Celebrity intelligence-age-of-social-influence-uk.original

REPORT
THE AGE
OF SOCIAL
INFLUENCE
A study on the
impact digital
media and social
influencers have
had on brand
endorsements and
celebrity marketing
In association with

Published November 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
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Copyright 2017 Centaur Communications Limited
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Fromemergingtalenttomainstreamtaste-
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ABOUT CELEBRITY
INTELLIGENCE

This is the second research report published
by Celebrity Intelligence that explores the
impact digital media has had on talent-led brand
partnerships and endorsements. There were
270 marketing specialists who responded to the
research request this year, which took the form of
an online survey. Respondents included in-house
brand marketers, agencies, consultants and media
owners. Detailed breakdowns of the respondent
profiles are included in the Appendix. If you have
any questions about the research, please contact
Centaur Marketing’s content marketing manager,
Priyanka Mehra Dayal by emailing
METHODOLOGY
CONTRIBUTORS
This report features in-depth opinions from
brands, agencies, publicists, independent
consultants and influencers, including
Insanity Group, Warm Street, ITB Worldwide,
East of Eden, L’Oréal, The Body Shop, Tanya
Burr, Michelle Goodall, the International
Institute for Anti-Ageing and Talent Republic.
Interviews were carried out over the phone
and by email in October 2017.
priyanka.mehra-dayal@centaurmedia.com

07Executive summary
11Case Study: GAP
15The New Rules
of Engagement
09Introduction
The State of Influence
12Key Celebrity &
Influencer
Marketing Trends
INDEX
4

17Case Study: Body Shop
27Case Study: Mango
34Future Trends
39References
22What Collaborations
have Driven Value?
28Challenges
38Conclusion
5

AUDIENCE
respondents cite having a
relevant audience or following
is the most important attribute
brands are looking for in a
celebrity or influencer
85%
DIGITAL
INFLUENCERS
have worked with
singers or musicians
57%
respondents worked
with digital influencers
61%
PRESSURE ON
CELEBRITIES
believe it’s critical a celebrity has
high levels of engagement on social
media with the right audience
33%
respondents say that data and insight relating
to a talent’s audience and followers has proven
the most useful in identifying who to work with
45%
DATA
of respondents are investing
in specialist engagement tools
59%
FUTURE
TRENDS
Celebrities will retain
cut-through
and appeal for certain
generations particularly
Female niche influencers
are set to rise in popularity over the
next 12 months
Digital influencers will be
increasingly sought after by brands,
largely driven by the demands and
expectations of Gen Z
£
DELIVERING
STRONG ROI
17.21return from every £1spent
on a talent-led-campaign.
6

