• by Fern Siegel , Yesterday

The Abbi Agency, an integrated-marketing agency, has launched an influencer-marketing service unit.

The first client is Kevin Ashton, a nationally recognized chef and influencer, who has selected the agency as his talent-management partner. After 35 years in the restaurant business, Ashton now cooks for the Pi Beta Phi sorority at the University of Nevada, Reno, and shares his recipes on TikTok.

Ashton boasts a strong online community, with 4.9 million TikTok followers, 1 million on Instagram, 197,000 on Facebook and 1.4 million on YouTube.

“Food brings people together, and my goal has always been to make cooking feel welcoming and doable for everyone,” said Ashton. “The Abbi Agency understands that mission along with how to protect it as we scale.”

Brittany Bober will lead the influencer practice. She has developed strategic partnerships with influencers for the Nevada Health Link, New Mexico Tourism Department, Pacific Surfliner and Visit Camarillo. The agency helps clients leverage the voices of creators to achieve their business goals, while helping influencers enhance their brand identities and secure added revenue. 

“The industry is moving fast, and creators need partners who can protect their voice while opening doors to bigger, better opportunities. With content creators being an essential and growing part of today’s marketing mix, I’m excited to help champion them,” said Bober.

The Reno-based Abbi's client list includes Aramark Destinations, Carnival Cruise Lines, Visit Carmel and Google.