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- Influence Weekly 384 - Research Finds 54% Of Brands Planning Increased Influencer Marketing Spending In 2025
Influence Weekly 384 - Research Finds 54% Of Brands Planning Increased Influencer Marketing Spending In 2025
Sephora's Campaign With Love on the Spectrum’s Tanner Smith
Nii Ahene
April 11, 2025
Spotlight Stories
From Underpaid To In Control: How ChannelCore Is Enabling Creator Success Through AI-Driven Tools
WFA Research Finds 54% Of Brands Planning Increased Influencer Marketing Spending In 2025
Sephora's Campaign With Love on the Spectrum’s Tanner Smith
Study Reviews Social Media Performance Of Petfluencers Vs. Human Influencers
Great Reads
Executives are increasingly leveraging social media platforms to build personal brands, engage audiences directly, and showcase thought leadership as they vie for top corporate roles. Around 70% of Fortune 100 CEOs maintain active social accounts, posting insights and perspectives that cultivate authenticity and trust with stakeholders.
LinkedIn has emerged as an influential platform, allowing leaders to share business updates transparently, spotlight company culture, and spark dialogue within their industry. Striking the right tone through relatable yet discerning content is crucial for ambitious leaders aiming to curate an impactful digital persona that can drive their pathway to the C-suite in today's era of visible, authentic leadership.
In the creator economy, many content creators still lack the business infrastructure and tools to operate sustainable careers. ChannelCore is an AI-powered platform providing creators with negotiation assistance, rate intelligence based on real performance data, contract protection flagging unfair terms, deal management, financial projections, and expense tracking.
By empowering creators with data-driven business metrics beyond vanity metrics, ChannelCore aims to shift the industry towards authentic, long-term brand partnerships. Despite being pre-launch, ChannelCore has already garnered over 200 creators on its waitlist, validating strong market demand as it explores venture funding to scale its mission of giving creators ownership over their businesses in the projected $500 billion creator economy..
TikTok received a 75-day extension from the U.S. government to continue operating as negotiations continue over a potential deal to bring the app under American ownership. The extension comes after Beijing paused negotiations due to President Trump's implementation of new tariffs on Chinese imports. The proposed deal structure would give U.S. investors majority ownership while allowing TikTok's parent ByteDance to retain a minority stake.
However, national security concerns persist if ByteDance maintains control over TikTok's algorithm and data. Multiple parties have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok's U.S. operations, including AppLovin, Amazon, and others. The extended deadline provides more time for potential buyers to refine their bids amid the U.S.-China trade tensions complicating the deal.
Campaign Insights
The rise of employee-generated content (EGC) has evolved into a strategic marketing approach in 2025. According to a benchmark report, 72% of large organizations now use technology platforms to facilitate employee advocacy programs. EGC is becoming increasingly prevalent in B2B marketing, leveraging internal expertise to build brand awareness and thought leadership. AI tools are empowering employees across departments to create optimized content aligning with company messaging.
With efficient cost-per-click metrics and measurable ROI, EGC represents a cost-effective channel blending organic advocacy with paid amplification. Leadership involvement is crucial, with executives setting the tone and motivating participation. As EGC converges with thought leadership initiatives, employees are emerging as micro-influencers in their industries, benefiting from formalized professional development focused on personal branding. In summary, authentic employee voices have become an integral part of brand marketing strategies in 2025.
Ubisoft invested $2.1 million in an influencer marketing campaign to promote its latest release, Assassin's Creed Shadows. According to leaked data, the campaign engaged creators across Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok, generating 179.4 million views and 11.9 million sponsored views. Twitch streamer HasanAbi allegedly received $76,510, making him one of the highest-paid influencers.
While the figures align with industry norms for a AAA title, questions arise about the campaign's direct impact on sales versus shaping perception during the game's turbulent rollout after multiple delays. As Ubisoft navigates financial pressures, the debate continues on the optimal allocation of marketing budgets in an era where digital voices increasingly sway a game's success.
Lenovo and Intel partnered with social content company Portal A to create an immersive "Quest for the Impossible" campaign that blended physical and digital experiences. Two popular gaming creators, Tommyinnit and EYstreem, competed at a medieval castle in England, with one treated as royalty and the other as a peasant based on a fan Minecraft scavenger hunt.
The experience integrated multiple components - a livestream element allowing audiences to follow along in real-time, YouTube videos from each creator's perspective, and a brand film. Portal A strategically connected the physical castle setting with digital recreations and multi-platform content to drive meaningful reach among the Gen Z gaming audience while building brand affinity. Early results show over 14 million views and 700k+ engagements across creator and brand channels.
QVC, the legacy home shopping network, has announced a major partnership with TikTok to launch 24/7 live shopping streams on the popular social platform. The deal aims to transform QVC into a "live social shopping company" by leveraging TikTok's massive user base of over 170 million in the U.S. QVC will feature original content showcasing its brands, products and host-creators in a continuous shoppable live video experience.
The move is part of QVC's broader strategy to drive $1.5 billion in revenue from social media and streaming over the next three years as traditional TV viewership declines. However, the pivot comes amid financial challenges, with QVC reporting a 6% revenue drop and $1.3 billion operating loss in Q4 2024 compared to prior year. The TikTok partnership positions QVC to integrate with the creator economy through collaborations with the over 74,000 TikTok creators who have already featured QVC products.
According to new research from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), 54% of multinational brands plan to increase their influencer marketing budgets in 2025, reflecting the growing importance of this channel. As budgets rise, brands are adopting more sophisticated strategies, partnering with specialized agencies to navigate the complex creator ecosystem.
Over 70% now establish contracts with influencers and have formal policies to mitigate risks. Mid-tier and micro-influencers are favored over macro-influencers for maximizing investment. Long-term partnerships and ambassador programs are increasingly popular. In response, the WFA is launching global guidance on transparency, authenticity, responsibility, personalization, and compliance for influencer marketing best practices.
Integrated Content Agency Launches Twitch Reality Competition In Search Of ‘Next Big Streaming Star’
Integrated marketing agency Integrated Content Agency (ICA) is launching "NEXT" - an interactive reality competition to find the "next big streaming star" on Twitch. The multi-platform series spans three chapters and features elimination challenges across popular streaming categories like gaming, art, and music.
With a $75,000 prize, mentors from top streamers, and Interactive viewer voting, NEXT aims to deliver authentic branded content by blending entertainment with creator marketing. As competition intensifies in the streaming space, innovative branded shows could drive engagement while discovering new talent. ICA's past branded streaming events have amassed over 150 million views, showcasing the potential for this emerging marketing strategy.
Hypothesis, the influencer marketing arm of entertainment company Only Much Louder (OML), has won the influencer marketing mandate for Indian electric vehicle maker Ather Energy. The partnership aims to build brand affinity and community engagement among Gen Z and Millennial consumers through data-driven, creator-first content across social and streaming platforms.
Hypothesis utilizes proprietary AI technology to evaluate over 100 data points and facilitate influencer discovery, campaign management and analytics for performance tracking. OML CEO Tusharr Kumar highlighted the importance of crafting authentic narratives in today's crowded digital landscape.
This win comes as OML expands the Hypothesis platform internationally to Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and the United States after establishing a presence in managing talent beyond just musicians. Ather Energy cited the transformed influencer marketing ecosystem in India as a powerful avenue aligning with their marketing goals.
The collaboration leverages Hypothesis' tech capabilities to design tailored, community-driven campaigns enhancing Ather's customer connections. With a focus on merging data intelligence and creativity, the partnership aims to drive impact for the electric vehicle brand's journey.
Sephora's recent influencer marketing campaign featuring Tanner Smith from Netflix's "Love on the Spectrum" was a resounding success. Smith, an autistic influencer with over 500,000 Instagram followers, perfectly aligned with Sephora's inclusive brand values. The heartwarming video showcased Smith shopping for his family, highlighting Sephora's diverse product range while breaking gender stereotypes.
Launching on Autism Awareness Day, the campaign authentically represented autism and promoted Smith's advocacy. By featuring a different face, Sephora expanded its demographic reach. The authentic, purpose-driven campaign demonstrated the power of influencer marketing rooted in shared values and representation, providing a model for brands to emulate.
Interesting People
Kat James, a seasoned beauty industry professional, built a following of one million on TikTok by teaching makeup techniques to an underserved demographic of women aged 45-75. After her Malibu beauty store closed during the pandemic, the 50-year-old embraced TikTok, leveraging decades of expertise to provide straightforward educational content.