Key findings of this
report include...
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Marketers continue to identify
celebrities and influencer manually
Three-quarters of respondents are continuing to
identify influencers and celebrities to work with
via manual research across social media platforms
and forums, etc. Additionally, almost half (47%) of
respondents cite being able to identify celebrities
who resonate with their target audience, as their
greatest challenge. A further 84% agree that
identifying celebrities that are a good brand fit is a
hard, time consuming task.
Campaign-specific contracts are on
the rise
In 2017, only 8% of brands are using celebrities for
long term contracts (compared to 10% in 2016),
highlighting one of the most critical ways in which
digital influencers have impacted the celebrity
marketing space. Instead, campaign-specific contracts
have risen in popularity, with approximately a third of
survey respondents saying they generally choose to
work with celebrities in this way.
Niche and emerging talent will rise in
popularity
Female niche influencers seem set to rise in popularity
over the next 12 months, for approximately three-
quarters of respondents. As some experts interviewed
for this report explained, niche influencers offer
something quite different, and if the talent is unknown
and untapped commercially, it can be a great way for
a brand to build a meaningful, ongoing relationship
with an individual.
Social media is placing increasing
pressure on celebrities
33% of survey respondents believe it’s critical a celebrity
has high levels of engagement on social media with the
right audience, for them to be an attractive proposition.
This is a view that 41% of respondents who are working
with digital influencers as well as celebrities, agree
with. These findings raise a question mark over what
this means for celebrities who have made a conscious
decision not to embrace social media, particularly when
just 8% of respondents say they work with celebrities
with no social media presence
Digital influencers are the most
popular choice for brand endorsements
The survey reveals that in 2017, digital influencers
represent the largest majority group that brands
have worked with for endorsement and commercial
opportunities. 61% of respondents say they have
worked with digital influencers in the past 12 months,
compared with 57% who have worked with singers or
musicians, and approximately half who have worked with
TV actors and models. Additionally, the largest majority
of survey respondents (44%) believe digital influencers
will be best suited to endorsement opportunities that
they have coming up in the near future.
Data is becoming more critical
59% of survey respondents say that data and insight
relating to a talent’s audience and followers has
proven the most useful in identifying who to work with.
It’s also encouraging to see that 45% of respondents
are investing in specialist engagement tools, when in
last year’s survey just 36% of companies and 32% of
agencies were taking this approach.
Having a relevant audience or
following is of utmost importance
In 2017, having a relevant audience or following is
the most important attribute brands are looking for
in a celebrity or influencer, with 85% of respondents
citing this as “critical” or “very important”. Additionally,
41% of brands claim a celebrity’s audience and how it
resonates with their own target audience is the deciding
factor in terms of who they decide to work with.
Talent-led marketing is delivering
strong ROI
Survey respondents say that for every £1 spent on a
talent-led campaign, brands are getting an average
of £17.21 back.
Budgets set to increase for 42%
42% of respondents said their budgets would increase
moderately or significantly in the next 12 months.
Yet, despite the need for a greater proportion of
marketing budgets to be attributed to celebrity and
influencer engagement, it seems more likely that funds
will remain pretty much the same, for approximately
half of survey respondents.
77

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8

INTRODUCTION
THE STATE OF INFLUENCE
Speaking to British Vogue earlier in the year, influencer
Camille Charrière (with an Instagram following of 602k)
said, “I know that if I want 8,000 likes on an Instagram
post then I need to be wearing jeans and a T-shirt with
Converse. In general, people like simplicity. They’re
looking for reality, because that’s something they can
emulate and buy into.” Her point is a salient one, and
this desire for ‘reality’ and everyday life has gathered
momentum in 2017 and clearly made its impact on the
traditional world of celebrity engagement, which has
resonated far beyond the fashion industry.
While there of course remain myriad brand campaigns
that demand a celebrity face, and no doubt will continue
to do so, at the same time the lines between established
celebrities and digital-talent are becoming increasingly
blurred. Consumers, and particularly the younger
generation, are placing their trust in individuals
who are more like themselves, and consequently
the commercial deals that would have once only
been available to A-list celebrities are broadening in
their scope to also include a sophisticated mix of non-
traditional and digital talent, offering a new layer of
engagement and credibility.
As Emma Gregson, managing director at ITB Worldwide,
explains: “If clients want ‘celebrity’, it’s still about
celebrity, it’s not about influencers, because they still do
very different things, and celebrities absolutely still have
power and impact. But what we’re seeing much more
of is a blend of a campaign that encompasses the two.
What the celebrity does, if done correctly, is cut through
the noise. They are of course influencers themselves
and have impact with their demographic and audiences,
and their profile enables them to roll out onto channels
above and beyond where an influencer would live. They
are the people that will get the paparazzi shots and the
print journalists interested; and if it’s a TV spot you will
know who that person is. Meanwhile digital influencers
serve an alternative communications strategy
and a different audience because they can deliver a
more targeted and focused message, and reach very
segmented audience types. With influencers you can be
much more specific as to whether they are aligned with
your brand, whether they have the same viewpoint, tone
of voice, and an overall aesthetic that works.”
“Unconventional talent”
is entering the mix
According to Gregson, after digital influencers and
celebrities, a third strand of influencer has also entered
the mix this year, which she refers to as “unconventional
talent” who are experts in their niche content creation
field or in their artistic or sporting discipline, providing
brands with a new way to standout and be different.
She explains that while the typical social influencer is
likely to be someone who looks beautiful, possesses
a strong social following and maintains a credible
existing profile, unconventional talent is, by and large,
untapped.
It’s anyone that the consumer isn’t familiar with seeing
and the significant difference between the two is that
unconventional talent has almost certainly never had
their social profiles utilised in a commercial way.
“Our clients are looking for us to
go above and beyond and search
out these unique individuals who
aren’t necessarily known as digital
influencers in the traditional way.
Increasingly we are being
challenged to street cast via
social media to find tap dancers,
basketball dribblers, trumpeters,
and all these wonderful individuals
who all have their own content
and story to tell, and they will tell
it in their own way. If we can find
these individuals and they match
the client’s needs, then they are a
really great vehicle.”
Emma Gregson,
managing director at ITB Worldwide
9

