Hello, Everyone!
We know it’s been a minute since we’ve sent our CLEVER network members an update. One of the commitments we made to our community members last year was to be more transparent, and in all transparency, 2020 was tough.
The good news is that we are heading into 2021 as a much different company. We’ve restructured and simplified how we operate, and are now focusing on upgrading our systems, tools, and communications processes.
This means mostly good things, buuuuuut… we know a lot of our current (old, creaky) systems aren’t working very well right now. Please hang tight while we’re in transition, and thank you for sticking with us through these painful last few months. :grimacing:
In addition to our back-end changes, we are continuing our work to notice and dismantle how white supremacy, racism, and patriarchy play a role in all of our systems at CLEVER. We are also keeping the feedback we have received from you, our community, top of mind as we move forward.
Here’s our update about what’s happening behind the scenes:
Our commitments to social change:
- Membership Director: We created the position of Membership Director, whose purpose is to ensure that our network operates as a community and that it is diverse, equitable, inclusive, robust, and happy. This role serves on our leadership team to reinforce that the needs of our members are considered in all strategic decisions. We are THRILLED to welcome Loreann Talbo to this role! Many of you already know Loreann from our membership services team, so you know how thoughtful, diligent, and delightful to work with she is. She has also been actively helping lead our internal DEI efforts, and has many exciting plans for rolling out our CLEVER community (see more below).
- Staff Commitments: As part of our commitment to being an anti-racist company, every member of staff has been required to sign our Anti-Racism statement and commit to ongoing anti-racism education.
- Employment Requirements: Our job postings now include our statement on Anti-Racism. All applicants are required to review our commitment to becoming an anti-racist organization prior to applying.
- Agreement Updates: Our membership policy and influencer contracts now have specific language noting:
- We will not work with anyone who posts content that is hateful toward anyone based on their race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, age, or gender;
- We will not work with influencers who have posted content in support of organizations, groups, or individuals associated with promoting hate, criminal, or terrorist-related content.
- Ongoing DEI Work: We established a DEI working group, a company-wide and cross-departmental committee established to have a significant role in the development of strategies and best practices regarding diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism work.
- Listening to Community Leaders: We have continued our weekly consulting meetings with our consultant, Marie Denee, whose feedback has been instrumental in the changes we continue to make.
- Town Halls: We hosted our first CLEVER Town Hall meeting last quarter and are working on implementing the feedback gathered during the Town Hall.
- Black History Content: We partnered with CLEVER creators to launch our first Black History Month blog series which honors and amplifies Black creators in the influencer marketing space. These posts are intended to provide insight into how the influencer industry can support Black creators this February and throughout the year. We will commit to partnering with various creators throughout the year to honor and amplify historically excluded points of view in the influencer marketing industry.
Membership Upgrades
- Upgrading DASH: We will be launching a number of exciting(!) upgrades to our platform(!!) that will officially launch by March 1(!!!). Expect to hear more on this in the coming weeks.
- CLEVER Community: Coming in April, a CLEVER community resource based on your feedback. Our goal is to help influencers truly understand all aspects of influencer marketing, including product and program creation, proposals, pricing and margins, selection criteria, and influencer professional development. It’s all about transparency!
Thank you for the opportunity to share what we’ve been working on, and a glimpse of what’s to come. As always, we are grateful for your feedback and look forward to our continued partnership with you as we work to always be better.
Here's to a bright 2021!
-Kristy Sammis & The CLEVER Team