Australian tech startup Fabulate is launching a suite of AI-powered tools to streamline the influencer marketing process. 

The new SparQ suite, currently in beta, addresses key challenges in the $800 million Australian influencer marketing sector.

According to B&T, the tools focus on three main areas:

• SparQ Brand Safe scans influencer content for high-risk or explicit material that could harm a brand’s reputation. 
• SparQ Brand Advocate helps marketers identify authentic voices in both paid and organic social media. 
• SparQ Audience Overlap allows marketers to analyze the unique audience reach of up to 100 creators in a single search.

Nathan Powell, Fabulate’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer, highlights brand safety as the primary concern for marketers when identifying influencers. The company claims its tools can reduce a week-long brand safety procedure to mere minutes.

B&T claims that 76% of marketers cite brand safety as their top influencer concern. While 55% of marketers express interest in using AI tools to make more informed influencer marketing decisions, only 19% currently plan to do so.

The SparQ suite also addresses issues of audience authenticity and overlap. By analyzing follower demographics and comparing audiences across different social media platforms, the tools aim to help brands reach new followers more effectively and avoid audience duplication.

“[SparQ] professionalizes the industry more, and that’s not a bad thing; I think it’s what’s been missing,” Ben Gunn, Fabulate’s Chief Revenue Officer, said in a statement.

Gunn suggests these tools could make influencer marketing a standard line item on media schedules alongside traditional channels like digital out-of-home and free-to-air TV.

Fabulate’s platform helps brands and agencies find, manage, and evaluate over 200 million influencers.

According to the latest IAB Australia Internet Advertising Revenue Report (IARR), Australian internet advertising expenditure reached $15.6 billion for the financial year ending June 30, 2024, marking a 9.7% year-on-year growth.

Video advertising led the growth, increasing 18.6% to $4.1 billion. Search and directories followed, rising 10.4% to $6.9 billion. Digital audio showed strong performance, growing 23.6% to $290.2 million.