Chloé Meley, Maggie Shiltagh and Rachel Phua
5 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that’s fantastic news.
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“We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga-owner Primo Brands Corp.’s Chief Executive Officer Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.”
Primo Brands, which wasn’t affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer co-signs. Handbag-maker Coach, once synonymous with mall discounts, has become a Gen-Z status symbol and saw sales soar thanks to TikTok influencers expanding their collection of purses adorned with little cherry or pretzel charms. With economic turmoil squeezing ad budgets, content creators are seen as better value than other marketing areas.
“While it’s true we are seeing brands begin to pull back in marketing expenditure as a whole, the creator economy is surging,” said Kenny Gold, head of social, content and influencer at Deloitte Digital. The global influencer marketing industry is projected to grow 36% between 2024 and 2025 to reach $33 billion, Statista data shows.
“This year will be the first year that advertising revenue on user generated content and platforms actually outpaces the ad revenue on professionally produced content,” said Kate Scott-Dawkins, WPP Media’s global president of business intelligence. “That’s a big deal.”
Unilever Plc’s recently appointed CEO, Fernando Fernandez, said he will hire 20 times more influencers as part of a social-first marketing strategy because consumers are “suspicious” of corporate branding. The owner of Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise plans to dedicate as much as 50% of its ad budget to social media, up from 30% before.
While fashion, beauty and accessories lead the way in employing influencer marketing, the strategy is gaining ground among consumer goods companies amid economic turbulence who are increasingly relying on influencers to position their products as premium, said Ruben Schreurs, CEO of media analytics firm Ebiquity Plc.
