#EmbraceEquity - Australian influencers are a force for good
Equity means creating an inclusive world, and each one of us can actively embrace equity within our own sphere of influence.
AiMCO’s mission is to guide and advance best practice in influencer marketing in Australia, so we are always seeking to highlight the important issues within the influencer industry, and to hero the voices of those who recognise true inclusion requires action from those with influence in the social media landscape. Last year’s IWD theme, “Break the Bias” garnered huge engagement online, with 43.9 million views on TikTok and over 471K posts on Instagram, and we know this year social activity will continue to drive awareness of this important issue.
INFLUENCERS REGULARLY FACE BIAS, EVEN WHEN CHALLENGING IT IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES
According to The Racial and Gender Inequalities Influencer Report 2022:
58% of influencers feel they have faced discrimination
48% believed they had suffered from gender discrimination
80%+ of Macro-Influencers face discrimination, a higher rate than micros
22% of influencers claim discrimination based on their physical features e.g. fat-shaming and personal abuse in comments on their videos and posts.
Australia still has a gender pay gap of 13% with women still trailing behind men. Global reports indicate this can impact female digital creators and that the pay gap can be as much as 30%.
A zero tolerance policy on commentary harassment for sponsored content is a great first step, however the best way to make meaningful change is to recruit and partner with diverse voices for our campaigns, and to pay appropriately for the influencer’s partnership.
While most content creators have their own strategies for dealing with abusive comments or trolling, it’s important for brands and suppliers to support them meaningfully, wherever possible.
Brands ‘putting their money where their mouth is’ to support equity in this meaningful way will provide opportunity for creators who come from different starting points and have experienced difficulty accessing brand partnerships in the past. Here are a few great recent examples to inspire your team or clients.
MAYBELLINE TACKLES GENDER-BASED ABUSE IN GAMING
Maybelline’s mission is to give all people the self-confidence to express their personality and beauty, but the brand found that mainstream channels were oversaturated with cosmetics, so making the product stand out from the crowd meant looking to new channels. They then saw an opportunity to not only reach new consumers but also to highlight the inequity experienced on gaming platforms.
The Maybelline ‘Get Ready with Me Campaign’ produced by Wavemaker won the AiMCO Awards 2022 Best Beauty and Wellness Campaign with the innovative creative approach of gaming streamer Fasffy to promote their products.
Gaming is one of the largest and most passionate influencer communities globally, however a recent national survey of Australian gamers revealed 83% of female-identifying gamers, including top influencers in the space, have experienced offensive behaviour online, so most are choosing to switch off their microphones to conceal their true identity.
Maybelline recruited four macro gaming influencers (@palladinamber, @drewdog, @joelbergs, and @luminumn) to gender-swap their voices during co-op gaming, and observe the results through each other’s eyes. The results were incredibly confronting to observe.
Content warning - abusive language: https://www.maybelline.com.au/throughtheireyes
To underpin this campaign, Maybelline have partnered with Australian charity ReachOut through their Brave Together program — ReachOut is the leading mental health service in Australia supporting young people, providing a safe, online place to chat anonymously and get support.
TRANSGENDER PEOPLE ARE AT THE CENTRE OF THE EQUITY DEBATE
Every Voice was a TikTok, Screen Australia and New Zealand On Air partnership to fund an original TikTok series featuring underrepresented voices. The series needed to consist of six to 15 up to one-minute episodes aimed at the 16-35 year-old audience. Snack Drawer pitched and won this funding with TransAthletica - the TikTok channel originated by Snack Drawer Creator Rudy Jean Rigg based on their experience of leaving competitive badminton in order to affirm their gender. Rudy interviews different athletes and experts across a range of sports showcasing the perspective of trans people, who until now had remained sidelined from the conversation.
We are also proud that at the recent AiMCO Awards Transathletica won the Influence for Good Award 2022.
Partnership and social media platform support helps inclusive storytelling like the TransAthletica project reach a wide audience. https://www.snackdrawer.com/transathletica
FOREVER NEW SUPPORTS WOMEN’S ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE
Forever New are continuing their Give With Grace program for IWD in 2023, with $10 of each sale of the Grace workwear pant range going towards the non-profit Dress For Success. The mission of Dress for Success is to empower women to achieve economic independence and equity, by providing a network of support, professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
This year’s Give With Grace ambassadors on Instagram Maria Thattil, Jelena Dokic, and Sarah Davidson, represent a diverse mix of perspectives on women’s challenges in professional and personal life, delivering an authentic connection to the cause based off genuine experiences they have each faced.
We are excited to see what our AiMCO community has in store for 2023 to support IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity