Your Weekly Creator Marketing Update🚀
17.03.2025
📈Unilever to boost influencer spend to win over ‘suspicious’ consumers
OVERVIEW
Before I start, I would highly recommend watching the full fireside chat on YouTube. There is a lot to unpack, but I will list some of the most key talking points here:
Influencer Marketing (I’m interpreting this to mean as department) is currently undergoing one of the biggest changes within the business.
Platform investment (it’s unclear to me if this is influencer only or includes other functions) will increase 20% from 30% to 50% of total spend.
They will increase the number of influencers they work with by 20x.
Unilever’s CEO believes that consumers are suspicious of corporate messaging coming from brands. In order to combat this, he thinks that creating marketing activity systems in which others can speak for your brand at scale is very important. He also notes that this will be one of the fundamental principles of their marketing strategy under his leadership.
He is aiming for global influencer placement, indicating that he wants at least one active influencer in each postal code / municipality in both Brazil and India going forward, which comes in at approximately +/- 24,000 individuals.
He understands that this will take a scaled machine of content creation to make it work, and they will be utilising artificial intelligence to get there.
Using their UBS measurement tools, which maps performance of their brands as it relates to brand equity, they believe that ROI on influencers is higher than any other viable option.
ANALYSIS
The Positives
There have been a lot of articles covering this interview, and I don’t want to spend too much time speaking about "this is the future of influencer marketing” or “see, influencer marketing isn’t dead”. Instead I’ve decided to look at some of the (positive) knock-on effects this could lead to:
Big news like this has the potential to deliver a ripple effect.
Hearing and seeing a senior executive come out and champion the importance of marketing activity systems in which the likes of influencers are front and centre provides the influencer industry with proper validation. Even though we are currently far away from a landscape where the majority of brands confidently allocate +/- 50% of their marketing budget to influencers, Unilever is setting a big precedent.
This news (and subsequent roll-out) could encourage senior leadership at other companies to follow suit, and potentially drive additional influencer investment at other brands across continents.
Increased importance could lead to increased opportunities
We’ve touched on this in a previous newsletter, but I am of the opinion that a lot of senior influencer marketing leadership functions within companies tend (not always!) not to come with a huge amount of (hands on) influencer experience/expertise.
I’ve also noticed that companies running smaller influencer marketing programmes have limited leadership positions available for people working within influencer specific functions.
However, knowing that Unilever is increasing its influencer spend as well as its importance internally at the company, could lead to an increase of senior leadership roles for people with influencer-specific background. This could benefit the entire industry in the long term.
The Challenges
I think that Unilever’s ambitious vision of the 20% increase in influencer-adjacent budget and an increase of 20x the volume of influencers will come with a set of significant challenges that will have to be covered in order for this to be successful:
Getting the internals right
Having worked at three different brands in the past five years within various team structures, I can say first hand that scaling influencer marketing at this level requires an incredibly solid foundation. This means the right people in the right place, making sure there is room (and money) for additional headcount to support the ambitions, and ensuring there is enough expertise as well as operational knowhow. In addition, it will be vital to ensure internal alignment on what exactly “we will work with 20x more creators” covers. Is the goal simply volume, or is there more at play?
Regardless, without a well-structured internal framework that is purpose built to deliver scale, achieving this level of growth efficiently will be one internal challenge that will need to be addressed.
Scaling the (right) tech
Leveraging technology (especially AI as noted in the article) will be crucial. Tasks such as influencer identification, outreach, contracting, briefing, and content approvals remain highly manual and extremely challenging to scale correctly. They can also be extremely costly if not done right.
I’m not aware of a plug-and-play tech-stack that would be able cover 100% of the task at hand, but I am aware of some emerging tools that are able to support and alleviate workloads in terms of influencer identification and the briefing/approval process. However, it’s my understanding that tools like this are not widely available (yet). Please do correct me if I’m wrong on this point and reach out!
Existing tools and platforms are equipped to support Unilever in achieving their goals, but will likely require a significant investment in headcount in order to be considered a sustainable viable option.
Maintaining Authenticity
We touched on this in last week’s newsletter. Automating authentic relationships with content creators is nearly an oxymoron. There will have to be some give-and-take between delivering a scaled machine of content creation and maintaining authentic relationships with trusted influencers, especially those that deliver content which is not deemed inauthentic or suspicious.
Dealing with increased scrutiny
Increased spend leads to increased accountability. Some companies are able to fly under the radar internally due to low spend and or expectations, but this interview has put the spotlight heavily on Unilever’s influencer programme. We have to bear in mind that increasing investment into influencers (more partnerships) does not automatically translate to increased performance - and looping back to my first point - the foundations of the programme will be key to its success.
🏭Industry Headlines
🎞️Creators and influencers on edge about Meta’s reported Reels spin-off
Meta's reported plan to spin off Instagram Reels into a standalone app has caused unease among creators and influencers, who fear potential disruptions to their brand partnerships and audience reach. Concerns include possible decreases in viewership and uncertainty about transferring existing followers to the new platform. Despite these apprehensions, Meta has not confirmed the spin-off, leaving creators and marketers in a state of speculation.
🚀Best Buy plans to launch digital storefronts for influencers and content creators
Best Buy plans to launch a program this spring that enables influencers and content creators to establish their own branded digital storefronts on its website. Announced by CEO Corie Barry during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call, the initiative aims to drive traffic, engagement, and sales, though specific details have yet to be disclosed. This move aligns Best Buy with other major retailers like Amazon and Walmart, which offer similar programs, and reflects the growing significance of influencer marketing in retail strategies.
🌠How cult brands like Crocs, Southwest see influencer marketing evolving
At the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference, executives from brands like Crocs and Southwest Airlines discussed the evolving role of influencer marketing in reaching younger audiences. They highlighted a shift in advertising budgets from traditional digital media to influencer collaborations, noting that these partnerships can achieve similar reach more efficiently. For example, Southwest's recent campaign featuring content creators led to a six-point increase in brand consideration within three months.
💻Influencer Marketing Jobs
👉Linqia >Influencer Marketing Campaign Associate
👉Haus Labs by Lady Gaga > Coordinator, Influencer Marketing
👉Santander Group > Director, Social Media & Influencer Marketing Strategy
👉Major League Baseball > Director, Influencer Strategy
