there's been a real increase in sales, because the target group, which wasn't there at the start and which brands weren't communicating with, is today making it possible to have a larger share of sales.
Absolutely. There's a demand, not just from agencies, but also from consumers. Look at a brand like L'Oréal: when I was a young adult or a teenager, my skin tone wasn't represented. Today, there's a real awareness, not only linked to the social impact, but also to the economics, that profiles from diverse backgrounds are major consumers and need to be represented.
It's true that there are brands in fashion and beauty, where the issue of inclusion and diversity is more present and they are much more pioneering. In other areas, it's something that's gradually taking hold. It's a question of education. The trend today goes well beyond the brand. It's good for a company to embody diversity. It's something that has gone beyond the world of influence, even in the political sense; we're talking about equality between men and women, about diversity and inclusion. We're dealing with a societal phenomenon and, by extension, we're also dealing with a notion of business in a flourishing market. There are bridges between business, society and politics.
There are different ways of getting involved, issues like ecology, diversity and a host of others. It's the responsibility of brands to ensure consumers can find meaning in the way they consume. Sometimes it's strategic, and sometimes there's a real awakening. After that, the idea is to have a position that matches your brand image. But diversity is not limited to the fashion and beauty sectors, it's something that's spreading into different sectors, because there's more of a societal awareness.
People can find it excessive when it is insincere. And it’s a trend, from one year to the next: subjects like ecology, diversity, equality, are popular, topical issues. If a company or brand is not sincere about the values it is defending, then there will be a backlash. Consumers are very clear on who is trying to surf a wave, and who has a genuine, sincere approach. It depends on a brand’s history, the way it positions itself and above all, that it avoids stereotypes.
It's got to breathe, it's got to be a momentum that's embodied by the company, and not just a campaign to surf the wave of the moment. It’s got to be a commitment from management and not a one-shot campaign. You can't just do things as they happen, without first thinking through a real strategy and raising awareness. The company's cultural policy must be clearly developed and defined, and communicate a policy of diversity and inclusion. It’s a long-term commitment. Diversity is a vast concept, but few people really know who it concerns. Companies must encourage internal discussions, find internal solutions within the brand before running influencer campaigns advocating it.
In practical terms, companies should seek support from external partners. We work with the AFMD (French Association of Diversity Managers), which goes into companies to train managers and pass on the DNA of diversity issues.
Offering this type of practice can create a working environment where people feel invested and involved, because what is diversity in the end? In a company, when there are people who look like us, or in a brand campaign when there are people who look like us, we identify with them, we identify with their story and we feel valued. Today, brands have understood that integrating inclusion is also a mirror of society.
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Yes, you can't separate the campaign and the brand image. I often say to partners who we work with on inclusion projects, that their brand image will be enhanced, because there's also a social impact today. More and more brands and influencers are aware of this ethical issue because there's been a lot of controversy about influencers or brands that aren't sufficiently in the DNA of consumers.
Whether it's an influencer or a brand, there's a need to get closer to this ethic. It’s a response to the expectations of the market. It’s important to represent minorities, but you mustn't do it in a stereotypical way which can be seen as contemptuous or not sufficiently informed. You also have to take an interest in the other culture that you want to convey, or in different diversity profiles. But of course, it also improves performance. This is proven. Minorities are consumers. We've seen this in campaigns, notably with Nike, who have done some interesting campaigns.
I’m going to be completely transparent about how we define the price of an influencer's talent. The creators who are paid less than Caucasian profiles are certainly freelancers who deal directly with the brands. Obviously brands are going to offer the lowest prices possible and it’s up to the creator to accept or not. But agents use tools like Kolsquare, that make it possible on the basis of statistics like engagement rate and average views, to define the payment rate.
We represent talent of all colours at BLK Agency and the rates are the same for everyone. They are defined according to the creator’s statistics. But I do hear that from some people of diverse backgrounds. I don't want to generalise but they perhaps have a tendency to lower their prices because of a perception they will have a better chance to get the job. But as far as agencies are concerned, price rates are completely provable.
Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, a data-driven solution that allows brands to scale their KOL Marketing strategies and implement authentic partnerships with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders). Kolsquare’s technology enables marketing professionals to easily identify the best Content Creators profiles by filtering their content and audience, and to build and manage their campaigns from A to Z, including measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors. Kolsquare has built the largest community of influencer marketing experts in the world, and offers hundreds of customers (Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, El Corte Inglés, Lacoste, …) the latest Big Data, AI and Machine Learning technologies to drive inspiring partnerships, tapping into an exhaustive network covering 100% of KOLs with more than 5,000 followers in 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. As a Benefit Company, Kolsquare has been pioneering Responsible Influence by championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations to inspire change.
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