OPPO Kenya Sues Influencer Marketing Platform AIfluence Over Unpaid Influencer Payments
OPPO Kenya has initiated legal action against the influencer marketing platform AIfluence, citing defamation and brand damage resulting from the agency’s failure to meet its payment obligations to the influencers.
In a statement released on Monday, OPPO acknowledged it was aware of concerns raised by some influencers regarding payments for their engagement in the OPPO Reno12 series campaign.
The move comes after several influencers called out the smartphone manufacturing company complaining over non-payments.
According to OPPO Kenya, it engaged AIfluence to manage the campaign’s influencers, including handling contracts, deliverables, and payments.
‘’Following our contractual agreement with AIfluence, OPPO Kenya made an initial 50% down payment to the agency to facilitate the influencers and remitted the final 50% payment upon completion of work, which was done on the 25th of October 2024.’’ the company stated..
‘’It is important to note that all influencers in this campaign signed direct contracts with the agency and not OPPO Kenya; however, we deeply empathize with the affected influencers. OPPO Kenya fulfilled all its financial obligations by making full payments to the said agency, AIfluence; this information was communicated to the influencers either directly or through their respective managers.’’
Despite this, OPPO Kenya clarified that under Kenyan law, it lacks legal grounds to take direct action against AIfluence on behalf of the influencers.
The company however says it has offered legal assistance, including covering legal costs, to the affected influencers as they seek legal action against the agency for lack of compensation, of which none of them has taken up this offer.
‘’OPPO Kenya does not condone the current frustrations that the influencers engaged in the Reno12 series campaign are going through. OPPO Kenya is fully committed to supporting any of the influencers affected by the current situation.’’
‘’ The brand’s goal is to ensure that the influencer’s rights are protected and fair compensation is given. The brand values the contributions of all influencers/creatives and remains committed to fostering positive and respectful partnerships in the Kenyan Market.’’ OPPO added.
AIfluence is a technology-driven advertising platform that uses artificial intelligence to match influencers to brands. The company says it also run end-to-end influencer marketing campaigns and brings transparency to the process of determining return on investment (ROI) for influencer marketing campaigns.
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