What is a pair of heels worth to Instagram? The social photo service is getting ready to launch its advertising offering to brands after testing the system with a select few and securing a $40 million spending commitment from Omnicom.
But this week I showed how, for marketers keen on Instagram, there is a far more pressing concern. By not exerting any controls or clampdowns, the service is allowing fakers to squat brands’ precious identities, using fake Instagram accounts to pass themselves off as genuine companies — and stealing thousands of followers in the process.