A London-based platform spearheaded by a Sky Sports presenter is changing the dynamics of how influencers work on social media.
Alex Payne, CEO of , is looking to build something real with his business – connecting brands with influencers who genuinely care about their products and services.
The platform reverses the traditional model. Instead of brands hunting for creators, creators can apply to work with brands they admire to increase the chances of authentic content – and it was all born from first-hand experience.
A Star Wars-themed lightbulb moment
The concept was born out of a moment of professional frustration and a disinterest in one of the world鈥檚 most popular film series.聽
鈥淚 was actually sent a box with 拢500 worth of Star Wars merchandise in it to my place of work,鈥� Payne told 老九品茶Cloud.聽
鈥淏ooks, games, DVDs, TV controls鈥� all sorts of things alongside a very nice note at the top that said: 鈥楢lex, we hope you love this product. If you do, we’d love you to Instagram the fact that we’re showing Star Wars back-to-back on our movie channel all weekend.鈥�
鈥淭he problem was that I’m someone that’s got absolutely no interest in Star Wars whatsoever. I haven’t seen it since I was eight, I don’t want the box, I don’t create Star Wars content and I don’t want to watch Star Wars films.鈥�
The moment of disconnect sparked a bigger question for the rugby-mad entrepreneur.
He continued: 鈥淲hat I was left with at the end of that experience is the feeling of what a total waste of everybody’s time it had been. This is one of the most successful movie franchises in history and they are giving it to the wrong person at the critical point.聽
鈥淲hy can they not find 100 people at the click of a button who go, 鈥業 freaking love Star Wars, send me the box and I鈥檒l create the content you鈥檙e looking for鈥�?鈥�
That became the founding principle of The Influence Room – a marketplace where influencers can find opportunities that they鈥檇 enjoy taking instead of being approached randomly.
A broad church聽
The platform has grown significantly since its launch in 2017. 鈥淥ur membership is now 30,000 people of influence in the UK, all of whom have applied to be a member of The Influence Room,鈥� said Payne.聽
鈥淲e vet them, and then we accept them based on the quality of their audience and their engagement.鈥�
However, the platform isn鈥檛 just for fitness influencers or TikTok stars, and social media users who are in The Influence Room community are of all different sizes.
He explained: 鈥淲e have very famous people on our platform who are household names in music, film, sport, television, fashion.聽
鈥淭hen we have small content creators who create the most amazing videos but don鈥檛 have an enormous social media following and we have everything in between.
鈥淲e’ve had days, for example, where we’ve had the entire England cricket team join the platform, because one of the England cricketers has picked up a jacuzzi deal, for example, through the platform for the summer and then suddenly all the England cricketers are joining. We’ve had the same thing with the Hollyoaks actors and the EastEnders crew.
鈥淭his is not a database of influencers – you become part of a community where we ask you to look after the brands that you love, deliver the content and then you come back for more.鈥�
A UK core with expansion plans
While its influencer base spans international audiences, The Influence Room remains proudly UK-focused for now.
鈥淲e are predominantly UK-based in terms of the brands who use us,鈥� said the TV presenter.
鈥淥bviously, the influencers will have international followers, but we are very selective about ensuring that the influencers who join the platform have a 50% or more UK following.
鈥淚n terms of expansion, at the moment, we are looking at expanding into new territories. We’ve trialled it in the US, and that will need a bit more money but we have big plans upcoming.鈥�
The plethora of big-name clients
Among the company鈥檚 most loyal clients is Virgin Media O2, which recently merged with Lancashire-based Daisy Group, led by Matthew Riley.聽
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been with us since we first started, and they鈥檝e renewed every single year,鈥� said Payne.聽
鈥淚 think I鈥檓 right in saying, anecdotally, it鈥檚 the first thing they sign off in their marketing budget every year.鈥�
The platform is also used by Five Guys, Nissan, Virgin Voyages, HarperCollins and Pizza Express among others.聽
Payne said: 鈥淚t really can be used by any brand doing anything. We鈥檙e particularly effective at that sort of top-of-funnel marketing – brand awareness and content generation. That鈥檚 our sweet spot.鈥�
Redefining the influencer
One of Payne鈥檚 missions is to broaden the idea of who holds influence and what is defined as an influencer.聽
鈥淚f I asked someone about who influenced them, they probably wouldn鈥檛 reference social media stars,鈥� he explained.
鈥淭hey鈥檇 most likely talk about parents, teachers, sports coaches or heroes of their football team, or even bands that they follow.鈥�
As a result, the platform welcomes a diverse user base, ranging from journalists to bloggers to content creators, who have genuine interest in the work available.
Payne added: 鈥淵ou are picking from people who are really keen to work with your brand.聽
鈥淥ften that can be time efficient and cost efficient, but you can find influencers with real, genuine connections, telling genuine stories into which your brand can be plugged.鈥�
The journey so far
The startup launched in early 2017 and has grown steadily after being bootstrapped early on.聽聽
Payne explained: 鈥淲e’ve probably now had about five or six years of proper trading. Then we’ve taken investment and have a very supportive group of angel investors.聽
鈥淭he investment has helped us develop the platform and we have around 22 staff.鈥�
Despite huge market shifts and global crises, the business has stayed the course.聽
The CEO quipped: 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have put COVID in the middle of our early journey. I wouldn鈥檛 have put the war in Ukraine in the middle of it, or recession and inflation, but we are still evolving, we鈥檙e growing and we鈥檙e developing.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen some of our biggest competitors raise huge amounts of money and then 18 months later, they go out of business.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very challenging market. But we are still powering on.鈥�
The Good, The Gin, and the Rugby
Beyond The Influence Room, Payne also juggles two high-profile side projects.
The first is The Good, The Bad, and The Rugby – a podcast he runs with former England internationals Mike Tindall and James Haskell.聽
鈥淲e are a show that lives life through a rugby lens rather than a rugby shirt,” he said.
鈥淲e talk as much about mental health, the challenges of being parents and being 40, as we do the breakdown of the weekend鈥檚 games.鈥�
Then there鈥檚 Blackeye Gin – a premium spirit that supports injured rugby players.聽
Payne said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 got botanicals from every major rugby-playing nation and we raise 拢1m a year for injured rugby players through the sale of our gin.鈥�
The road ahead
The Influencer Room, though, still remains Payne鈥檚 main priority.聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e constantly evolving our tech,鈥� he added.聽鈥淎I is obviously increasingly interesting and we’re embedding it into the platform now to help with opportunity curation, anticipated outcomes and influencer recommendations.鈥�
Payne also sees potential for white-label versions of the platform, such as private communities for crowdfunders or brand advocates.聽
He explained: 鈥淚f you鈥檝e got 1,000 investors who each put in 拢100, you can put them into your community and engage them as ambassadors rather than just updating them quarterly.鈥�
Through it all though, the principle of authentic, passion-led marketing is at the company’s forefront.聽
Payne concluded: 鈥淵ou can pick out at 100 yards an influencer collaboration where it jars – where the influencer is not doing it for any legitimate reason other than the cash.聽
鈥淲hat this platform does is enable you to find the middle ground where both sides benefit, beyond just a transaction.鈥�
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