You would have had to be living under a rock to miss the recent growth in the creator economy. The global influencer marketing industry is expected to be worth well over $40bn dollars by 2028, more than doubling the size it was last year. As more brands divert their marketing spends towards creators, there are growing expectations of increased regulations.
The formation of a new alliance of influencer marketing bodies represents the first big move towards improving standards and procedures in Europe. Creator economy trade bodies from the UK, France and Germany have joined forces to form the European Influencer Marketing Alliance (EIMA). Influencer Marketing Trade Body (UK), Union Des Metiers De I’influence et des Createurs de Contenus (France) and Bundesverband Influencer Marketing (Germany) will share local standards and best practices in order to bring together a unified view.
Although there has not been a huge reaction to this news in the market, this alliance has come at a good time, as confusion around current disclosure regulations is rife amongst creators, agencies and brands alike – recent examples being Grace Beverley and Steven Bartlett who have been punished by the ASA for incorrect disclosure within posts for companies they have either founded or invested in.
As a first step, EIMA has performed a sweep of creators across Europe to see how many are properly adhering to advertising disclosure regulations. Although the UK’s disclosure regulations have been in place since 2008, the recent example with Steven Bartlett demonstrates that those regulations need to be reviewed.
Although some will be sceptical about how quickly we will see the benefits of the EIMA, there will be some quick wins. The creator economy is rapidly evolving making it very difficult to govern. With the rise of AI influencers, the growth of kidfluencers and most recently the new partnership between TikTok and Amazon (read the next article for more on this) opening up huge opportunities for brands leveraging Tiktok creators to boost Amazon listings, there will be benefits from shared expertise across markets (beyond disclosure regulations). For example, France has advanced kidfluencer practices and regulations in place from which the UK can benefit. It will also make things easier when running campaigns across multiple European markets.
This change demonstrates the economic strength of the influencer marketing industry and the impact it has on the millions of people who choose to follow creator content daily. Although there are still many subjective opinions on many aspects of the industry, such as measurement, EIMA will at the very least crack down on aspects which will ensure it remains a trusted source of influence for brands.
For brands this means that creators will have clearer guidelines and practices for posting without impacting their creativity and the authenticity of content, which remains the most important element of any creator collaboration. And through more transparency with consumers, we should continue to see the industry grow from strength to strength. As a channel built on trust, it can be most enjoyed when brands and creators are acting responsibly.
