Unilever’s Big Bet on Influencers: What It Means for Modern Marketing

As a fractional CMO advising companies across industries—from CPG to tech to healthcare—I’ve seen firsthand how marketing strategy is undergoing a radical transformation. The latest example? Unilever, one of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, has announced a seismic shift under new CEO Fernando Fernandez: it will allocate 50% of its media budget to social channels and expand its influencer partnerships twenty-fold. In other words, Unilever is moving to an “influencer-first” strategy, planning to work with 20 times more influencers than before.

This bold pivot underscores a broader trend I’m seeing in my work with clients: social media voices are rapidly gaining influence while traditional advertising loses its edge. Why would a global advertiser pour half its ad spend into TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and even LinkedIn influencers? And what can other brands—from household names to healthcare organizations—learn from this strategy? Wasn't this the strategic pivot 10 years ago? Not now - in 2025?

In this analysis, we’ll break down the reasons behind Unilever’s move (rising PPC costs, changing consumer behavior, trust and ROI factors, platform advantages) and compare it to how other major brands are embracing influencer-driven marketing. We’ll also examine how influencer marketing has evolved in the past five years – in reach, authenticity, platform dynamics (think TikTok virality, Instagram Reels, LinkedIn thought leaders), and content expectations. Finally, we’ll consider whether this is a sound strategy for brands today and discuss the implications for marketers, especially in healthcare and other regulated industries.

Unilever’s Influencer-First Pivot: A Sign of the Times

Unilever’s decision to double down on influencers is a striking indication of where marketing is headed. Under CEO Fernando Fernandez’s new plan, Unilever will boost social media spend from 30% to 50% of its total ad budget and massively increase the number of influencers it works with. Fernandez explicitly recognizes that consumers today are skeptical of polished corporate advertising – “brands, by definition, are met with skepticism when their messages come directly from corporations,” he noted, emphasizing that “influencers, celebrities, TikTokers – these are the voices that matter.'" Instead of the brand speaking for itself, Unilever wants others (trusted creators and advocates) to speak for the brand at scale.

This strategy isn’t just about more influencers, but about more authentic and local connections. Fernandez aims to reach consumers in every community: “There are 19,000 zip codes in India and 5,764 municipalities in Brazil. I want at least one influencer in each of them. In some, I want 100." The goal is hyper-local influence – having a trusted local voice for every neighborhood, campus, or niche group. This is a huge shift from the old model of one-size-fits-all mass advertising. As one analysis noted, Unilever’s plan reflects “the hyper-local power of influencer marketing,” recognizing that even in large markets, micro-communities and peer influence drive engagement.

Unilever’s own recent campaigns demonstrate why the company is betting big on social. In 2023, Unilever partnered with TikTok on a #CleanTok content series (leveraging a popular cleaning/DIY hashtag) that garnered 98.5 billion views in its first year, staggering reach – unattainable through conventional ads alone – proved the potential of creative influencer content to capture global attention. With over 3.4 billion people using Unilever products daily, the company sees influencer-led marketing as a way to rekindle brand “desirability at scale” by meeting consumers where they are and in the voices they trust.

Importantly, Unilever is not acting in isolation. Its pivot signals a broader trend across industries toward an “influencer-first” approach. As we discuss next, several converging factors explain why brands are reallocating budgets from traditional ads to influencer partnerships and what it means for modern marketing.

Why Brands Are Shifting to Influencers: What It Means for Modern Marketing

Multiple forces are driving Unilever and other companies to embrace influencers and social-media marketing. Here are some of the key reasons behind this strategic shift:

• Rising Digital Ad Costs (and Diminishing Returns): As a fractional CMO working across industries like healthcare and CPG, I’ve seen rising digital advertising costs eat into marketing ROI for both large enterprises and small businesses. The data bear this out: Google Ads cost-per-click rates climbed by around 10% on average in 2024, with 86% of industries facing higher search ad prices. Social media advertising costs are surging as well – TikTok’s CPM (cost per thousand impressions) jumped 90% since 2021amg.team – meaning brands now pay significantly more to reach the same audiences. These increases directly erode return on ad spend, forcing marketers to spend more for each lead or sale. One marketing executive noted that paid media is more costly and often delivers less impact, prompting brands to seek . This pressure is being felt across the board, squeezing marketing budgets and causing a strategic re‑think of where to allocate spend.