CASESTUDY
#MeetMeInTheGap
Gap’s global #MeetMeInTheGap Autumn/Winter 2017
campaign was a very recent example of established
celebrity and non-traditional talent coming together
within one TV ad. Fronted by global pop icon, Cher,
and producer and rap artist, Future, who had never
met before, the campaign explored the concept of what
can be made possible when we close the gaps that
exist between us. To demonstrate this point further, a
diverse blend of unknown digital talent was identified
and recruited, including dancing duo Chloe Maud
Arnold, basketball dribbler Corey The Dribbler, TV
host and athlete Rachel DeMita, internet sensation
flutist Tyler Bonafides, yodeller Kata Hay, beat boxer
Kaila Mullady, auctioneer Jake Grizzard, artist Gloss
Black, epic dancer Fik-Shun, trumpeter Christian
Scott, cool girl-gang skateboarding crew the Santa
Cruz Lady Lurkers and beat maker Beats By Jblack.
A selection of concepts and meet-ups were created,
and the talent collaborated on unexpected works of art.
“This suite of amazing people that we found added
an additional layer and some fantastic creative content
into the mix,” explains Emma Gregson at ITB Worldwide,
who was involved in the campaign. “When you see
them in the TV spot, you don’t know who they are;
they’re just great performers. But then there is a story
told in a digital layer and that is where it really appeals
to specific demographics.”
CAMPAIGN
BLENDS POP
ICON WITH
UNCONVENTIONAL
TALENT
11

KEY CELEBRITY AND INFLUENCER
MARKETING TRENDS
Talent-led communications is a well-established
practice with 61% of respondents saying it has
proved “very effective” or “effective” for their
organisation. This is taking into account that
more than half of survey respondents (57%)
have worked with celebrity influencers as part of
their marketing strategy for five years or more.
A very small minority, 11%, have only begun engaging
celebrities in the past 12 months.
Interestingly, those who have worked with digital
influencers, in addition to celebrities, are even more
likely to say their approach is working well. A combined
total of 78% claim their celebrity and influencer
marketing programmes are “very effective” or
“effective, as Figure 2 below illustrates.
What’s more, for every £1 spent on talent-led campaigns
in 2017, brands say they are getting an average of
£17.21 back; an impressive return by today’s marketing
standards and particularly with rates for celebrities and
digital influencers rising so rapidly. A recent study by
Captiv8, for example, claims that an influencer with 3m-
7m followers can charge, on average, $187,500 for a
post on YouTube, $93,750 for a post on Facebook
and $75,000 for a post on Instagram or Snapchat.
By way of a comparison, RhythmOne’s Influencer
Marketing Benchmarks Report published this February
found that advertisers who implemented an influencer
marketing program in 2016 received on average $11.69
in Earned Media Value (“EMV”) for every $1.00 of
spend, an increase of 4.4% on the previous year.
For every £1 spent
on talent-led campaigns,
brands are securing an
average return of £17.21
How long have you had
celebrities as part of your
marketing strategy?
11%
6%
10%
10%
6%
7%
50%
Figure 1
LESS THAN 12 MONTHS
1 YEAR
2 YEARS
3 YEARS
4 YEARS
5 YEARS
MORE THAN 5 YEARS
How effective is your
organisation’s overall approach to
celebrity/influencer marketing?
33%
45%
20%
2%
Figure 2
VERY EFFECTIVE
EFFECTIVE
SLIGHTLY EFFECTIVE
NOT EFFECTIVE
12