Her audience engagement directly informed her content strategy, leading to her launching her own skincare line targeting mature skin. Despite initial doubts about starting over, James views her success as a second chance, proving expertise and resilience transcend age in the creator economy.
The NCAA's landmark $2.8 billion settlement to compensate athletes for name, image and likeness rights faced scrutiny at a final court hearing. LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, a millionaire influencer, objected that the formula undervalued her potential earnings. Judge Wilken heard concerns about roster cuts, NIL valuations, and future athlete participation but indicated the settlement will likely proceed with some modifications to address objections.
The deal allows schools to share revenue with athletes and pay $2.5 billion to those who played from 2016-2024 before new NIL rules. While critics argue it upends college sports, Wilken views it as a viable path forward amid legal turmoil over athlete compensation.
PlaqueBoyMax, a 21-year-old YouTuber, is blurring the lines between influencer and artist in the music industry. Through his Twitch series "In the Booth," he livestreams the process of creating songs with rappers, combining content creation with music production. His debut EP "LONDON," featuring collaborations with UK rappers recorded during these livestreams, represents his transition from reactor to creator.
Max's rise exemplifies the increasingly murky boundary between artist and influencer, where music-making becomes content fodder and discourse shapes engagement. As influencers encroach on the artistic realm, viewers must discern genuine creative expression from attention-grabbing gimmicks. Max's experiment challenges the traditional roles in the rap ecosystem, potentially paving the way for a future where content creators dominate both music and its surrounding narratives.
Brianna Doe, founder of influencer marketing agency Verbatim, is helping brands build trust and authentic connections in an oversaturated market. Verbatim takes an educational partnership approach, coaching clients on influencer strategies while executing campaigns.
Doe emphasizes that trust, transparency, aligning with customer values, and showcasing the human element are key for brands to differentiate themselves. She advocates focusing on meaningful metrics tied to business outcomes rather than just engagement.
With a background as both an in-house marketer and creator herself, Doe brings dual perspectives that enhance campaign development. As the creator economy evolves with more B2B influencers and hybrid models, Doe believes differentiation through trust-building will become even more crucial for brands and creators alike. Building and maintaining consumer trust remains the core challenge in this saturated era of endless options.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive has vowed support for social media influencers who promote the city through live streams, following YouTube star iShowSpeed's recent visit that drew large viewership but missed opportunities to showcase signature attractions. The statement aims to leverage influencer marketing as a tourism strategy, encouraging creators to experience and broadcast Hong Kong while offering government assistance.
This aligns with China's approach of using influencers for cultural diplomacy to provide alternative narratives to foreign audiences. Key points include iShowSpeed's over 150,000 peak concurrent viewers during Hong Kong streams, criticism that his itinerary failed to highlight iconic locations, and the Chief Executive urging all residents to promote their home whenever possible. The 200-word brief covers the administration's stance, iShowSpeed's visit context, viewership metrics, public response, and regional strategy regarding influencer marketing.
A recent study published in the Journal of Advertising Research reveals that animal influencers, known as 'petfluencers', can generate stronger consumer engagement and willingness to pay compared to human influencers. The driving factor is their perceived sincerity. Across experiments, including Instagram ads, content featuring petfluencers achieved higher reach, triple the engagement rate at one-third the cost per engagement, and increased willingness to pay by over 40% for endorsed products like wine.
The study suggests petfluencers offer advantages like lower costs, transcending cultural barriers, and avoiding influencer scandals. As the pet industry grows along with influencer marketing, specialized petfluencer platforms are emerging to facilitate precise matching between brands and animal influencers based on detailed data points like breed, age, and audience demographics. The findings highlight opportunities for brands to leverage petfluencers' perceived sincerity, especially for skeptical audiences, while considering factors like product congruence and audience propensity to anthropomorphize when crafting marketing messages.
Industry News
Billion Dollar Boy, a global creator agency, and FiveTwoNine, their creator platform, have launched The Creator Fund. This $20,000 grant program provides 20 free passes worth $1,300 each for independent creators to attend the prestigious Cannes Lions Festival. The initiative aims to give creators access to industry events where major decisions are made.
