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Equal Measure
Influencer marketing is still in a nascent stage. Already it is riddled with racism.
Black creators want transparency and equality within the multibillion-dollar influencer industry.
The killing of George Floyd and subsequent global protests have rocked virtually all industries, including the business of influencing. The relatively young field of influencer marketing, just over a decade old, is riddled with racism, say influencers and talent managers. Black influencers on marketing platforms, including Fohr, say they are paid less than white peers, overlooked for advertising campaigns, and unable to negotiate on offers and terms.
The claims, highlighted in a number of Instagram accounts that have sprung up over the past month, portray the influencer industry as failing Black creators, and target what they see as companies' hypocritical branding around authenticity and inclusivity.
One such account, @openfohr, has accused the agency Fohr of "exploitative and discriminatory practices," according to a statement shared with WWD from Open Fohr's eight founders, a group of Black models and influencers - Ai'ssata Diallo, Denisse Myrick, Valerie Eguavoen, Yvette Corinne, Marche Robinson, Aissatou Balde, Nasteha Yusuf and Nuni Yusuf.
"As the Black Lives Matter movement took center stage in the public discourse, Fohr paused its advertising, posted protest resources and even provided anti-racism resources on Instagram. Yet, many of the Black content creators who have worked with them are discriminated against and underpaid," said the Open Fohr founders in a joint statement.
Fohr is an influencer marketing platform offering three services - subscription self-serve, managed campaigns and custom-built technology - to brands and agencies. Additionally, 100,000 influencers are on Fohr's platform, where they have access to metrics and are able to book campaigns.
But the founders of Open Fohr said they were "being passed over for offers, receiving lowball offers, receiving gifting campaigns with no payment option, unwillingness to negotiate or simply ignoring follow-up questions and negotiations altogether."
Even ostensible efforts by the platform to improve diversity only reinforced the mistreatment of Black models, they alleged. For instance, Fohr's Freshman Class, a 2018 initiative meant to "help provide opportunities for underrepresented voices" and foster diversity by way of education and networking, according to a page on Fohr's web site, required participants to provide free labor, some of the influencers said.