INCA, GroupM’s influencer business, is on a mission to elevate underrepresented voices within the creator and influencer marketing industry.
The DEI project to improve diversity and representation in the influencer sector will provide access to tools, training and equitable opportunities for diverse creators, including a launchpad program to drive inclusion and more diverse representation.
“Our vision is around making advertising work better for people,” said Ryan Menezes, CEO of Nexus, addressable brand and performance media division, which includes influencer and creator marketing solution, INCA.
Nexus unites GroupM’s experts and capabilities in AI powered campaign optimisation, delivery excellence and data-driven specialist capabilities in CTV, DOOH, programmatic, commerce, creator marketing and addressable content into one cross-channel team that can unlock the next era of performance media.
GroupM has approached the INCA Communities initiative with equity, elevation and measurement in mind.
Menezes: “The commitment that we've taken is to ensure that regardless of age, gender, ability, sexuality, race or religion, we've got a really good diverse mix of creaters that ultimately can be representative on the responses for these campaigns.”
“How do we train and empower creators to truly enable some change?
"We have agencies like Etcom, which is a an amazing multicultural agency, and Hogarth, who are phenomenal in terms of content production. We're bringing in all of the powers within our group to make sure that we can elevate these creators and give them a beautiful voice within this industry.”
Nexus has placed a sharp focus on measurement within this DEI initiative, ensuring plans in place to track progress as it evolves.
Menezes: “We’re making sure that data is not biased. We're reviewing all of the data to ensure that if we're using it to make decisions as to who gets on to the plan, we can make sure that data has got a good mix of representation within the communities.”
INCA Communities is committed to shining a light on underrepresented voices and diverse creator talent.
Menezes: “It’s about having a framework to make sure that we're approaching it in a way where we can create meaningful, high-impact change within certain key areas.
The initiative aims to connect diverse creators with brands to strengthen the level of representation and diversity within these channels.
“It’s about making everyone feel included, like their opinions matter and that they’re a part of the conversation. The more you can do that, the more brands can appeal to different customers and to the different communities that they're trying to connect with.
“If there's a brand that I'm really passionate about, I want to make sure that - coming from a diverse background - that there is strong representation there,” said Menezes.
Menezes recognises the strong impact that the influencer and marketing industry can make, noting that 84% of consumers prefer being served content from a creator as opposed to a brand.
“We've seen a six times greater return on ad spend when it comes to the impact creator marketing ultimately delivers. When you ask the numbers to speak for itself you will just go with the biggest numbers rather than saying, ‘Okay, I have this campaign, I'm trying to reach this investment'. You've just picked three or four biggest creators that you have. But those biggest creators might not be representative of the audience that you're speaking to."
"If you truly want to see positive results, you need to ensure that you're not just letting the data guide you. Are they delivering a greater impact by appealing to all the different customers that I'm trying to connect with? Having that lens will deliver a greater impact for our clients and for the broader community in general.”
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