ANA Issues Guidelines for Equitable Pay and Transparency in Influencer Marketing

The ANA, 4As, PR Council, and their members partner on the first industry collaboration of its kind to address lack of pay transparency in $34 billion influencer industry

NEW YORK (November 15, 2023) — Today the ANA along with the 4A’s and the PR Council released their 2023 Influencer Pay Equity Guide: Considerations for Influencer Marketing Campaigns & Contracts, a new set of guidelines that aim to provide solutions for the lack of transparency within the influencer marketing industry and the reported pay gap between white and BIPOC influencers. The guide offers an actionable roadmap for marketers committed to equitable compensation and greater transparency.

The ANA spearheaded this initiative in response to recent studies that indicate a 29% pay gap between white and BIPOC influencers. As the first industry collaboration of its kind, the ANA convened leading industry partners, marketers from major brands including Target, Bayer, Nationwide, Paramount, Wells Fargo and Unilever, and key agency leaders.

While the roots of pay inequity are complex and multifaceted, a major contributor is the lack of transparency within influencer marketing. Marketers often rely on multiple influencer platforms and agency partners to execute campaigns and can lack full visibility into influencer payment, which prevents them from ensuring equitable pay across their various brands and influencer partnerships. By providing considerations that span from campaign planning through campaign execution, the ANA aims to combat this lack of transparency, eliminate the pay gap, and help provide clearer benchmarking of campaign performance and ROI particularly for marketers executing campaigns across multiple brands and lines of business.

“This collaboration and Guide will help ensure more fair, equitable, and transparent practices when partnering with influencers, who fuel growth for marketers and our industry,” said Bob Liodice, ANA’s CEO.

Kim Sample, President at PR Council added, “During a moment when many are stepping back from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, this partnership represents our industry’s steadfast commitment to DE&I. It’s critical for our workforce and our work.”

The Guide provides a framework that marketers can use with their influencing marketing partners across every stage of partnership:

• Campaign Planning: How to ensure equity from the start with diverse teams that represent diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences
• Evaluating Risk: How to anticipate, mitigate, and properly prepare for potential negative responses  
• Exclusivity Clauses: How to establish agreements that are beneficial to brands while not unduly restricting an influencer’s livelihood
• Usage Rights: How to establish clear and fair payment terms for ongoing content usage as brands increasingly incorporate influencer-generated content into broader marketing campaigns
• Compensation: Additional factors beyond influencer reach, follower count, and audience size that should be considered when calculating equitable compensation
• Contracts: How to develop influencer agreements that are specific and fair, and considerations for avoiding common contract missteps.

The guide can be accessed at https://ana.net/influencerpayequity. 

MEDIA CONTACT
Bethany Farchione 
Marketing Director
Belle Communication
Cell: 585.750.7773
Email: bethany@bellecommunication.com

Additional quotes approved for media use:

“As a marketer of color, it’s important to me that everyone we work with is not only treated well but is compensated equitably for their work. We want to foster a culture of trust and respect between influencers and the brand, which can ultimately lead us to foster long-term partnerships and positive brand sentiment in the creator marketplace.”
— Nilam Patel, Social Media Influencers and Ambassadors, Nationwide

“Influencers can reach untapped audiences in a way that is both authentic and powerful at brand building. Yet not all influencers have the same access to social capital, legal counsel, experience negotiating contracts, and administrative support. Knowing this, it is vital for marketers to promote fair business practices that foster equity in influencer partnerships.”          

— Kevin Freemore, SVP Media, Tech & Data, 4A’s

ABOUT THE ANA
The mission of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) is to drive growth for marketing professionals, brands and businesses, the industry, and humanity. The ANA serves the marketing needs of 20,000 brands by leveraging the 12-point ANA Growth Agenda, which has been endorsed by the Global CMO Growth Council. The ANA’s membership consists of U.S. and international companies, including client-side marketers, nonprofits, fundraisers, and marketing solutions providers (data science and technology companies, ad agencies, publishers, media companies, suppliers, and vendors). The ANA creates Marketing Growth Champions by serving, educating, and advocating for more than 50,000 industry members that collectively invest more than $400 billion in marketing and advertising annually.

ABOUT THE 4A’S
The 4A’s was established in 1917 to promote, advance, and defend the interests of
our member agencies, employees, and the advertising and marketing industries overall. We empower our members to drive commerce, spark connections, and shape culture through infinite creativity. With a focus on advocacy, talent and the value of creativity and technology to drive business growth and cultural change, the organization serves 600+ member agencies across 1,200 offices, which help direct more than 85% of total U.S. advertising spend. The 4A’s includes the 4A’s Benefits division, which insures more than 160,000 employees; the government relations team, who advocate for policies
to support the industry; and the 4A’s Foundation, which advocates for and connects multicultural talent to the marketing industry by fostering a culture of curiosity, creativity, and craft to fuel a more equitable future for the industry. 

ABOUT THE PR COUNCIL
The PR Council is the only association dedicated to supporting agencies with a core competency in earned media. Through a combination of convening and advising, the PR Council aims to help Members — the leaders of 140 of the country’s premier global, mid-size, regional and specialty firms — work smarter to build more valuable agencies. To mark its 25th Anniversary in 2023, the organization is future focused on the most critical issues affecting PR agency leaders’ ability to attract and retain talent and grow client relationships and their firms.