For a high-end luxury brand, the idea of a well known influencer approaching you to discuss a ‘collaboration’ might sound like the marketing opportunity you’ve been dreaming of. And for a certain type of business, it may well be.
But influencers, and those who represent them, are increasingly finding that not every brand welcomes their approaches. In fact, for some luxury businesses, dealing with unsolicited enquiries (or in some cases direct requests for free products), is an increasingly stressful task.
Some brands simply do not include influencer marketing in their marketing strategy. And for other brands, the option isn’t viable for a number of logistical reasons. One such brand is Noho Home, a UK-based luxury furniture and homeware retailer.
Noho Home is an ecommerce brand that serves high net worth clients around the world. Take a look at their website and you’ll immediately realise the potential for ‘Instagrammable’ content. So while that might sound like a good fit for working with influencers, the business realities suggest otherwise.
The brand’s co-founder Harry Charles understands the value of influencer partnerships and isn’t ‘anti-influencer’ in any way. In fact, as a fashion entrepreneur with lines that existed before he co-founded Noho Home with business partner Shuan Maroof, he benefited from the attention of perhaps the ultimate influencers, the Kardashians, who were photographed wearing his designs.
“When a design of mine was first worn by a high profile person, it felt great and was good for my brand,” explains the former Oxford University student.
“But Noho Home sells beds and sofas, not clothing. And I think some influencers think it’s as easy to give away a piece of luxury furniture as it is to offer a table in a restaurant or a package of samples. The logistics just aren’t the same.”
“We do get approached a lot and some of the people in our DMs are well known,” explains Charles, who worries about the public relations ramifications of saying no.
“We spend a lot of time trying to respond politely and respectfully - the last thing we want to do is alienate anyone - but it does cause stress.”
In the space of a few weeks in the summer of 2022, the brand was approached by one of the most high profile UK-based social media influencers and producers for a well known TV show. In both cases Noho Home were invited to provide thousands of pounds worth of merchandise for free, cover shipping and to do it at very short notice.
Even if they’d been interested in an influencer partnership, it would have been very difficult for their fulfilment team to meet these particular demands. That in itself piles pressure onto what is still a new and growing brand.
“What if someone takes it the wrong way when we say no? Or sees a post from an influencer that just happens to also be a paying customer and wrongly thinks we gave them preferential treatment? We can’t stop selling to influential customers due to fear of other influencers assuming we’ve got a partnership with them.”
Managing these requests used to be a rare inconvenience, but Harry and Shuan are concerned that formulating a response plan to the increasing demands of influencers is becoming more like a full time job.
“There are so many risks involved and the frustrating thing is, we didn’t ask for any of this. We’re still new and we’re still growing. On some days it feels like managing influencers is becoming a full time job” says Charles.
The influencer marketing sector is huge. It’s worth an estimated $14bn, according to recent data. Among younger demographics, social media influencers have more consumer trust than ‘traditional’ celebrities like musicians and actors.
However, the scope of what is and is not considered ethical influencer behavior is a grey area, which puts brands and influencers at risk. In April 2022, an Australian influencer found herself on the receiving end of negative media coverage after approaching a restaurant about a partnership. She hadn’t done anything particularly unethical, but the restaurant she approached shared her request online and publicly declined in the most assertive terms.
In 2020, a UK car influencer was outed for threatening a local garage with negative coverage after his request for a free exhaust for his car didn’t go to plan. The influencer in question, Dave Aspden, later apologised for his behaviour.
Noho Home co-founder Shuan Maroof believes a deeper level of understanding between influencers and brands would benefit both parties, so that influencers appreciate just how difficult it can be to fulfil certain short notice requests and that brands appreciate that not all influencers are looking for a quick freebie.
“It’s flattering to be approached. But it’s not part of our growth plan to work with influencers in this way. We invest in other forms of marketing, but we’re also very lucky that word about our products is getting out there naturally. We don’t need to give our products away, especially when the cost of doing that is so high.”
.jpeg)
