Excess versus responsibility: responsible influence is on the move

[Dimaeiya333]

A revolution is underway in influencer marketing. Efforts to weed out bad actors and incorporate more responsible practices – socially and environmentally – are gaining momentum. Can influencer marketers turn the industry’s poor image around and put it on a more solid footing?


Key points
France is the clear market leader when it comes to responsible influencing.
Laws to define and regulate the influencer marketing industry are coming, it's just a matter of time.
Change is afoot; brands and audiences are abandoning influencers and agencies that are seen to be doing the wrong thing.
Education and transparency are key to creating positive change among influencers, audiences and brands.

Alongside its exponential growth, influencer marketing in France in 2022 has been characterised by two competing forces. On the one hand, growing efforts to inject more responsibility, transparency and authenticity into the market.

On the other hand, an outstanding documentary that sheds light on the worst excesses of the industry, from the questionable management practices of some influencer agencies , to the promotion of products sent in dribs and drabs and the community of influencers who evade taxes in Dubai.

Caught in the eye of the storm was Shauna Events, the influencer talent agency run by charismatic self-made woman Magali Berdah . Described as “the pope of influencers” and with 1.4 million Instagram followers, Berdah leveraged a large roster of reality stars to relentlessly promote products to her social media audience.

Berdah's meteoric success has allowed him to enter the upper echelons of the French political class; earlier this year he spent several months interviewing candidates in the run-up to the presidential election.

That has all come crashing down, with Berdah accused of promoting counterfeit and trickle-down products , embroiled in an ugly and high-profile dispute with rapper Booba (whom she has accused of harassment), and Shauna Events' revenues reportedly in free fall.

The final nail in the coffin appeared to come last week with the revelation that Shauna Events’ major shareholder, French TV production and distribution giant Banijay , had cut ties with the company, reportedly citing the need to develop “ a more ethical influence, around less sulphurous show candidates .”

Just a few bad apples?
“ [The documentary] lifted the curtain on a certain type of influencer marketing that is exclusive to reality TV, but which is only a small part of the sector ,” says Sirine Barritaud, head of social media and influencer at the Gardeners agency.

« The vast majority of influencers are people who strive to do the right thing. Many of them say that reality TV influencers are a disservice to the industry because there are so many collaborations that are noth partners email database ing more than billboards for dubious brands. That they don’t really care about their audience, they’re just there to make money. It’s an image that doesn’t reflect the true nature of influencer marketing .»

France is way ahead of other countries in its efforts to clean up the worst excesses of influencer marketing – it is perhaps the only country with laws requiring minors appearing in their parents’ sponsored social media posts to be paid under contract, for example.

The other notable innovation in the sector is the Responsible Influencer Certificate developed by ARPP, the professional authority for advertising in France, and designed to educate influencers on their obligations around advertising transparency. In the 18 months since its creation, the certificate has been completed by around 150 KOLs, and more and more brands are making it mandatory for KOL associations and incorporating the certification into their KOL search criteria.

According to ARPP, the rate of sponsored influencer posts that are tagged as such, either partially or fully, has increased from 73% in 2021 to 83% in 2022. Among KOLs who have completed the certificate, the rate has increased from 78% to 91% of posts.

“There have been improvements, there are new laws and there is a framework, but it is not yet sufficiently defined,” says Barritaud. “ We see influencers hiding collaborations. Not all mothers [who use their children in paid positions] have contracts for them, there is a lack of supervision. Next year for me it will be simple: for all parents, we will go through [an agency] to set up contracts for the children. It means added costs, but at least we act within the law and we are protected .”