Australian Influencer Marketing Council formed

The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AIMco) has launched to provide a platform for companies working within influencer marketing to work more collaboratively and develop best practice standards.

The Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AIMco) launches today. The new council provides a platform for companies working in the influencer marketing channel to work within a collaborative forum to develop best practice standards.

AIMco is headed up by the Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA). The AMAA has engaged influencer marketing industry leaders on both buy-side and supply-side in consultation over the past few months. This mission has been to develop an Influencer Marketing Code of Practice via a better understanding of the issues and opportunities.

Supply-side companies are influencer marketing platforms, providers and talent agencies that enable brands to research, analyse and select influencers. Buy-side companies are brands and media agencies seeking to work with influencers for promotional purposes. 

The engagement process has involved meetings over several rounds with over 45 organisations operating within the influencer marketing ecosystem to determine the areas to be addressed. 

AIMCo has outlined the key principles of its members as:

• Commitment to transparency and accountability to engender marketer confidence and trust
• Ensure good citizenship and adherence to agreed industry best practice and disclosure standards
• Promote measures designed to drive positive marketing outcomes from Influencer Marketing

The code spans influencer vetting, advertising disclosure, contractual considerations including content rights usage and metrics reporting. A separate guide for buyers is also being created and metrics will be addressed in a detailed review in coming months. 

It is hoped the final Influencer Marketing Code of Practice will be released by the end of the year according to AMAA sources. The exact date is dependent on further rounds of industry meetings scheduled to take place over coming weeks. 

The AIMCo Guiding Council will be established from the participating companies. The Council will oversee the final version of the Code of Practice and facilitate ongoing industry discussion to address influencer marketing performance.

Speaking of the new initiative Josanne Ryan, AMAA CEO said: “It’s been great to see the enthusiasm and commitment the influencer marketing community has brought to this process. The move to collectively embrace industry best practice and embed this into their business model signals the maturing of influencer marketing.”

John Broome, CEO of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) welcomed the AIMco initiative from the AMAA explaining that he was looking "forward to reviewing the Code of Practice from the AIMCo Guiding Council". Speaking about the industry as a whole Mr Broome continued: "influencer marketing is now a valuable tool in the marketing mix and we welcome the intention to build trust and confidence in its use through transparency, best practise and accountability.”

The industry members who have been engaged in the AIMCo discussion for the development of the Code of Practice are:

Anthony Richardson, founder and CEO of Q-83, a pre and post influencer marketing campaign measurement system said of AIMco: "Since Q-83's inception we have set out to provide influencers with the tools to share their value transparently with brands. We feel incredibly privileged, and proud, to be a part of the Australian Influencer Marketing Council. It's a pioneering initiative formed with industry leaders committed to seeing the influencer marketing industry thrive through professionalism."

International push to professionalise influencer marketing

The creation of the new council by AMAA follows a push in other countries to professionalise the influencer marketing industry. In the UK, the Branded Content Marketing Association has formed an industry steering group.

Meanwhile, in the US the Influencer Marketing Association was founded in 2018 as the official trade organisation committed to protecting the authenticity and ethics of influencer marketing.

The Influencer Marketing Council was founded earlier this year and in May produced a best practice guide on avoiding influencer marketing fraud.

Not to be outdone the Influence Marketing Council (note: no ‘R’ in influence) is positioning itself as an industry council geared towards the B2B market space with the aim of driving marketing innovation.

Joining the Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AIMco)

Membership of The Australian Influencer Marketing Council is open to anyone working in the industry in Australia. To find out more email marketing@auditedmedia.org.au

Editor's note: The quote from Anthony Richardson was added on 04 September after the Q-83 founder responded to a request for comment on the significance of the council.