With 1.2 million followers on Instagram, and working with at least 500 paid and unpaid influencers, the U.K. division of Benefit Cosmetics has taken the plunge into launching an influencer agency to streamline its marketing operations.
The in-house agency, which debuted in early February, is dedicated solely to Benefit Cosmetics, with the main purpose of tracking the brand’s budget, ensuring it sees returns on investments, and to find new influencers, while managing relationships.
It’s comprised of just two employees currently, though the company is looking to make a digital coordinator hire. Up to 14 people from various departments, such as social media and public relations, are also involved at any given point, said Benefit U.K. senior publicist and influencer manager, Annie Harrison.
“Influencers have become a central part of our marketing strategy, and they are such a huge focus for us in how our communication is evolving,” said Harrison.
“As the importance of [influencer marketing] has grown, we’ve had to remain a relevant player in the conversation and create a hub that reflects that importance [to the] business.”
Benefit U.K.’s own influencer efforts in the fourth quarter of 2018 yielded over $24 million dollars in earned media value, and held the number seven spot out of the beauty brands operating in the country, according to influencer marketing platform, Tribe Dynamics.
“Benefit has one of the largest and most sophisticated influencer programs we have come across within the beauty sector,” said Tribe Dynamics co-founder, Conor Begley.
“They do a fantastic job of approaching the influencer space authentically at scale through relationship investment and partnership with the influencer community.”
While the agency is currently only limited to the U.K., there is a possibility of it expanding to other markets should it prove successful, said Harrison.
Image source: @benefitcosmeticsuk