  
  

  Pivoting to Influencer Marketing: In response, many brands are exploring more efficient channels like influencer marketing to stretch their budgets. Influencer partnerships often prove more cost-effective: one analysis found every $1 spent on influencer campaigns drives up to $5.78 in revenue. Similarly, 66% of brands reported that creator content delivers higher ROI than traditional digital ads. In my client engagements, I’ve also observed that authentic micro-influencer collaborations can generate more engagement and sales lift than comparably priced ad buys. It’s no surprise, then, that nearly 60% of marketers plan to boost influencer spending in 2025. Both major enterprises and nimble small businesses are reallocating budgets to influencer partnerships, seeking greater ROI in an environment where every marketing dollar must work harder.

• Shifting Consumer Engagement Habits: Today’s consumers are spending more time on social platforms and less on traditional media. A staggering 94% of consumers engage with a social platform at least monthly, and on average people devote 37% of their online time to social media. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have become primary sources of entertainment, information, and product discovery. Since 2020, the number of consumers finding new products via social media ads has jumped by 9%, while discovery via cinema and print ads declined by double digits. In short, attention has shifted to social channels, and brands need to be present there. Social media isn’t a side channel anymore – “it’s the core of modern marketing,” By investing in influencer content, brands meet consumers on the platforms where they now live and interact daily.

  
  

• Mistrust of Traditional Advertising vs. Authentic Influencers: Years of banner ads, pop-ups, and perfectly crafted TV commercials have bred a growing mistrust of traditional advertising – especially among younger generations. Consumers (and Gen Z in particular) value transparency and authenticity over glossy, salesy messaging, This is a big reason Fernandez is shifting Unilever’s spend: “Today, corporate messages are met with skepticism,” and people prefer to hear about brands from relatable voices they trust. Influencers – from mega-celebrities down to niche micro-influencers – have built loyal followings by being real and engaging, so their recommendations carry more credibility than a corporate ad. In a recent survey, 77% of people said they prefer content from real social media influencers over scripted advertisements from brands. Moreover, 41% of Gen Z consumers trust a product recommendation from an influencer over one from a brand’s own ad. Even celebrity endorsements have evolved: teens say they trust YouTube creators 70% more than traditional celebrities. This trust gap is crucial – partnering with influencers allows brands to borrow authentic voices and rebuild credibility with an audience that tunes out overt ads.

  
  

• Improved ROI Tracking and Performance of Influencer Campaigns: In the early days of influencer marketing, many saw it as a fuzzy brand awareness play, hard to measure compared to clicks or sales from ads. But measurement tools have rapidly improved, making influencer ROI more transparent. Marketers now deploy unique promo codes, affiliate links, and advanced analytics to directly attribute traffic and sales to specific creators. As a result, conversions and sales are now top success metrics for influencer campaigns – 46% of influencer campaigns were measured by sign-ups/downloads and 44% by sales in 2024, both figures up sharply (~12–14 percentage points) from 2023. This shows growing pressure (and ability) to demonstrate financial impact from influencer programs. New technologies like AI-driven analytics further help brands track engagement and optimize spend: companies are using AI tools to analyze influencer content performance in real time, correlating posts with sales lift and refining strategy accordingly. When done right, influencer marketing can deliver impressive returns – on average, businesses earn $5.78 in media value for every $1 spent on influencers, and the best campaigns see up to a $20:1 return. It’s no surprise 89% of marketers say influencer marketing’s ROI is as good as or better than other channels. With clearer data to back it up, CMOs are more comfortable shifting budget here.