Social media promotion remains a top priority
Little has changed over the past 12 months in regards
to the role that celebrities play within brand marketing
strategies, and as Figure 3 4 reveal, social media
promotion continues to be of top priority. Three-
quarters of survey respondents say social media
promotion is “critical” or “very important” within
their celebrity engagement, and a resounding 92%
of respondents who are also working with digital
influencers agree.
Furthermore, 100% of respondents believe their social
media promotion is proving very effective. The impact
of social media is being felt at many levels, but Nick
Ede, CEO of charity campaign agency East of Eden,
argues that above all, it has shifted celebrity marketing
from macro to micro channels. “There is a lot of talk in
the industry about how celebrities have moved from the
billboards, to desktops, to mobile devices – a personal
space where the user is in control.
The campaigns we’ve planned recently have looked
more and more towards this kind of grassroots
promotion, engaging influencers across a targeted
theme and working with them to create impactful,
interesting content.” As one might expect, content
promotion and distribution also continues to be
“critical” or “very important” for just under half of
respondents working with celebrities, which rises to
72% of respondents who are also engaging digital
influencers in their marketing strategies. Also, a
notable proportion of respondents say they are using
celebrities as brand spokespeople; 60% of those
working purely with celebrities cite this a “critical”
or “very important” role, and 65% of respondents
also working with digital influencers agree. There is
currently much research to show that consumer trust
is undergoing a significant shift, with clear generational
divides, making it critical that brands are extremely
careful in the celebrities or influencers they choose to
speak for their brand.
For example, a May 2016 survey conducted by
Salesforce, which examined the most trusted
sources for accurate product information by
generation, found that while baby boomers (born post
World War II) put more trust in brands themselves than
their younger peers, millennials (who reached young
adulthood in the early 21st century) felt online reviewers
were more credible than corporate-sponsored
messages. “We still have that generational divide that
we simply can’t ignore,” argues Emma Gregson at ITB
Worldwide. “The older generation simply wouldn’t buy
something based on an influencer’s recommendation,
but they might look twice if a respected celebrity such
as Helen Mirren recommends it.” However Generation
Z (the demographic cohort following the millennials),
compared with any generation that has come before,
is the least trusting of brands and has more faith in
individuals than big institutions. “They are a tough
audience,” argues digital marketing consultant, Michelle
Goodall. “Smart, cynical and they can spot insincerity
and a fake a mile away.” As a result, it makes sense that
brands are using social media influencers as their voice,
in an effort to appear more relatable, but it’s critical the
individual is an authentic fit.
What role do celebrities currently play in your marketing strategies?
SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION 32% 43% 17% 8%
CONTENT PROMOTION AND DISTRIBUTION 23% 26% 29% 22%
EVENTS/WEBINAR PRODUCTION 21% 27% 27% 25%
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ADVERTISING 17% 31% 16% 36%
TV ADVERTISING 17% 14% 19% 50%
PRODUCT LAUNCH 14% 33% 31% 22%
BRAND SPOKESPERSON 14% 46% 24% 16%
PRODUCT PLACEMENT/GIFTING 11% 23% 20% 46%
PRODUCT DEVELOPEMENT 9% 36% 27% 27%
STYLING, PHOTOGRAPHY, ETC 9% 27% 29% 35%
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 9% 17% 17% 57%
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS 6% 26% 26% 43%
CONCEPTUALISING CREATIVE CAMPAIGN IDEAS 6% 34% 37% 23%
CRISIS MANAGEMENT 3% 18% 27% 52%
DIGITAL ADVERTISING E.G. DISPLAY 3% 35% 27% 35%
RADIO ADVERTISING 3% 17% 19% 61%
CRITICAL
VERYIMPORTANT
QUITEIMPORTANT
NOTIMPORTANT
Figure 3
13

