What "verified" means here
A badge is worth nothing if you cannot see what is behind it. This is the whole checklist, including the parts we cannot check and do not pretend to.
Verification here is a person doing a list of things, not a score from a tool. We do not have a data partnership with Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, and we will not imply that we do. What we have is public data, the creator's own analytics screenshots, and a conversation. That turns out to be enough to catch almost everything that goes wrong on a small campaign.
Checks on every creator
All of these happen before a creator appears on a shortlist. The starred ones are mandatory: a creator who fails any of them is not listed, whatever their follower count.
- Account ownership confirmed
The creator replies from the email on the application and completes a one-time confirmation we send to the account itself, so we know we are talking to the person who controls it.
- Recent content reviewed by a person
We read the last 10–12 posts: what they actually make, how often, whether past branded posts were disclosed, and whether the comments read like a real audience.
- Engagement checked against the tier
We calculate engagement rate across recent posts excluding giveaways and viral outliers, and compare it with the normal band for that follower count. Rates far above or far below the band get a closer look, not an automatic pass or fail.
- Follower growth pattern reviewed
We look for sudden step-changes in follower count that do not line up with a post that performed. Bought followers usually arrive in a straight vertical line.
- Audience location matches the market
For campaigns aimed at Canada or the US, we ask the creator for a screenshot of their audience geography from their own analytics. If most of the audience cannot buy the product, the creator is a poor match no matter how good the rate looks.
- Brand safety pass
A human scan of recent content for anything a client would not want their product next to. We say what we found rather than applying a secret score.
- Rates on the record
The creator gives us a rate for each format they deliver, including what happens if the brand wants to run the content as an ad. Nothing is quoted to a brand that the creator has not agreed to first.
- Willing to sign a contract
Deliverables, deadline, disclosure, usage rights, exclusivity and payment terms in writing before anything is made. A creator who will not sign does not go on the roster.
- Can be paid properly
The creator can issue an invoice and receive payment in CAD or USD. We confirm this before a brand commits, because a payment problem after delivery damages both sides.
Checks on every brand
This runs in the other direction too. A creator taking a first paid deal is exposed: they make the content, then hope the invoice gets paid. Before we put a brief in front of any creator, we check the brand.
- Real, operating business
A live website with a real product, and a registered business name where one applies.
- A named person, on a company email
We need someone accountable for approvals. Free-email-only enquiries get a conversation first.
- Budget confirmed in writing
The brand states what it will spend before we approach a single creator. We do not send creators to fish for a budget that does not exist.
- Deliverables and usage agreed up front
What is being made, where it runs, for how long. Usage rights are priced at the start, never asked for free afterwards.
- Payment terms accepted in writing
The brand agrees a payment date before anything is made, and agrees that the creator is paid on that date whether or not the brand’s own customers, agency or finance cycle have come through. We do not write pay-when-paid clauses into creator contracts, and we will not run a campaign for a brand that insists on one.
What we cannot check
Being straight about the limits is part of the standard.
- Audience data we cannot see. Age, gender and location splits come from the creator's own analytics screen. We can tell when a screenshot has been altered; we cannot audit the platform's numbers.
- Future behaviour. Verification says a creator was legitimate and reliable when we checked. It does not promise a campaign will perform, and nobody can promise that honestly.
- Sophisticated engagement fraud. Bought followers in a straight line are obvious. A well-run engagement pod is not always. If something looks off we say so in the shortlist notes rather than quietly dropping the creator.
- Anything on a private account. If we cannot see the work, we cannot vouch for it.
How a creator comes off the roster
Verification is not permanent. A creator is removed, and any brand mid-campaign with them is told, if they miss agreed deadlines without a reason, post sponsored content without the required disclosure, will not sign a contract they had already agreed to, or if their audience numbers change in a way that does not hold up. Creators can also pause or leave at any time by emailing us, with no notice period and no penalty.
Disclosure is not optional
Every paid or gifted placement we arrange carries a clear disclosure. In Canada the Competition Bureau treats undisclosed paid endorsement as misleading advertising, and Ad Standards guidance calls for disclosure that is upfront and plain rather than buried in hashtags. For campaigns reaching the United States, the FTC endorsement guides apply as well. This protects the creator more than it protects us, and it is not negotiable on a brief we run.
Nothing here is a trade secret.
If another agency will not tell you how they verify, that is the answer. Send a brief and check our work.