US and UK-based creators with at least 20,000 engaged followers can apply until April 15th, with winners selected by an independent jury of experts. The fund coincides with Cannes Lions rebranding its influencer category as Social & Creator Lions. Beyond Cannes, the fund plans to expand to other major events, with Billion Dollar Boy seeking brand partners. The agency will also host "The Creator Era" event at Cannes to explore the future of the creator economy. By providing access, the fund addresses lack of creator representation in key industry spaces.
Meta is expanding its Teen Account protections to Facebook and Messenger, adding new restrictions for younger Instagram users. Building on last year's Instagram Teen Accounts launch, users under 16 will now require parental approval to access certain features like going Live or viewing messages with nudity. The move follows positive reception to the Instagram protections, with 97% of teens aged 13-15 keeping default restrictions.
While safety advocates welcome the changes, some call for more comprehensive measures to prevent harmful content. The updates coincide with the UK's new Online Safety Act requiring platforms to better protect minors. Meta aims to create safer online environments as teen social media usage remains high, with the latest Pew data showing 46% of U.S. teens reporting being online "almost constantly."
Pixability, a tech company focused on YouTube advertising optimization, has developed a Gen AI Contextual Targeting (GCS) platform to help brands maximize their YouTube ad spend. The platform ingests massive amounts of data on YouTube content, leveraging brand safety technology, historical performance data, and strategic partnerships to curate highly relevant channel lists for advertisers.
Through AI-powered curation, GCS aims to reduce wasted ad impressions on unsuitable content, while connecting brands with engaged audiences across YouTube's expansive creator ecosystem, including mid-sized creators often overlooked. By addressing the complexity of targeting on YouTube's scale, GCS enables more efficient and effective YouTube campaigns.
Key benefits include transparency, high-quality data inputs, privacy compliance, and the ability to drive meaningful audience engagement. As YouTube's growth accelerates across content formats and distribution channels, Pixability's AI-driven targeting solution positions itself as an essential tool for navigating YouTube's advertising opportunities within the booming creator economy.
Senator Mark Warner is challenging the Trump administration's extended delay in enforcing TikTok's legally mandated Chinese divestiture, calling it "a clear violation of the law." The Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair criticized the April 4 decision granting ByteDance an additional 75 days beyond the already-extended January deadline. In a letter to President Trump, Warner questioned the proposed deal structure that would allow ByteDance to maintain a 20% stake in TikTok's U.S. operations while continuing involvement with the algorithm and technology development.
The remaining ownership would be split between new outside investors (50%) and ByteDance's existing U.S. investors (30%). Warner expressed alarm that negotiations appear driven by "ad hoc" White House processes rather than the inter-agency security review mandated by the bipartisan law. The situation has grown more complex as ByteDance representatives reportedly told the White House that China won't approve any deal until trade and tariff negotiations occur.
Linqia, an influencer marketing agency, has launched a new solution called IRL that enables brands to create immersive in-person consumer experiences, while simultaneously capturing content for digital channels. IRL offers three activation models - partnering with creators at major events, producing standalone experiential moments like pop-ups, and facilitating "on-the-street" engagements with creators interviewing consumers.
Linqia provides end-to-end production support, capturing high-quality content and rapidly editing it for social deployment. The agency cites the growing demand for "on-the-street" authentic content as a driver behind this offering. While utilizing innovative experiential tactics, Linqia measures campaign effectiveness through traditional metrics like engagement, brand lift, and sales impact. IRL aims to amplify the reach of experiential marketing by leveraging influencers to share branded experiences with their vast follower bases.
Social Tip, a new platform founded by former BrewDog CEO James Watt, aims to empower everyday consumers to monetize their genuine product recommendations on social media. The UK-based app allows brands to pay users with even small followings to post authentic content about purchases. Social Tip's AI algorithm determines rewards based on reach, engagement, and content quality, verifying purchases to ensure authenticity.
With 75% of social media users on private accounts, the platform uniquely accesses this untapped marketing channel. Watt positions Social Tip as complementing influencer marketing by operating at scale across numerous micro-influencers, leveraging data showing people are more likely to purchase based on peer recommendations over traditional advertising. As brands seek community-driven strategies amidst declining ad trust, Social Tip offers a competitive advantage by monetizing customer advocacy.
