08: On influencer marketing and the power of perceived influence

Things We Thought We Knew

The dominance of digital media has given rise to superstars online being able to command money in exchange for promoting products for brands. There are two types of ‘influencers’ at the moment, those who influence culturally and do so because they are genuinely cool, (i.e. it comes organically and they love to do what they do) and those whose influence can be bought, i.e. they got popular on social media through other means and are now using their popularity to sell products. In episode 8, we discuss whether or not influencer marketing will survive in its current form, if it’s fraudulent in its claims and how brands and influencers can ensure that they are moving the needle on culture.