Shine Influencers has launched a U.S. outpost with the opening of an office in Los Angeles.
First launched in 2015 as a division of Shine PR, Shine Influencers is a talent management agency that represents influencers – with a specific focus on micro-influencers – and helps them facilitate and manage brand partnerships. Outside of Canada, the agency has also grown its business in the U.S. and now represents over 20 influencers based in the States.
“Officially creating a U.S. headquarter was a natural next step and is our way of making a visible investment into this market,” says Jess Hunichen, co-founder of Shine Influencers. “Micro-influencers are drastically under-represented in the U.S. talent management category, and knowing their ability to impact purchasing decisions, we’re excited to further educate and introduce some amazing untapped talent to our U.S.-based clients.”
The office will be led by Andy Hohl and Lorin Partalis, who have been hired as directors of strategy and talent management. Hohl joins from talent agency Artist & Brand Management, while Partalis brings experience from design firm Built and lifestyle marketing agency MKTG.
Emily Ward, co-founder of Shine Influencers, says one of the factors that has set Shine apart and helped grow its business has been its focus on the “human connection,” where the agency trains its team to identify and nurture influencers with talent and potential. That’s become an anomaly, as the growth of the influencer industry has also led to the creation of data- and AI-based tools and algorithms that identify potential partners, but miss factors that only a person can identify.
Shine’s roster of U.S.-based influencers include Abigail Ochse of The Chic Mamas, Maddie Perry, Eileen Lamb of The Autism Café and Delaney Childs of The Style Seed. Some of the brands it has facilitated partnerships with include L’Oréal, BMW, Samsung and Amazon.