Last year marked a pivotal moment in time for change and equality, specifically for Black communities. The happenings in the digital space and social media have shown us the importance of amplifying Black creators and influencers who are often overlooked. Now thanks to companies like Fanbytes, we’ll be able to break the cycle of underrepresentation in creative industries.
According to AdWeek, the London-based influencer marketer agency — launched by CEO and founder Timothy Armoo in 2017 — was created to help big brands discover new interactive ways to engage with Gen Z audiences around the world. With initiatives like the Fanbytes Impact Fund, the goal for Fanbytes is to now help Black-owned businesses get the funding they need as well as help Black creators gain more visibility in mainstream spaces.
“What happened with George Floyd, it made me realize even more that I had this platform and I had a responsibility to do something,” Armoo told the outlet. “And I didn’t want to just do these panels that talk and talk on diversity.”
The founder wished to make a change for equality in the advertising sector, so he set out to launch a fund that could benefit Black brands and creators to give them both the opportunity to help one another out.
“I want to raise a fund where I fund influencer marketing campaigns for Black-owned businesses, and especially using Black creators to distribute their stuff,” he continued. “So, what you end up having are Black-owned businesses that now have a way to fund their campaigns and are able to get into that next level of visibility and sales and all that stuff, because we are running the influencer campaigns that we typically run for brands.”
As pointed out by Armoo, the issue of inequality in the marketing industry isn’t rooted in racism but rather a “blindside” to which companies aren’t aware of the Black talent they could be working with. Typically, the Black creators do have high engagement rates with their audiences, but they aren’t featured in places that the average brand marketer looks so they get passed over for job opportunities. Fanbytes fund is a potential solution that will help resolve this issue.
AdWeek reports that the first phase of the fund raised around $140,000 last year to support its mission. Next year, it hopes to more than double that number with a target investment of nearly $350,000. Additionally, the fund aims to open up more opportunities for Black creators to work within the marketing sector and build portfolios to showcase what they bring to the table when working with future potential brand clients.
Phase two of the Fanbytes Fund is expected to kick off early 2022.
For more information about Fanbytes and its initiatives, visit its website.
