• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, May 19, 2016

As with all “talent,” dealing with influencers, their egos, and their many demands can be tricky for brands big and small. Enter middlemen like Jeremy Simon -- Director of Influencer & Partnership Marketing at social agency Attention Global --who consider themselves to be influencer whisperers. 

For starters, “Everything has to be beneficial with the bigger influencers,” Simon told attendees of OMMA Video, on Thursday. Though, that doesn’t necessarily mean that every partnership is a paid one.

In many cases, it’s more about offering “creative experiences” like taking them to a big sporting event or getting them in the driver’s seat a fun, new car.

Much of the time, however, “They just see money, and they go for it,” Simon said of influencers.

To train them to think in broader terms, Simon says he does a lot of “coaching … and convincing them that not everything can be a paid opportunity.”

Among other go-to euphemisms, Simon says brands “borrow equity” from brand influencer.