Brands are beginning to craft more collaborative
arrangements with celebrities and influencers
A growing number of respondents say they are
using celebrities for product development, such as
the creation of capsule collections, suggesting a
move towards a more meaningful and collaborative
relationship. Almost half (45%) of respondents working
with celebrities say this is becoming a “critical” or
“very important” role, which 34% of respondents also
working with digital influencers agree with.
Speaking to Marketing Week, L’Oréal’s UK general
manager Adrien Koskas, shared how he had
recently signed five British beauty bloggers, with a
combined reach of 5.5 million, for a collaborative,
ongoing partnership. “I don’t want to be like other
brands where they try to use one influencer after the
other for one launch or event – it just doesn’t seem
very genuine and sincere,” he explained. Instead “we
see it as a two-way relationship where they challenge
us and we work alongside them. It’s very healthy for us
as well to have those challenges from them in terms
of the content we create, the tone of voice, as well as
the products we launch. [These influencers] are true
beauty addicts... They are a voice for the brand to think
differently about our products.”
What role do celebrities and influencers currently play in your marketing
strategies?
SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION 44% 48% 7% 1%
PRODUCT PLACEMENT/GIFTING 28% 29% 29% 14%
CONTENT PROMOTION AND DISTRIBUTION 26% 46% 21% 7%
DIGITAL ADVERTISING E.G. DISPLAY 20% 39% 22% 19%
PRODUCT LAUNCH 19% 48% 24% 9%
STYLING, PHOTOGRAPHY, ETC 15% 40% 30% 15%
BRAND SPOKESPERSON 13% 52% 24% 11%
TV ADVERTISING 11% 17% 21% 51%
NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE ADVERTISING 9% 29% 31% 31%
EVENTS/WEBINAR PRODUCTION 6% 32% 26% 36%
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING 6% 22% 32% 40%
CONCEPTUALISING CREATIVE CAMPAIGN IDEAS 5% 35% 37% 23%
CRISIS MANAGEMENT 3% 10% 18% 69%
PRODUCT DEVELOPEMENT 1% 33% 35% 31%
RADIO ADVERTISING 1% 14% 21% 64%
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS 0% 23% 25% 52%
CRITICAL
VERYIMPORTANT
QUITEIMPORTANT
NOTIMPORTANT
“Despite what you may hear, celebrity endorsements are still as valuable and effective
as ever, but not everything hangs on the famous name or face associated with a brand.
Celebrity makes up part of an integrated campaign rather than the whole thing. We
have seen a swell of normal people operating at a level below celebrity, becoming real
influencers. They don’t command the five-figure sums that many celebrities receive for
social posting, but they do have genuine influence.”
Figure 4
Expert tip: Nick Ede, CEO, East of Eden
14

THE NEW RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
There’s little doubt that the distinction between
celebrities and digital-born talent has become
increasingly blurred in 2017, and as a result, this is
having impact on the attributes brands are looking
for most in the stars and talent they choose to work
with. While many brands continue to look to celebrities
as being the disruptor or noise maker, and a way to
get reach and cut-through on a global scale; a larger
majority are also recognising the need to forge careful,
well thought out alliances, where moral and ethical
values are shared.
Having a relevant audience
or following is of utmost
importance, for 85%
As Figure 5 illustrates, having a relevant audience
or following is the most important attribute brands
are looking for in a celebrity or influencer, with 85%
of respondents citing this as “critical” or “very
important”. It wasn’t very long ago that ‘number of
followers’ was the highest currency, and while that still
matters to some, it’s encouraging to see that having the
‘right’ audience is rapidly becoming more important.
Davina Kumal, PR and influencer programme
manager for the International Institute for Anti-
Ageing, advises brands to “be careful when
selecting an influencer based on their audience.
The levels of engagement and whether the audience
fits within your brand’s target market are much more
important. Today, with five to six generations to
consider, we have an interesting dynamic of a new
breed of influencer emerging in the social media space,
with an audience that listens to them.”
In 2016, having the ‘right look’ was a critical factor, with
79% of companies and 84% of agencies saying this
was “critical” or “very important”. This still remains
important with 78% of respondents in this year’s
survey citing it as “critical” or “very important”,
but this is evolving into something less superficial, and
gradually becoming more about what an individual
stands for than their physical appearance, as The Body
Shop case study demonstrates.
Which attributes much a celebrity or an influencer you are looking to work
with must have?
AN AUDIENCE/FOLLOWING THAT IS RELEVANT TO MY BRAND 46% 39% 14% 1%
HAS THE RIGHT LOOK FOR OUR BRAND 38% 40% 15% 7%
THE ABILITY TO SWAY OPINIONS AND PROMPT ACTION
BY TALKING, PRMOTING A PARTICULAR TOPIC
21% 42% 30% 7%
POPLARITY - GLOBAL CELEBRITY STATUS 20% 32% 39% 9%
BOASTS A SIZABLE SOCIAL COMMUNITY AND ONLINE FOLLOWING 19% 52% 27% 2%
TALENT - TOP OF THEIR GAME/PROFESSION 15% 47% 26% 12%
A THOUGHT LEADER AND ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN DISCUSSIONS
THAT RELATE TO PARTICULAR TOPICS/INDUSTRY
13% 21% 37% 19%
SHARE OF VOICE, HAS A HIGH DEGREE OF PARTICIPATION IN
A CERTAIN AREA
6% 47% 31% 16%
CRITICAL
VERYIMPORTANT
QUITEIMPORTANT
NOTIMPORTANT
Figure 5
15

