WeAre8 debuts in Australian market with nine commercial brand partners

New purpose-driven social media platform, WeAre8, has confirmed nine commercial partners have signed up to its new platform as it officially launches in the Australian market.

The platform was founded by Australian tech entrepreneur and the founder of Standard Media Index, Sue Fennessy, and launched in the UK earlier this year. WeAre8’s platform allows consumers to choose the brands that advertise to them, with each 2 minutes of ad viewing triggering a payment to the consumer as well as donations to charities.

Consumers are paid via an ‘8Wallet’ in the app, with funds then available to either pay forward to a charity, or to top up their PayPal account. Another 5 per cent then goes to carbon offsetting and WeAre8’s impact partners and a further 5 per cent to an 8Creator fund.

WeAre8’s inaugural commercial partners are Suncorp, SBS, Dove, Rexona, Omo, Virgin Australia Airlines, Nature’s Own, Coles and Telstra. The company also confirmed a number of impact partners have joined the WeAre8 community and will benefit from the revenue generated from the advertising campaigns. These are: Adopt Change, Garvan Institute Foundation, The Great Barrier Reef Foundation, National Indigenous Culinary Institute, OzHarvest, Royal Far West, Starlight Children's Foundation, Take 3 for the Sea, Unicef and UnLtd.

“The calibre of brands who are supporting our launch month in Australia is nothing short of amazing. It speaks volumes about what these brands stand for and their desire to align their values with a social media platform that is good for people and the planet,” WeAre8 Australia CEO, Lizzie Young said.

“We look forward to demonstrating the impact WeAre8’s advertising experience can deliver brands when you leave people feeling loved and rewarded, along with the ease of transaction through our sustainable ad manager, SAM-i.”

Suncorp executive manager brand and marketing, Mim Haysom, said the partnership was about choosing partners that share the company’s values and ambition.

“WeAre8’s good value proposition is a perfect fit, and alongside the revolutionised ad-experience will help us form a deeper relationship with our customers. I look forward to seeing more Australians embrace a more positive social media experience,” she said.

SBS marketing director, Jane Palfreyman said, the broadcaster saw partnering with the social purpose-led platform helping to deliver on its charter of serving Australia’s diverse communities.

“SBS holds a unique place in the Australian media landscape, inspiring all Australians to explore, respect and celebrate our diverse world and in doing so, contribute to an inclusive and cohesive society,” she commented. “We are excited to work with WeAre8 and believe it can help us deliver on our Charter, of serving Australia’s multilingual and First Nations communities.”

WeAre8’s bullish ambition is to get 1 billion people globally to generate substantive change towards solving the world’s biggest climate, cultural and social challenges by engaging with at least 2 minutes’ worth of advertising per day through its platform. It’s also hoping to build a community of creators via its ‘8Stage’ and is launching monthly challenges to encourage fresh content on its platform.

The B-Corp certified organisation raised $15 million in Series B funding earlier this year to fund operations and marketing. Its supporters include BBC Studios through UKTV as well as English footballer, Rio Ferdinand. In July, Weare8 confirmed it had appointed Nine’s former B2B marketing strategy leader, Luke Robinson, on as chief marketing officer, as well as experienced media commercial leader, Danika Johnston, as chief commercial officer.  

WeAre8 is available now to download via Apple App Store or Google Play.

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