  
  

• Platform-Specific Advantages and Reach: Social platforms offer unique capabilities that traditional media can’t match, and brands are taking advantage. TikTok’s algorithm, for example, can catapult an unknown creator’s video to millions of viewers overnight if it resonates – enabling viral reach without massive ad spend. Instagram’s newer features like Reels and Stories similarly allow content to spread beyond just an influencer’s followers. (On Instagram, Reels content is actively pushed to users who don’t follow you, giving brands a chance to go viral – a dynamic that simply wasn’t there with static image posts) The sheer scale and content volume on these platforms is astounding – more video content is now uploaded to the internet in 30 days than U.S. television networks have created in 30 years. This means the potential touchpoints for consumers are far greater on social. Additionally, social apps increasingly integrate commerce features (swipe-up links, in-app shops, “Buy” buttons on TikTok, etc.), making the journey from inspiration to purchase frictionless when an influencer promotes a product. Beyond the consumer-centric platforms, even professional networks like LinkedIn have fostered influencers (industry experts, executives, physician influencers in healthcare, etc.) who can lend authority and reach in B2B or high-consideration markets. In short, each platform – be it TikTok’s raw viral energy, Instagram’s visual storytelling, YouTube’s long-form education, or LinkedIn’s thought leadership – offers distinct advantages for marketing through creators. Brands can tailor their message to each medium and engage audiences in more interactive, community-driven ways than traditional ads allow (comments, live Q&As, duets, challenges, and so on).

  
  

Each of these factors feeds into a virtuous cycle: as consumers spend more time on social and trust those voices, marketers shift budgets there; as more budget and creators enter the space, tools improve and success stories multiply – further validating the approach. It’s no wonder that in 2025, 59% of marketers plan to partner with more influencers than they did in 2024. Influencer marketing isn’t a niche experiment anymore; it’s becoming a core pillar of marketing strategy for companies big and small.

Five Years of Change: The Evolution of Influencer Marketing (2018–2023)

Influencer and social media marketing have matured dramatically in the past five years, evolving from a trendy tactic into a sophisticated, multifaceted industry. Here are some of the most important ways this landscape has changed in terms of reach, authenticity, platform dynamics, and content expectations:

• From Macro to Micro (Reach vs. Resonance): In 2018, brands often chased big follower counts – hiring celebrity or macro-influencers to blast out a one-off post. Today the emphasis has shifted to micro- and nano-influencers with smaller followings but highly engaged, niche audiences. Brands learned that a hundred micro-influencers speaking to local or interest-based communities can have more impact than a single superstar posting a generic ad. They’re also forging longer-term relationships rather than one-off endorsements. As one industry observer noted, “More brands are collaborating longer with micro-influencers compatible with their voice and style, instead of hiring high-profile celebrities for brief campaigns,"The reason? Micro-influencers often have a tighter bond with followers, which adds authenticity and credibility to their messaging. We’ve seen a rise in ambassador programs, affiliate influencer programs, and ongoing creator partnerships that focus on genuine advocacy over time. The net effect is wider reach through many small voices and more trustworthy recommendations, as opposed to placing a big bet on one famous face. (This is exactly the dynamic Unilever hopes to harness by recruiting influencers “in every zip code” – extreme micro-targeting on a global scale.)

  
  

• Emphasis on Authenticity and Real Stories: Consumers have grown savvier and more skeptical of anything that feels “too much like an ad.” In response, influencer content has trended toward greater authenticity. Over the last five years, there’s been a cultural shift: instead of showcasing only picture-perfect lifestyles or idealized images, successful influencers (and brands) are sharing more unfiltered, relatable content. Campaigns highlight real customer or employee stories, personal journeys, and candid behind-the-scenes moments. For example, in the weight loss sector, brands like WeightWatchers and Noom moved away from showing only flawless “after” photos. The recent WeightWatchers “Fits You” campaign featured real members telling personal health stories and even integrated influencers like actress Tia Mowry sharing genuine experiences, celebrating diverse journeys over a one-size-fits-all narrative. This kind of authentic storytelling resonates far better with modern audiences. In fact, younger consumers now often expect influencer content to feel organic and truthful – any hint of overly scripted or insincere promotion can backfire. Transparency (like proper #ad disclosures) and sincerity have become critical for influencer marketing success, as they foster trust. As evidence of how much audiences prize authenticity: a Google study found 40% of millennials feel that influencers understand them better than their own friends do. People form genuine connections with the influencers they follow, so brands that partner with the right influencers can share in that trusted relationship. The past few years have proven that keeping it real wins the day in social content.