PROVES THE
IMPORTANCE OF
DIVERSITY AND
LEGITIMACY
CASESTUDY
The Body Shop’s ‘Forever Against
Animal Testing’ campaign
For the past 30 years, The Body Shop has
worked with its NGO campaign partner Cruelty
Free International, to fight against animal
testing in cosmetics. In 2013, as a result of its
campaigning, the EU banned sales of cosmetics
tested on animals, but 80% of countries
worldwide still don’t have any laws against animal
testing in place. Cosmetics and ingredients
have been tested on animals for over 50
years. Cruelty Free International estimates that
500,000 animals are used for cosmetics
testing globally each year. On 1 June 2017, The
Body Shop launched its ‘Forever Against Animal
Testing’ campaign, supported by the hashtag
#ForeverAgainstAnimalTesting, and linked to
a global online petition. A total of eight million
signatures are needed for the brand to be
able to present to the UN General Assembly
in 2018, to call on the launch of a petition
to ban animal testing at a global level. With
new technological advancements, there are
now plenty of viable alternatives to testing
on animals that are often quicker, cheaper,
and more effective. To help raise awareness
of the campaign and the petition, The Body
Shop needed some high profile individuals to
front it and help kick-start signatures. Charlotte
Adjchavanich, integrated international brand
communications director of The Body Shop who
headed up the campaign, shares, “as an ethical
company, our filter is very stringent on who
we work with. We look for people who stand
for something, and are not just a pretty face.
There are a lot of digital influencers out there
who are focused on image, but we want to
work with individuals who represent and
champion a cause, such as veganism, or who
refuse to wear fur. We use this same filter for
celebrities as well as digital influencers. Their
number of followers didn’t matter too much;
it was more about legitimacy.”
The Body Shop used a traditional cast of
celebrities such as Kelly Osbourne, actress
Maisie Williams and singer, songwriter Jhene
Aiko, supported by a squad of social media
influencers. Within individual markets it also
teamed up with local influencers and even pets
with established Instagram profiles. “Diversity
was really important to us; we wanted to
represent all ethnicities, colours, shapes
and sizes,” says Adjchavanich. Celebrities
and influencers were asked to publish a one-off
post to Instagram, ideally wearing the campaign
T-shirt (although this was optional), and doing
the ‘bunny ear gesture’. The Body Shop retained
the rights to re-post images. “Everyone wore
the T-shirt with the exception of one,” says
Adjchavanich. “We were keen for the posts
to feel authentic and so we provided some
suggested copy, but the influencers were free
to repurpose it into what they felt comfortable
with.”
The short-term nature of the brief proved
a challenge in some cases, according to
Adjchavanich. “It is hard in the celebrity space to
find individuals who will agree to a one-off post.
Most celebrities want a longer-term contract.
Some individuals declined the opportunity
as they didn’t like the ad hoc nature of the
job, which they felt might ruin more lucrative
contract opportunities within the category or
create a conflict of interests with other potential
brand partners.” “We paid the celebrities to
take part. ITB Worldwide helped us with the
casting, outreach, negotiations, contractual
obligations and legal requirements. There are
new and country-specific laws for influencers,
and we are extremely diligent about our
influencers adhering to these. The amounts
that we paid our celebrities and influencers
varied, and some were so keen to be involved
that they decreased their fee. We also seeded
gifts to some. For phase two of the campaign,
we hope that some of our celebrities and
influencers will agree to post organically,”
Adjchavanich shares. The overarching objective
of the campaign was to secure signatures. To
date, three million signatures have been
achieved. According to Adjchavanich, the official
KPIs set for the campaign were a total reach
of 10m and a 2% engagement rate on talent
channels. These were easily surpassed with a
total reach of 26m and an average engagement
rate of 4.3%. “Measurement we always find
tricky; nothing is that accurate, and so we
tend to gather results quite manually,” says
Adjchavanich. “In 13 months time, when we
have hopefully reached 8m signatures, we will
be going to the UN and we would love our tribe
of influencers to come with us.”
The Body Shop also acquired 54,000 new
followers in the weeks immediately following the
launch of the campaign.
“This is such an important campaign, and
has proven that celebrities still hold a lot of
power. Digital influencers are more about
peer-to-peer influence, and while this works,
what celebrities endorse, their fans really care
about. The celebrities that we used weren’t
over-subscribed with commercial deals, and
they are globally recognised: they are the real
deal,” concludes Adjchavanich.17

