In a move to expand its access to digital influencers, Dentsu Aegis in Canada has pacted with #paid, a Toronto-based social platform that specializes in Instagram campaigns.
The deal gives Dentsu Aegis access to #paid’s client base of celebrities and influencers on the social network, enabling the agency’s social team to expand reach for brand campaigns, by working with influencers across a wide variety of categories.
The pact is the first major deal of its kind for #paid, which grew out of DMZ, Ryerson University’s incubation lab and launched at TechCrunch Disrupt in September 2014.
Adam Rivietz, co-founder of #paid, told MiC that the deal with Dentsu Aegis Network goes back to #paid’s incubation days when Will Oatley, VP, head of digital and mobile at Dentsu Aegis Network visited the team and asked them to stay in touch once their platform was up and running. When out of incubation, #paid started working with smaller brands like Frank & Oak and Arctic Zone, a coolers and lunch-bag manufacturer.
#paid ran its first campaign for Dentsu Aegis Network for Adidas in July of 2015. The execution proved successful and led to future campaigns for Durex, eOne (for the Hunger Games), Xbox and Shopper’s Drug Mart.
All of those individual deals led to a conversation for a more formal, long-term partnership.
The deal includes preferred access for Dentsu Aegis to its roster of influencers, about 1,000 of whom are in Canada and first access to test any new tech the company develops.
Brands are increasingly using Instagram to enhance their reach on social. According to #paid, Instagram was used by 200,000 advertisers globally in February alone.
The influencer platform said that its network has a global reach of over 400 million consumers but Rivietz adds that the Canadian market is its bread and butter.
The platform automates tasks like identifying influencers based on the campaign, managing the content and measuring the campaign.
Correction: the original version of this article included a reference by #paid to a media spend agreement between it and Dentsu. #Paid has clarified that in fact, the agreement was for preferred access to its influencer roster.
