Yahoo Finance Unilever gets tough with online influencers
Consumer goods giant Unilever has severed ties with social media stars who buy an online following to promote products.
The Anglo-Dutch multinational behind brands Lynx and Dove said it was taking a stand against fraud in online advertising.
Speaking at the Cannes Lions marketing festival, Unilever chief marketing officer Keith Weed announced that the company will not work with so-called “online influencers” who buy followers.
The company has promised to take the lead in combating online fraud and “toxic content”. In February, Unilever, which is the world’s second biggest marketing spender, threatened to pull its advertising from digital platforms such as Google and Facebook if they didn’t do more to tackle extremism.
So-called “influencer-marketing” can be big business for social media stars, who can earn up to $20,000 (£15,000) for a promotional post on Twitter. Influencers can post images of products they use, with many using the tag #ad to show a promoted post.
Others, however, may buy followers to expand their reach or fail to display their promotions as adverts.
Mr Weed said the company wanted to push for greater transparency in online marketing. He said Unilever companies would never buy followers themselves and would work with partners who try to remove fraud from online marketing.
Mr Weed said: “We believe influencers are an important way to reach consumers and grow our brands. But certain practices like buying followers can easily undermine these relationships.”
The influencer marketing industry is now one of the fastest growing parts of the advertising industry today. From an industry that did not exist five years ago, spending on it is forecast to hit $10bn by 2020.