Data has become a critical part of decision making
In 2017, brands have begun to take a more data-driven
approach to their celebrity and influencer engagement,
relying less on gut instinct or requesting who’s cool,
and instead making a more informed decision about
who best to collaborate with.
As Figure 6 below shows, 59% of survey
respondents say that data and insight relating to
a talent’s audience and followers, has proven the
most useful in identifying who to work with. A
further 53% claim how an influencer resonates with
their brand, in terms of their personal interests and
values, is additional information that they are now
seeking out. English fashion and beauty vlogger, Tanya
Burr, agrees that over the past 12 months, she has seen
brands taking more notice of audience intelligence
data. “I think brands are definitely becoming more
careful and considered about who they work with;
briefs are more detailed and the demographic targets
are becoming more specific. Now, not only does the
influencer have to fit the brand but also hit key targets
when it comes to their audience’s age and interests.”
However, as with most things, it’s important to strike
the right balance. Burr shares, “I love working with
brands that have a key vision for their campaigns
and key outcomes, but I also think open briefs can
be just as effective. It can be very easy for a brand
to have a set vision for the creative but it must be
collaborative and fit with an influencer’s style which
their audience is already familiar with.” Emma
Gregson at ITB agrees, and says that when it comes to
selecting a celebrity or influencer to front a campaign, it
needs to be a mix of intuition as well as data. “You can
look at reach and engagement numbers and audience
sentiment, but unless you’re using product codes and
swipe-up mechanics on Instagram, are you able to see
the direct correlation to sales? That’s why people like
us exist to have that insight into the entertainment
industry and know who the new upcoming talent
are and films coming out as we have to harness
these cultural moments. It’s a lot of work and
insight, and that’s why we have clients that come
to us looking for that support.”
Interestingly, just 27% of respondents say that
information relating to a celebrity’s previous
endorsement history is important. This may suggest
that exclusivity clauses are becoming less prevalent,
maybe in light of the growing need to be genuine
and authentic. L’Oréal’s UK general manager
Adrien Koskas, supports this view, claiming there’s
no exclusivity request within any of his influencer
collaborations. “They have full freedom in terms
of editorial and what they can produce or say. We
are not forcing or pushing them to speak or post
about anything or to exclude any brands. They are
free to comment or say anything about any brand.
That’s the base of our relationship. I know they
will continue to talk about other brands too, or
sometimes be more critical. So I’m pretty confident
and this is an open discussion with them – they keep
their freedom and editorial point-of-view.”
When you are identifying talent to work with, what information has
proved most useful?
59%
53%
49%
34%
27%
25%
6%
“I love working with brands
that have a key vision for their
campaigns and key outcomes,
but I also think open briefs can
be just as effective.”
Tanya Burr,
Fashion and beauty vlogger
Figure 6
TALENT’S AUDIENCE/FOLLOWER INFORMATION (DEMOGRAPHIC AND PSYCHOGRAPHIC DATA)
TALENT’S PERSONAL INTERESTS AND VALUES
ACCURATE CONTACT INFORMATION
SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES AND FOLLOWERS
PREVIOUS ENDORSEMENT DEALS
RATES
GIFTING POLICY
18