  
  

• The Rise of Short-Form Video and New Platforms: Five years ago, Instagram was dominated by curated photos, YouTube by longer videos, and Facebook by text and link posts. Enter TikTok (launched in the U.S. in late 2017, exploding by 2019–2020) and the whole game changed. TikTok popularized the 15–60 second video format with snappy editing, music, and algorithm-driven virality. Its meteoric rise pushed other platforms to follow suit – Instagram introduced Reels, YouTube launched Shorts, and even Facebook prioritized video content. By 2022, video content was king: more video is uploaded in a month now than decades of TV content,and 82% of global internet traffic is video. Short-form video, in particular, became the de facto medium for reaching Gen Z and millennials. This shift brought new expectations: brands needed to entertain, educate, or inspire within a few scrolling seconds to avoid being swiped past. It also meant production value took a backseat to creativity and speed – a clever idea filmed on an iPhone can outperform a slick high-budget ad if it clicks with the culture. Influencers adept at TikTok or Reels now set the trends (think dance challenges, viral sounds, hashtag challenges), and brands often piggyback on those trends or co-create them with influencers. The platform dynamics also reward participation and interaction: features like duets, stitches, polls, and live streams let users engage with content directly. In summary, the last five years turned social media marketing into a video-first, mobile-first playground where snackable, interactive content rules. Any brand not optimizing for TikTok/Reels style content is likely missing a huge swath of consumer attention.

  
  

• Diversification of Influencers (Across Niches and Platforms): As the influencer economy has grown (expected to reach $32+ billion globally in 2025, up from just $2–3 billion in 2016), it has also diversified. Today, there are influential creators in every imaginable niche – from makeup to mechanical engineering, from fitness to fintech. And influence is not confined to Instagram or YouTube. We’ve seen the emergence of LinkedIn influencers (subject-matter experts or charismatic professionals building large followings by sharing industry insights), Twitter thought leaders (especially in tech and finance spheres), Twitch streamers, podcast influencers, and even TikTok educators (e.g. doctors giving health advice, lawyers explaining legal matters in short clips). For example, in the B2B tech world, a LinkedIn “influencer” might be a cloud computing expert whose posts go viral and shape industry opinion. In healthcare, you have doctors on TikTok amassing millions of followers by debunking medical myths or sharing wellness tips – effectively becoming new media personalities. This expansion means influencer marketing now touches every sector. Brands in traditionally less “glamorous” industries (like insurance, banking, or healthcare) can find credible influencers to humanize their message. It’s not just fashion brands sending products to Instagram models anymore. The past few years have proven that influence is about expertise and relatability as much as fame – a patient advocate with 5,000 highly engaged followers might have more sway in a disease community than a TV ad blast that reaches 5 million passive viewers. For marketers, this opens up possibilities to tailor campaigns with surgical precision to specific audiences and content verticals.

