A bit of art ranting, it's been a while since the last post. Did you miss my rants? Don't worry if you said "no", I won't take it personally, I'll go ahead anyways.
Let's talk about Brand Ambassadors on Instagram.
When I joined Instagram in 2019, I started following a few brands after discovering they would do giveaways and shout-outs, but then I discovered a new category of people, beside influencers, food and fashion bloggers, life and fitness coaches, and other weirdos with the cult of themselves: Brand Ambassadors!
There is a mutual pact in this: the newly nominated ambassadors will have some art supplies for free, provided they post many pictures and videos of them on their profile, and the brand has lots of visibility and publicity for free (excluding the expenses of the materials and shipping costs). A win-win situation.
I can somehow justify the fact that a brand asks you to have a minimum amount of followers (I remember Tombow UK asked for at least 10k followers in order to apply), they need to be sure their investment will return in more people following the brand, checking the website and eventually buying their products. What I don't understand is why some brands gift their products to those who already have them. I find it quite insulting. Also, why do they always choose "creative people" who do the same things? Hand lettering and positive quotes are hot topics lately, and honestly I can't tell who did what, they all look similar.
You could think that my thoughts are born out of envy and jealousy, and actually you could be right, I won't deny it. Why not give those art supplies after researching some real talented artists with less followers? There are millions out there, I hope I might be one of them obviously, I think this would encourage us to improve and we would feel appreciated. We might be saving every cent to buy that professional art supply, because we know it's worth its cost, and then we see that brands gift them to that "ambassador" that already have the full set of markers/watercolours/acrylics. The only difference is that the new box has 3 more shades! Give them those 3 new shades then! And always the same accounts, I saw one being featured on more than one brand account! Instagram is making things more and more difficult for creatives, the market is saturated and if you don't help us at the bottom we will never rise up.
What are your thoughts about it? Have you ever noticed this? Do you think it's fair?