Figures, a new representation company, connects brands with “public thinkers” and trendsetters. These are people who would never post an Instagram video to sell supplements or whitening strips, yet they are still striking commercial deals.
WHO ARE THE “ALTERNATIVELY INFLUENTIAL”
According to Figures, these are the “alternatively influential”: intellectuals and commentators who enjoy real authority in their fields, despite having a modest online following compared to the massive reach of celebrities and major creators. “There are literary agents or traditional agencies for models and movie stars, and at the opposite extreme, agencies for influencers built for quantity,” said Figures co-founder Jacqueline Kavanagh. “These people don’t identify with either world.”
“I don’t consider myself an influencer: I distribute my work online, but I don’t create content specifically for social media,” said Mindy Seu, an associate professor at UCLA and among the represented talents. “Having someone on the team to support you with uncomfortable aspects, like negotiating fees or understanding which deals are ethically sound, is very helpful.”
REJECTING THE OLD INFLUENCER MARKETING MODEL
The founders of Figures decided to focus on a narrower proposal after seeing brands exhaust themselves chasing big social numbers, while algorithms and consumer behaviors continued to change. Figures thus joins a small group of entities rejecting the idea that influencer marketing is only about reaching as many people as possible.
DIVERSIFYING BUDGETS
Some marketing managers are diversifying budgets to include people whose audience segments are smaller but more likely to pay attention to what they say in spaces far from the cacophony of social feeds.
Mercury, a fintech company for startups, allocates about 20% of its advertising budget to deals with real clients who run intellectual podcasts, YouTube channels, or newsletters on Substack. “Our approach is not necessarily to get into the biggest room possible, but the one that contains the right people,” explained Heather MacKinnon, Mercury’s brand director.
ORIGINALITY AND NEW THINKING SOUGHT
Figures intends to focus on helping its clients develop sponsorable intellectual properties, such as workshops, books, performances, or artist residencies. The strategy is to emphasize what makes these people authoritative, showcasing their creative efforts rather than their personality. “We look for originality and new thinking,” concluded Kavanagh, “ideas that are hard for artificial intelligence to copy.”
(Excerpt from the foreign press review curated by Epr Comunicazione)