  
  

• Higher Content Standards and Creative Collaboration: Finally, as influencer marketing has matured, audience expectations have risen. It’s not enough to slap a logo on an influencer’s post and call it a day. Brands and creators are working together more closely on creative campaigns that truly fit the influencer’s voice and give value to the audience. We’ve seen the bar rise for content quality (in storytelling terms) and relevance. Influencers now commonly participate in brainstorming, and brands give them creative freedom to ensure the content feels genuine. Additionally, many campaigns now produce multi-format content – e.g. an influencer might make a series of TikToks, some Instagram Stories, and a long-form YouTube video as part of one collaboration, providing a richer, more holistic narrative than a single promo post. There’s also a trend of repurposing influencer content in paid ads (with permission), because brands find that influencer-generated ads (UGC-style) often outperform studio-made creatives in terms of engagement. In summary, the past five years have professionalized the influencer space: many top influencers operate like savvy media companies, and brands approach partnerships with more strategy and integration. The result is content that feels less like “ads” and more like stories or conversations, which is exactly what today’s consumers respond to.

  
  

In combination, these evolutions mean that influencer marketing in 2025 is a very different beast than it was in 2015 or even 2020. It’s more authentic, video-centric, data-informed, and omnipresent across platforms and industries. This set the stage for big players like Unilever to confidently make influencers a cornerstone of their marketing mix.

Influencer-First Strategies Across Industries (Including Healthcare & Wellness)

Unilever may be making headlines with its 50% influencer budget, but it’s far from alone. Many major brands – even in traditionally conservative sectors like healthcare – are pivoting to influencer-driven marketing. To put it plainly, influencers aren’t just promoting makeup and sneakers anymore; they’re raising awareness for medications, insurance plans, and wellness apps too. Below are a few examples of how brands in various industries are leveraging social media creators to drive their marketing goals:

• Coca-Cola (Beverages): The beverage giant embraced user-generated influencer content with its famous “Share a Coke” campaign. By encouraging everyday consumers to post photos with Coke bottles labeled with their names or friends’ names, Coca-Cola turned millions of customers into micro-influencers. This peer-driven social campaign was hugely successful – it even led to a 2% increase in sales during its run, illustrating how a personalized, shareable content strategy can boost revenue for an established brand.

  
  

• Noom (Wellness App): Digital health and wellness brands have found a natural fit with influencer marketing. Noom, a weight-loss and lifestyle app, launched a campaign partnering with 90+ micro-influencers of diverse body types and backgrounds to share their genuine wellness journeys. The result? 5.5 million content views and around 3,000 new user sign-ups per month, with the campaign increasing Noom’s customer lifetime value by 28.6% (far above their typical in-house marketing results). By using relatable creators (instead of idealized models) and leveraging data insights to optimize content, Noom achieved both scale and quality of engagement – and significantly improved its bottom line. This shows how health and fitness brands can drive tangible ROI through influencer partnerships when authenticity is front and center.

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• Pfizer (Pharmaceuticals): Even heavily regulated industries like pharma are cautiously tapping influencers. In a notable example, Pfizer teamed up with superstar Lady Gaga to promote a migraine medication (Nurtec) in 2021–2022. Gaga openly shared her personal struggle with migraines and how the medication helped her – messaging delivered via TV commercials and Instagram posts. The campaign included clear disclaimers for safety, aligning with FDA rules, but still benefited from Gaga’s massive influence and credibility as someone who genuinely uses the product. This is a case of a pharma brand addressing the mistrust gap in healthcare advertising – rather than a faceless drug ad, it became a conversation led by a trusted public figure with real patient experience.

  
  

• Blue Cross Blue Shield (Health Insurance): Health insurance companies have also found ways to engage younger audiences through influencers. Blue Cross Blue Shield, for instance, partnered with social media creators to publicize open enrollment periods for health plans. One campaign had a lifestyle influencer on Instagram create an upbeat explainer video about the benefits of getting insured and how to sign up, tailored for her followers. By using a friendly influencer’s voice to simplify a complex topic (insurance enrollment), Blue Cross managed to inform and motivate consumers who might ignore a traditional mailer or corporate PSA. The influencers provided approachable “edutainment” that served the public interest and the brand’s enrollment goals.

