Even with the turbulent economy in recent months, marketers haven't stopped spending on influencers. Influencer marketing spending is expected to grow 12 percent to nearly $4 trillion by 2022.
"As the economy continues to grow, brands are spending money on weather, and influencer marketing is on the rise," said Mike Mayhoe, director of marketing for ad agency Laundry Services. "In a recession, influencers become a profitable game. For one investment, you get content, distribution and valuable subscriptions to your product."
As the creative economy continues to grow, brands are beginning to build in-house teams using a data-driven approach to create compelling campaigns and measure their impact.
Behind the most successful influencer marketing are leaders who lead these campaigns.
They include Bumble talent manager and influencer Christina Hardy, who worked on a campaign promoting 50 college athletes to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Gender Discrimination in Education Act, and Merrick Tan-Dickerson, who recently joined Amazon's The Drop. Head of Target Talent Partners and has already launched several design collaborations with key influencers.
What does a successful influencer marketing campaign look like?As brand collaborations become more common, marketers are learning what makes a successful campaign.
Marketers, managers, and creatives alike agree that the best campaigns don't feel forced. The rise of Tik Tok, which broadcasts content that isn't necessarily polished or rated, adds to the need for real collaboration.
"I think [a successful campaign] has to be very real, raw and organic," says Tyler McDonald, who handles influencer marketing for Paxun. "The relationship between an influencer and a brand is important because Generation Z is especially smart. They know when an influencer is coming to a brand because of a reason, not because they really love and trust the brand."
(Interestingly, one of Paxun's current agents is virtual agent Michaela, a character created by AI that MacDonald says is linked to Paxun's interest in the metaverse and the Internet.)
It's also important to approach sponsorship deals as true partnerships, say industry experts.
Molly Tracy, founder of talent management firm Vray, says the most effective campaigns her clients run are those where they have the freedom to speak to their audience in their own way.
"Creative freedom is very important," Tracy said. "We've noticed that campaigns that are too rigid from a core message or content perspective don't work because you're asking the creative to get off the wheel."
In its second list of the year, Insider recognized 16 influential marketers who created the most innovative and effective campaigns of the past year.
For this list, we use a combination of our own reports, reader nominations and industry experts. We select people who form the most successful partnerships with social media influencers; Plan the most creative campaigns; And influence influential people. This information is correct as of September 8, 2022.
Influential marketing leaders are listed alphabetically by brand;