Generative Influencer Sponsorships vs. Traditional Influencer Sponsorships

With the rise of AI, marketing tactics are evolving, and influencer marketing is no exception. While some brands encourage influencers to embrace AI tools, like using AI platforms to create generative art, experts predict AI will take on a more prevalent role. 

Soon, brands could add generative influencer sponsorships to their regular lineup. Let’s explore what generative sponsorships could look like and how they compare to traditional collaborations.  

What is a generative sponsorship?

Generative sponsorships give brands and influencers the ability to co-create content using AI. 

The process involves using AI to create an AI model of a product alongside an AI-created avatar that mimics the influencer. This collaboration is more cohesive and results in a highly creative, unique piece of content that grabs attention while driving awareness, engagement and sales.  

More specifically, here’s how a generative sponsorship could work:

1. Brands identify and vet influencers using an influencer marketplace or full-service team
2. Brands communicate with the creator, providing campaign goals and inspiration
3. Brands create a virtual model of their product using AI
4. Creators generate an AI version of themselves 
5. Brands and creators brainstorm ways to merge the influencer’s avatar with the AI version of the brand’s product
6. The creator shares the content on social media

What is a traditional influencer sponsorship?

A traditional influencer sponsorship pairs a creator and a brand, with the creator providing content that endorses a physical product. Brands often send a product for the influencer to use in a promotional photo or video, and, with the brand’s approval, the influencer shares it with their social audience.

Here’s how a traditional sponsorship works:

1. Brands identify and vet influencers using an influencer marketplace or discovery tool
2. Brands communicate with the creator, providing campaign goals and inspiration
3. Brands send a product to the influencer
4. Creators produce the content after the product is received 
5. Creators deliver content for approval
6. Brands approve the content or request edits
7. The creator shares the content on social or sends it to the brand to use

Benefits of generative sponsorships

As you explore the similarities and differences between a traditional influencer collaboration versus a generative one, you begin to see the benefits of using AI for content creation. The benefits include: 

Shared creative control

In traditional influencer sponsorships, it’s often most effective to give creative reins to the influencers. Since the creator has cultivated a niche audience, he or she is trusted to take the brand’s direction and generate content. 

In generative sponsorships, creativity is shared. Brands create an AI version of their product while influencers create an AI avatar, and when they’re both ready, the brand marketers and influencers must figure out how to merge the two pieces into a creative, effective campaign. 

Expedited production time

With generative sponsorships, products aren’t sent to influencers; they’re created digitally. So, there’s no downtime when mailing a product to influencers. 

On the creator’s side, there’s minimal prep and production time. AI avatars don’t need to style their hair, find the right outfit, apply makeup, set up a camera and lights, or record several takes. 

Instead, production happens in an AI platform that merges the AI product and influencer avatar into a picture or video. 

Creativity gets a boost

While influencers are creative by nature, AI offers many creative options. It provides a new look that goes beyond static pictures or talking head videos and offers a cutting-edge aesthetic that followers will notice. 

Dozens of interactions are possible 

With generative sponsorships, you can make a dozen iterations of a campaign simply by altering the prompts you provide. Brands and creators can review the content and pick the most eye-catching option to share with the audience or use multiple versions to tailor a campaign to the audience. For example, you could change the location, season or holiday by changing the prompts. 

Picture an influencer’s digital twin holding a product in Times Square and near the Eiffel Tower, for example, or an influencer showcasing a product but in different clothes based on the season. You can alter the content easily.

With traditional sponsorships, multiple versions could result in flights to several locations and multiple takes during production, all driving up costs. 

Using generative sponsorships ethically

Anytime AI is used in marketing, there are ethical considerations to weigh, including:

• Talk about how your brand plans to use AI-generated content and share those thoughts with the influencers you work with. 
• Disclose the use of AI to your audience.
• Review AI-generated content before it’s released to ensure it’s appropriate.
• Be mindful of the prompts provided to ensure the content is culturally sensitive and doesn’t abuse stereotypes.
• Adapt as AI-generated content evolves, committing to a continual learning process.

How will your brand incorporate AI into its influencer marketing? With the technology quickly evolving, many brands will explore its use applications, including generative influencer sponsorships.

Influencers:

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Marketers:

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