  
  

• SSM Health (Hospitals): Even hospitals and healthcare providers are experimenting with influencer strategies. A campaign by SSM Health (a health system) involved local fitness and mom influencers to promote the hospital’s women’s health services and classes. These influencers shared their personal experiences with the services (like prenatal classes or wellness programs), lending a human face and peer recommendation quality to the hospital’s offerings. Early results from such campaigns suggest increases in inquiries and attendance for health programs, demonstrating that word-of-mouth via social media can be powerful in healthcare, provided the content is compliant and compassionate.

  
  

(These examples underscore a key point: influencer marketing’s principles – authenticity, community trust, storytelling – are universally effective, but execution must be tailored to the industry. A beauty brand might lean into viral TikTok challenges, whereas a healthcare brand will choose a more educational, sensitive approach with the right experts. In all cases, the goal is to engage the audience in a way traditional ads have failed to do.)

It’s also worth noting the scale of adoption: a recent report found that 93% of marketers have now used influencer marketing in some capacity. What started mostly in fashion, beauty, and food has extended to finance, education, and beyond. Influencer marketing spend climbed from an estimated $2–3 billion in 2016 to over $15 billion in 2022, and is on track for $32 billion+ globally in 2025. Furthermore, brands are not just using more influencers, they’re integrating them into broader campaigns (including cross-promotion on official brand channels) and even co-creating products with influencers. For instance, cosmetics companies launch influencer-designed makeup lines; tech firms host influencer takeovers on their social accounts. All this signals that influencer-driven marketing is no longer a sideshow – it’s mainstream.

Of course, highly regulated sectors (like pharmaceuticals, healthcare, finance) have to navigate compliance carefully when leveraging influencers. But as the Pfizer and Blue Cross examples show, it can be done effectively. The key is choosing the right influencers (with credibility and maybe credentials), providing clear guidelines and disclaimers, and focusing on education over pure promotion. Many health brands now work with “patient influencers” or medical professionals on social media. Best practices include vetting such influencers’ content for accuracy, training them on FDA/FTC rules (e.g. what they can/can’t say about a drug, and the requirement to disclose sponsored posts). When handled responsibly, these collaborations can humanize complex topics and build trust in ways that sterile brochures or banner ads cannot.

Is an Influencer-First Strategy Sound? Implications for Marketers

Given the trends and examples above, is leaning heavily into influencer and social media marketing a smart move for brands today? For most, the answer is yes – but with important caveats.

On the upside, the strategic rationale is compelling. Consumers are on social media en masse, and they’re engaging with influencer content at far higher rates than with traditional ads. Brands that embrace this reality can reap rewards in reach, engagement, and even conversions that often surpass what they achieve via legacy channels. Unilever’s own marketing leadership believes this will drive “desirability at scale” for their brands and many marketers agree that influencer collaborations help cut through ad fatigue to capture attention. When executed well, influencer marketing feels like word-of-mouth at scale, which has always been the holy grail of marketing. It creates a sense of community and dialogue around a brand, rather than the one-way broadcast of an ad. Especially for younger demographics (Gen Z, young millennials), incorporating influencers is almost a prerequisite – this audience simply expects brands to show up in the social feed with content that entertains or adds value, ideally delivered by people (creators) they admire.

Moreover, the ROI can be very strong. We’ve seen how influencer campaigns can drive sales lifts and high returns on ad spend. Influencers often produce a trove of reusable content as well – marketers can amplify top-performing influencer posts through paid ads, effectively turning creator content into high-converting ad creative. This can improve efficiency since the content is already market-tested with the influencer’s audience.

There’s also a halo effect on credibility and brand perception. Being talked about positively by a network of influencers can build brand equity in ways that are hard to measure but impactful (e.g. increased positive sentiment, brand recall, cultural relevance).

