CLEVER is a full-service influencer marketing agency.
Influencer Video by @melindawatts_ for Pampers
There are hundreds of ways to activate influencers. To find the 'right way' for your brand and see a return on your investment, you have to match the approach to your business goals.
CLEVER is a full-service influencer marketing agency. This means our approach is experienced, involved, and very hands-on. We handle all the work that goes into influencer programs, from start to finish, on behalf of our clients. We are the very opposite of “self-service!”
We offer a full range of programming options (if influencers can do it, we can manage it), but no matter what type of program we run, CLEVER does all the heavy lifting.
Most platforms and tools claim that they make influencer marketing programs “easy” for marketers to run themselves. The reality is that, no matter what tools you’re using, influencer programs are complex, nuanced, and cannot be automated. So unless you’re experienced at influencer programs (or if because of your experience, you don’t want to manage programs alone anymore), we’re here to help.
Hooray! You’ve decided to work with an agency for your influencer programs! Only… now you have to figure out which agency to work with.
Of course we think you should work with CLEVER, but let’s take a step back first.
Here is a comprehensive outline of the factors you should take into consideration when evaluating an influencer marketing partner: Diving Deep: Questions To Ask Your Influencer Marketing Partner (BEFORE You Sign!)
Note: You can also check out an abbreviated version of this at Forbes
Once you have a sense of the varying levels of service and experience agencies offer, we believe you’ll see how CLEVER compares. Some top points for your consideration:
If you take a look at our Client List, you’ll see that we’ve worked with hundreds of the best known and beloved brands in the world.
Typically, our clients are in the mid-sized to large range. We also regularly partner with agencies to help them execute large and/or complex influencer programs on behalf of their clients.
If anything, we specialize in “sensitive” and challenging brand and program work. What does this mean? Let’s look at WHO we work with.
Most of our brand work falls into these categories:
CLEVER takes a unique, hybrid approach to managing our influencer relationships. Like platforms, we have data-backed access to thousands of influencers, especially micro-influencer and nano-influencers. Like talent agencies, we have relationships with our network of influencers, including micro-influencers, macro-influencers, and celebrities. We’ve figured out how to leverage the best of all worlds.
Influencers who want to work with us must apply to be part of our network. Their accounts are then reviewed by CLEVER staff members (not algorithms) to ensure that their content is quality, their voice is unique, their followers are real, and their posts aren’t overly sponsored.
Learn more about the information we have about our influencers and how we select them.
Because of our strong relationship with our in-network influencers, we can find just about anyone you’re looking for, even (and especially) regarding sensitive topics. For example, we’ve sourced influencers who are:
Colorblind and live in Tennessee
Trying-to-conceive
Losing hair
Audible subscribers
Elder pet owners
Willing to “go commando”
Struggling with mental health issues
Parents with children who have learning disabilities
…and many, many others!
We work with our clients to ensure that programs are diverse and equitable, and elevate influencers of color.
CLEVER is a progressive organization with these values. Our goal is to co-create a world with our influencer community where all people have what they need to be their most empowered, authentic, and exceptional selves. Please see our statements about our commitment to this work, and feel free to check on our progress towards our aggressive diversity goals for us and the influencer marketing industry.
After delivering thousands of programs to hundreds of clients, we can say with certainty: no two projects are exactly alike. Nor should they be!
However, we can — and do! — apply the same building blocks to every program to ensure great results and happy clients.
We work with our clients to determine:
Do we need entirely fresh creative or are we supporting existing messaging?
What channels will perform best given the product, demo, and call-to-action?
What ideas haven’t been done before? What trends are we seeing right now?
What will inspire influencers to produce the best content for this particular campaign?
What will success look like?
Who, exactly, is your target demographic? What should your influencers look like? Who should their audiences be? We’ll find the right people based on your needs, or we can help you determine who you’re looking for.
Either way, we’ll leverage our relationship with our network and DASH, our proprietary platform, to find the best influencers for your specific program based on these criteria (amongst others!):
In addition to providing you with basic performance data, our Client Services team goes above and beyond to offer comprehensive, thoughtful reporting: not just results, but what the results mean. In a beautiful, heavily visual report, we answer:
Working with our influencers ensures your brand will enjoy both excellent content and widespread reach.
We supplement organic reach with paid reach (sponsored posts and ads) — which can be done in conjunction with or entirely separately from your brand’s promotion of influencer content. Paid support ensures branded content reaches your target consumers and drives additional program impact.
Even better?
CLEVER now offers Mobile ID Targeting and Conquesting. Granular mobile ID targeting ensures that great influencer content reaches active shoppers in brand and competitor-specific locations.Our (agency) fees are structured on a per-project basis. The overall budget accounts for dozens of program variables, most notable of which are influencer payments (that vary by size, number of influencers, influencer ask/expectations/deliverables, etc.). We typically charge flat program fees — versus per-performance rates — because our results are guaranteed.
We also offer “always-on” payment structures for clients who want to activate many programs over six or twelve months.
Please check out our case studies (only a small sample are here; dozens more available upon request!). We also showcase our current program highlights on our Instagram feed.
Influencer Image by @littleeatsandthings
Influencer Image by SimplyFalakSid
Influencer Image by @wolfgangchels
Influencer Image by @thehealthymouse
Influencer Image by @joshdixon
Influencer Image by Being Summer Shores