Unilever is one of the founding clients for a new social agency founded by The&Partnership. Called The&Collective, the company will help brands connect with influential people on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Unilever is looking to harness the power of social media influencers in promoting its products, particularly for its Dove and Sure brands.
The&Collective looks to be a new rival to existing agency Gleam Futures, which already represents top social stars including Zoella, Tanya Burr and Caspar Lee. Jenny Halpern Prince, founder of Halpern PR, which is also part of The&Partnership will be leading the new venture.
YouTube stars already signed up with the new agency include lifestyle blogger Maddie Bruce, who currently has more than 135,000 subscribers. Bruce found herself swamped by requests from brands before signing up to the new agency. Other recruits include make-up artist Tia Ward, Lucy Flight, Blake Steven and Sarah Ashcroft, also known as “that Pommie girl”.
Influencers registered with the agency will be rewarded on a commission basis for sales driven directly by their content. Their team of social stars seems to be more focused on up-and-coming talent than the established names associated with Gleam Futures.
Other brands already signed up to market their products through the agency include Olay, TIGI and Disney.
Earlier this year, the UK advertising watchdog issued new rules on promoting products via social channels. The Advertising Standards Authority said that vloggers must make it clear when they have been paid to promote a product or service. In May the ASA upheld a complaint against a video promoting P&G-owned brand Max Factor. The clip was created with popular channel A Model Recommends but was edited to include #ad in its title after the watchdog ruled that viewers could mistake it for independent editorial.