YouTube is rolling out a suite of five new creation tools for its Shorts platform this spring, aimed at enhancing editing capabilities and strengthening its position in the competitive short-form video market. Key upgrades include a more powerful video editor allowing precise timing adjustments, rearranging clips, and adding timed text; a beat-syncing tool to automatically align clips with music; upgraded templates with streamlined uploading and automatic creator attribution; new customizable "image stickers" and AI-generated stickers; and changes to how views are counted based on creator feedback.
With over 2 billion monthly logged-in Shorts users globally and significant monetization opportunities for creators, these updates represent YouTube's efforts to meet evolving creator needs and maintain its platform dominance amid stiff competition in the lucrative short-form video space.
Snapchat is expanding its Agency Partner Program to help drive better results for advertisers working with agencies. The expanded program includes a new tiered badging system with "Strategic Agency Partner" for top performers and "Agency Partner" for high-growth agencies. Qualifying agencies gain access to dedicated support, training resources, special offers, and visibility in Snapchat's partner directory.
The move comes as Snapchat research shows creator-led ads capture viewer attention 12% longer than standard brand ads, highlighting the impact creators can have on campaign performance. With 71% of consumers valuing creator opinions during purchase consideration, Snapchat is empowering agencies to leverage this opportunity more effectively.
Social agency topictree's technology platform has launched a new feature called Content Gap Analysis to help marketers identify missed keyword opportunities where competitors rank highly but they do not. This feature builds on topictree's existing capabilities for content ideation (Topic Finder) and performance monitoring (Rank Tracker) by analyzing competitor rankings across Google, YouTube, and TikTok to uncover blind spots.
The key capabilities include identifying high-value keywords where competitors outperform, comparing multiple competitors simultaneously, and merging data across platforms. By uncovering these opportunities, brands can adjust their content strategies to challenge competitors more effectively. The launch comes amid growing adoption of video marketing by brands seeking to simplify messaging and boost awareness.
A new wave of influencers-turned-founders are launching fashion and beauty brands, aiming to avoid the pitfalls of their predecessors. Unlike the splashy, investor-backed influencer brands of the past, this generation is prioritizing creative control and slow, sustainable growth. Many are self-funding and eschewing traditional retail partnerships, instead building their brands organically through social media content.
While sacrificing big marketing budgets, these founders leverage their deep understanding of their audiences and content creation skills. With investor interest returning, creators aim to chart a middle path - leveraging their influence while maintaining independence to build lasting fashion businesses.
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MrBeast's company Beast Industries generated $473 million in revenue in 2024, expecting to nearly double that to $899 million in 2025. His net worth is tied largely to his stake in Beast Industries, making him a billionaire on paper despite having under $1 million in cash. Beast Industries spans media like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video, consumer products like Feastables chocolate and Lunchly packaged foods, and software platforms.
It aims to expand further into animation, toys, gaming, loyalty programs, fintech, and a creator marketplace to help other influencers replicate MrBeast's success. The company forecasts revenue of $4.8 billion by 2029 through ambitious growth plans across its business lines.
Vimeo has launched a new subscription streaming platform called Vimeo Streaming to cater to creators looking to monetize their content. The platform offers tools like flexible subscription tiers, digital rights management, event ticketing, merchandise integration, and AI-powered multilingual translation across 28 languages.
It aims to provide creators with enterprise-grade capabilities for audience analytics, monetization, and security at a lower cost compared to traditional platforms. By expanding into the creator economy space, Vimeo is positioning itself to capitalize on the growing trend of independent content creators seeking ways to directly monetize their audiences.
TikTok Shop has rapidly grown into the eighth largest beauty retailer in the US, generating $1.8 billion in sales last year. Its viral influencer marketing and seamless purchasing experience have made it a prime launch platform for new brands and product drops even as the app faces an uncertain future amid a potential ban or forced sale in the US.
While some brands have contingency plans, many remain bullish on TikTok's staying power, banking on the halo effect driving sales across channels. As the Apr 5 deadline for a deal looms, brands and influencers brace for potential disruption while still prioritizing TikTok's unique ability to expose products to millions of engaged beauty fans.
Social Tip: Empowering Everyday Consumers By Leveraging Brand Love As A Competitive Advantage