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The document doesn’t provide guidance as to what this would look like to the end user, except that the influencer would post to the City of Saskatoon’s Instagram account, Saskatoon Transit’s Twitter feed and even use Snapchat filters.

“Ongoing thought leadership is expected throughout the campaign,” the RFP document states. The successful proponent will have to show that they’ve carried out a few successful social media campaigns in the past.

Influencers seem to be blurring the lines between genuine name-dropping and advertising and it’s often more subtle than a celebrity endorsement or a traditional ad.

David Williams, an associate professor of marketing with the Edwards School of Business, has through research found a few common attributes among influencers: they appear to have expertise in a particular field, they’ve built up a significant social media following and they seem to be “regular” people.

They may voluntarily mention brands, or marketers may pay them to mention their brands.

This campaign comes as the city has seen increased growth in transit ridership: last year, based on all electronic pass swipes, ridership was at 9.4 million rides or 33.7 rides per capita.

It was sign of a steady increase from a post-lockout low of 8.2 million in 2014, the StarPhoenix reported earlier this year.

The city declined a request for an interview about the RFP. Spokesman Mark Rogstad said in an email that the city doesn’t want to “negatively impact the fairness element that is a pre-requisite for every public procurement process.”