Radio and TV personality Jules Lund recently launched TRIBE, a tech solution that aims to remove the difficulty for brands to identify, collaborate and remunerate influencers for social posts.
TRIBE is founded by Lund who understands first hand the power of influencers in today’s digital environment. The start-up raised $750,000 seed funding to date from high profile investors such as Gabby and Hezi Leibovich (Catch of the Day), Matt Berriman (Unlockd), Jane Martino (Shout, recently exited to ANZ), Bridget Loudon (Expert 360), Sam Cavanagh (National Exec. Producer Southern Cross Austereo) and US-based David Gillespie (Havas Worldwide’s Strategy Director).
The influencer marketing category is in rapid growth and TRIBE is the only true marketplace in Australia that provides brands with unprecedented access to Australia’s largest pool of influencers.
While Lund designed the original concept, TRIBE is driven by a highly experienced team including former Shoply General Manager Anthony Svirskis as CEO and advisors including a selection of those listed above.
“It’s been a labor of love for two years. To now have experienced investors, advisors and an executive team expertly driving TRIBE forward is exciting,” Lund says.
How exactly does TRIBE work?
Being a self-serving platform with no subscription fees, brands receive influencer content at no cost; only paying for the posts they purchase.
In minutes, brands can create a brief and invite the most powerful content creators in the country to submit a creative post with a fee attached. As soon as a brand approves it, the influencer publishes their content directly to their socials and is paid immediately.
TRIBE considers influencers to be those who have 5000 followers or more on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. “We see enormous power in the everyday influencer who engages authentically with their audience and understands what resonates with their tribe better than anyone else,” Lund says.
What gap in the market is TRIBE filling?
TRIBE CEO Anthony Svirskis intends on leading the emerging influencer marketing industry in Australia. “We are working hard to ensure the scalability in our technology, and on developing best practice guidelines for this rapidly expanding category, having already held discussions with the ACCC and the leading social platforms.” he says.
TRIBE’s influencer app is also the first platform in Australia to implement benchmark rates for social posts to ensure consistency within this market.
Alastair McCausland, Grill’d Marketing Manager knows the need only too well, “Identifying influencers has been the bane of a marketer’s life: being presented the usual suspects with 100,000 followers who want thousands of dollars for each post.”
“Now with TRIBE there’s an easy solution that harnesses the power of many, to get credible, engaging social posts – all from the ease of your computer or tablet.”
Industry leaders Reebok, Sony Music, Grill’d, Contiki, Paramount Pictures, UNIQLO, Vinomofo and American Express have already recognised the value of this innovative platform by submitting campaigns pre-launch.
TRIBE also revealed that they plan to raise their second round of capital soon.
