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Pre-Approval: what brands need to know
Pre-Approval: what brands need to know
Updated over 7 months ago

We pride ourselves on helping brands source instant branded content from premium creators and for this, a happy creator community is key.

Pre-Approval is an important part of the approval process for brands and creators. It’s designed to protect a creator’s time and effort while nurturing collaborative relationships between all parties.

In short, by Pre-Approving a creator you are committing to 50% of the fee if they are required to re-submit their content in these scenarios;

• The creator has submitted a Pitch: By Pre-Approving a pitch you’re giving the creator the go-ahead to shoot and submit their final content for approval.

• The creator has submitted their content upfront: If you love the content but require some changes to the image/video or caption - Pre-Approval provides the creator with some security before making the necessary changes and re-submitting.

Here's how it works

  1. You love a creator’s pitch or content and want to collaborate with them but have a few tweaks or suggestions

  2. Discuss any changes you need directly with the creator

  3. The two of you agree on the required changes and the time it should take to complete them

  4. You click the ‘approve icon’ and you Pre-Approve their submission

  5. The creator resubmits within the agreed timeframe

  6. You click the ‘approve icon’ again and select Final Approval

  7. They publish the content to their socials or you download your licensed asset and the creator is paid 100% of the fee

Which campaigns does this apply to?

Pre-Approval is currently used in Influencer Marketing Campaigns, and will soon be available for Content Campaigns.

When running an Influencer Campaign, you’ll be committing to 50% of the creator’s fee while Content Campaigns will be 50% of the set licensing fee.

Why is this great for me?

Pre-Approval and Pitching are both designed to improve your campaign performance and relationships with your creator community. It's a workflow that benefits all parties by giving you everything you need to know about a creator to make informed decisions, before making any commitment. Alongside the creative idea they're pitching you'll access their estimated performance metrics and bio & portfolio.

By committing 50% of the fee, you're not only kicking off the collaboration process you're showing the creator you value them, their ideas and time. We all know great content isn't created at the snap of a finger, this added security for creators means they'll be far more responsive therefore you'll get your content out into the world faster.

How is this reflected in my budget on TRIBE?

To make things simple, your month’s invoice brief will include an invoice line item for the 50% fee. However, 100% of the fee amount will be deducted from your budget on the platform, so that you can easily see how much of your budget remains, taking into account the remaining balance of any outstanding Pre-Approvals.

To see an exact breakdown of your budget, simply hover over the information icon to the right of your budget. The budget summary includes all the submission approvals, content licenses, boosted ads, the prepaid Pre-Approval amount, and the balance still due for Pre-Approvals.

I want to Pre-Approve a creator, but now they’re requesting more money. What do I do?

This may happen depending on the level of changes you are requesting. It’s important to remember that if you are requesting major changes or a complete change of direction - this could take a significant amount of time and a request for a higher fee could be very reasonable. Remember, you will be able to chat directly with the creator so ensure you agree on pricing and expectations before Pre-Approving them.

Note: In Influencer Marketing campaigns once you’ve agreed on a new price, ensure the creator resubmits with the new fee before you Pre-Approve them. And remember, with Content Campaigns, there are set fees and no need to negotiate on price

How can I best manage the Pre-Approval process with Creators?

There are a few ways we recommend managing this process that has proven to be the best for both brands and creators.

  • Be transparent: If Final Approval could take some time, communicate this with creators upfront to appropriately manage their expectations.

  • Be responsive: If a creator has responded to your direct chat, don’t ignore them or leave them without an answer for days. Creators appreciate swift responses as much as you do.

  • Provide clear feedback: When requesting edits from creators, be clear about what you’d like to change, rather than providing feedback that can be interpreted subjectively. Suggestions like “make your post more appealing to millennials” can be misinterpreted. The clearer your feedback and vision, the happier you’ll be with the final product.

  • Maintain professionalism: This is still a business transaction and ultimately these creators are your brand’s biggest fans, so stay professional.

What happens if I have Pre-Approved a submission, but no longer wish to go ahead with it?

We understand things change. It happens. Although it is not recommended, you can decline a Pre-Approved submission, by clicking the ‘X’ icon on a post.

Do I still need to pay a Creator 50% of their fee if I choose to decline their submission?

Yes. Maybe your budget was cut short or you’ve just changed the visual direction of your campaign. Either way, if a creator has still gone through the effort of shooting or re-shooting the content you’ve all agreed to; they should be rewarded for their efforts and therefore paid the 50% fee.

What if I decline a Pre-Approved submission because the creator has not delivered as agreed?

In this situation, we require you to provide feedback to us explaining how or why the creator did not deliver as agreed. We will then review your feedback as well as the correspondence between you and the creator to determine an appropriate resolution.

This feedback can take up to three business days for us to review and will not be shared with the creator.

If you have any further questions please reach out to TRIBE support at brands@tribegroup.co or get in touch with your Customer Success or Campaign Manager.

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