Ernest Agency, an independent influencer marketing agency, has launched a dedicated influencer seeding division, 'Ernie', for its Australian and New Zealand clients. The new division aims to address the challenges in achieving scale, relevance, and authenticity in influencer gifting.

Ernie's process and technology are designed to identify and pitch to large volumes of creators that are relevant to a brand, and put the product directly in their hands to create fandom and endorsement. Key features of Ernie include bespoke influencer lists, automated content tracking, and a focus on scale, relevance, and authenticity.

Ernie creates handpicked influencer lists tailored to each brand's target audience. Its automated content tracking eliminates the need for profile surfing to check for posts, saving time and providing brands with real-time insights. Ernie enables brands to achieve both scale and relevance, whether gifting to a handful of industry leaders or 200 micro-influencers.

Ernie only asks recipients to share what they love, not what they are told to, ensuring authenticity. The division has already executed seeding campaigns for brands including Sony Electronics, Hill Smith Wines, Good Drinks, Mutti, Dyson, and Bush Harvest.

"Influencer gifting has been around for as long as influencers have existed. Given the industry's struggle to achieve authenticity, gifting remains a great solution to achieve social proof, with the influencers under no obligation to write positive reviews. This means that the resulting content is 100% authentic," said Tim Rasbash, Founder of Ernest Agency and Ernie.

However, he also acknowledged the challenges that most seeding agencies face in achieving scale and relevance.

"Most businesses are unable to effectively fulfil and track content from their mass seeding efforts. Whilst influencer marketplaces can help, more often than not, they are largely made up of micro influencers whose every other post is #ad or #gifted."