For marketers in healthcare or regulated industries, an influencer strategy can absolutely be part of a sound marketing plan, but it requires extra diligence. These brands should select influencers carefully – often opting for micro-influencers who are actual users of the product/service or experts in the field, to ensure authenticity and compliance. Any health-related content needs proper disclosures and perhaps pre-approval of scripts to avoid medical misinformation. The good news is that seeing real patients or doctors discuss a treatment can significantly improve trust and engagement (versus only hearing from the company). The influencer approach, when done responsibly, aligns with the trend toward patient-centric marketing and storytelling in healthcare. It can make a brand feel more human and approachable, which is critical in fields where trust is paramount. For example, a pharma brand might engage a group of patient advocates on Instagram to share their journeys with a disease and how they manage it, subtly integrating the brand’s support program or therapy (with full transparency). This kind of campaign can destigmatize conditions and create supportive communities – outcomes that traditional ads could never achieve.

However, marketers must also weigh the challenges and risks of an influencer-first approach. Working with dozens or hundreds of influencers is operationally complex. It involves identifying the right creators, negotiating contracts, coordinating content, ensuring brand alignment, and monitoring results – sometimes across many simultaneous campaigns. Some companies struggle with this workload; in fact, the main reason a subset of marketers decreased influencer spending was the “pain of managing the process internally” and the labor required to maintain all those relationships. For this reason, we see the rise of influencer agencies, platforms, and even in-house “creator partnerships” teams to handle the volume. Brands going down this path should invest in the infrastructure (tools and talent) to manage influencer programs efficiently and authentically. Simply throwing money at creators without a clear strategy or adequate oversight can lead to inconsistent messaging or partnering with influencers who aren’t a great fit (which can dilute brand image or lead to fiascos).

Another risk to mitigate is brand safety and compliance. Influencers are independent personalities – their past or future behavior is not fully under a brand’s control. Due diligence is necessary to avoid collaborators who might have histories or views that clash with the brand’s values. Likewise, in regulated fields, any claims made by influencers on behalf of the brand must be monitored for accuracy. The FTC has been cracking down on undisclosed influencer ads; companies must ensure all posts include proper #ad labels or phrasing indicating it’s sponsored.These are all manageable issues, but they underscore that influencer marketing is not a “set it and forget it” tactic – it demands active management and a partnership mindset.

Finally, marketers should remain agile and data-driven in this space. Social media trends change quickly – today’s TikTok craze might be tomorrow’s nostalgia. New platforms can emerge (as TikTok did) and old ones can wane. The most successful brands adopt a test-and-learn approach: experiment with emerging platforms (e.g. the next TikTok-like app), diversify influencer partners, and use real-time metrics to double down on what works. One advantage of social marketing is the rich feedback loop – engagement data pours in instantly, allowing marketers to refine content or shift budget on the fly. Those who treat influencer campaigns with the same rigor as performance marketing (measuring clicks, conversions, sentiment, etc.) will maximize ROI and stay ahead of the curve. Those who simply follow cookie-cutter formulas may find diminishing returns as audiences evolve.

In conclusion, Unilever’s big bet on influencers reflects a marketing landscape that has fundamentally changed. Audiences are more digitally connected, ad-weary, and hungry for authenticity than ever – and influencers have proven to be powerful bridges between brands and these audiences. For most brands, embracing influencer and social media marketing is not just sound, it’s essential to remain relevant. The days of “one big idea” corporate advertising are yielding to a era of “a million small conversations” happening online. Brands that cultivate those conversations – by partnering with the right voices and engaging in a genuine way – stand to build deeper loyalty and cultural relevance, not to mention stronger sales. Marketers should approach this strategy with eyes open to the executional challenges, but also with excitement for the creative and community-building opportunities it offers. As Unilever’s move shows, the marketing playbook for the next decade will be written collaboratively with creators. In a time of fleeting consumer attention, influencer-driven marketing has proven to be a potent way to earn attention, trust, and affinity. For the marketing-savvy, it’s a shift well worth embracing – strategically, responsibly, and with a willingness to innovate as the social landscape continues to evolve.

 If you’re rethinking your strategy in light of this shift, let’s talk about how your brand can adapt. As a fractional CMO partner, Orr Consulting can work with you to craft an influencer-first, digitally relevant approach that keeps your brand authentic and ahead of the curve.