The Business of Human Relationships, by Robots…

Last week saw AI take its next step in development, via a foray into the world of talent management. 

Founded by entrepreneur and creator, Grace Beverley, and tech experts Jake Browne and Gary Meehan, Retrograde launched on the 28th July, with the aim to 'democratise the creator industry'. The company will support influencers by acting as somewhat of a talent manager in their pocket, handling emails, negotiating brand deals, through to the completion of paperwork and invoicing. 

How will Retrograde work? By presenting a unique name, avatar and voice to influencers, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The ‘agent’ will communicate with its talent via SMS and WhatsApp messages, updating them on new brand partnerships, and will also allegedly be offering the influencer to estimate how much revenue they could generate for that year. Ultimately, the final decision is the influencer’s, and should they be unhappy with the proposed deal, their AI agent will then proceed to either decline or re-negotiate it. 

Taking a step back and looking at the experience and expertise that has gone into Retrograde, you could argue that it is one of the best trios out there. Grace Beverley is one of the UK’s leading lifestyle creators, and later leveraged her platform to launch the wildly successful brands Shreddy and TALA; the latter of which recently launched a pop-up space in London’s Selfridges. Jake Browne was the founder of financing app, Peblo, working to improve payments for influencers. He sold the company in 2022. Gary Meehan is a software engineer and the founder of AI-powered travel app, WhereTo. Together, three co-founders each bring a different lens and experience to the table enabling them to really tackle building a well-rounded tool. 

The idea for Retrograde came to Browne whilst at Peblo, and so he came together with Meehan whom he had worked with during this time, with Browne then approaching Beverley to join them in this venture. When speaking to CORQ, Beverley said that upon being approached by Browne that “it felt just like exactly what the industry was crying out for”. This is interesting as Beverley is, as of the date of this piece, still signed with talent agency, YMU. 

Speaking candidly, I don’t believe that artificial intelligence can replace talent managers. Having worked on all sides of influencer partnerships, I can understand the appeal of Retrograde for influencers and those working brand-side, either in-house or at an agency. The reduction in back and forth offers back time to all parties, however, said back and forth is often to ensure the fine details have been discussed, and more often than not is where human relationships come into play. 

The process of negotiating brand deals is where a talent manager is able to build a relationship with brands on the behalf of their talent. By working human to human, brands, agencies and talent managers are able to best agree upon a deal that makes all parties happy, and establish a rapport in which brands and their agency partners will want to work with an influencer because of the experience they have had with their representatives and later because of the influencer’s deliverables. I also don’t see AI being able to replicate the diplomacy or tact of talent managers any time soon either, thus meaning that the booking of brand deals runs the risk of becoming incredibly soulless. 

During my time working brand-side, I fondly think of a number of partnerships I worked on whereby the human interaction between myself, my team, talent managers, and at times, the influencer themselves, has resulted in some of the best work. The conversations flow and the ability to bond, share excitement for the brand/campaign and the opportunity to answer questions are all lost if we automate these behind the scenes processes. 

Influencer content doesn’t just happen, it is often planned out in advance, and sometimes the most successful posts are the brainchildren of an influencer’s talent manager. They will see an opportunity when speaking with an influencer, or devise a partnership between their talent and a brand that perhaps the influencer hadn’t yet thought of. Some talent managers are not there to simply handle the administrative elements of a partnership, and can also double as a strategist and creative director. 

Ironically, there is also the question of how fast can AI keep up with the changing space that is the creator industry? Emerging platforms, algorithmic changes and a constant wave of trends could be where we then see AI applying a one-size fits all approach, whereas with human talent managers, they will be able to tailor recommendations and make informed decisions based on their relationship with their talent. 

Time will tell, however, I remain optimistic that the business of influencer partnerships is one that looks very human.