Six huge, pumped up bodyguards in black attire are escorting a 26-year-old to his suite after a meet and greet session with his fans at a plush Delhi hotel in Connaught Place.
The 500+ fans who gathered are vying for a selfie, an autograph- anything they can manage- but the bodyguards are a seasoned lot and take their subject to safety. This isn't a Bollywood actress, an A-list actor or some reality TV star- it's a comedy influencer who creates humorous content on YouTube for his followers, who are more than 6 million in number. And along with their rise, a new kind of organisational structure has emerged-the influencer marketing agencies. What was once solely the dominion of celebrity public relation companies which managed A-listers and other stars, has now seen the evolution of these agencies, some of whom manage an ever increasing number of influencers. Globally, major influencer marketing agencies include names such as NeoReach Agency, Moburst, Quotient Technology Inc., Launchmetrics, JuliusWorks, Trackr. Inc, Upfluence Inc. House of Marketers and inCast Inc., while back home our own giants are emerging with breakneck speed.
One of the most well-known names in this market is that of Monk Entertainment, which has the renowned influencer Ranveer Allahabadia as its co-founder. Along with Viraj Sheth, Founder and CEO at Monk Entertainment, they have an impressive roster that spreads across all the major sectors of fashion, beauty, infotainment, food, lifestyle, wellness, entertainment, automobile and tech with their clientele including BeerBiceps (Ranveer), Niharika NM, Yashraj Mukhate, Your Food Lab, Ruhee Dosani and Abhi and Niyu. The bootstrapped organization's business model is split in two: a commission-based model and a retainer model.
This story is from the May 2023 edition of Entrepreneur magazine.
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This story is from the May 2023 edition of Entrepreneur magazine.
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