Not only are brands seeking out intelligence about a
celebrity or influencer’s audience and followers, but
for 41%, it is the biggest deciding factor in selecting
who to work with. This marks a big cultural shift in
celebrity marketing, and indeed in last year’s survey,
49% of companies and 44% of agencies said they
were choosing celebrities based on their personal
contacts and connections, while 38% of companies
and 44% of agencies were relying on gut feeling for
who they thought would resonate best with their
consumer audience.
The illustration below paints a vastly different picture,
with just 5% of respondents, for example, basing their
decisions on celebrities that are currently ‘‘trending”
or in the news.
41% of brands claim
‘audience’ is the
deciding factor
41%
26%
7%
6%
6%
5%
3%
6%
After identifying potential talent to work with, which statement best
describes how you decide who to go with?
Figure 7
WE CHOOSE CELEBRITIES WHOSE FOLLOWERS/AUDIENCE BEST RESONATE
WITH THE BRANDS TARGET AUDIENCE
WE UNDERTAKE IN-DEPTH RESEARCH TO ENSURE TALENT REFLECT
CORE BRAND VALUES
WE CHOOSE TALENT BASED ON THE BUDGET WE HAVE AVAILABLE
WE WORK WITH SPECIALISTS WITHIN NICHE MARKETS/VERTICALS TO HELP
US IDENTIFY NEW TALENT TO WORK WITH
WE CHOOSE TALENT BASED ON PERSONAL CONTACTS/RECOMMENDATIONS
WE TEND TO BASE OUR DECISION ON TALENT THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE NEWS
WE REGULARLY SPEAK TO OUR CUSTOMERS SO INSTINCTIVELY KNOW THE RIGHT TALENT
NONE OF THESE - WE DONT HAVE A SPECIFIC METHOD FOR CHOOSING TALENT
19

59% of brands say email is
the most effective channel
for engaging a celebrity
Once a brand has identified the individual they would
like to work with, 59% of respondents say they
find email the most effective way to establish
contact with that celebrity or influencer, in the first
instance. Last year, this figure was noticeably lower,
with just 39% of companies and 46% of agencies
ranking it as their preferred contact channel. In
light of the in-depth research brands are carrying
out into a celebrity’s audience and core values, etc,
this year, this finding might indicate that brands
are having a clearer and more fixed idea of who
they would like to work with, and are thus more
confident to enter direct dialogue via email. Publicists
remain important, but not quite to the same degree.
In 2016, two-third of respondents cited this as
their most effective method of approach, but
this year just over half (53%) of respondents
favour engaging a celebrity via their publicist.
The other more traditional method of contact,
through a mutual acquaintance, has also fallen in
effectiveness, by approximately 11% (45% in 2016,
versus 34% in 2017).
“Ask yourself why an influencer would want to work with you. Try building connections in
advance, show you’re interested and supportive of their content by sharing and liking their
posts. Demonstrate that you really like their style and keep up-to-date with what they’re up to.”
Which channels do you think are the most effective when engaging a
celebrity/influencer for the first time?
19%
10%
8%
3%
1%
59%
53%
34%
31%
20%
19%
Figure 8
Top tip: Davina Kumal, PR influencer programme manager,
the International Institute for Anti-Ageing (iiaa)
EMAIL
VIA PUBLICIST
INTRODUCTION VIA MUTUAL ACQUAINTANCES
PHONE CALL
PR TEAM VIA CELEBRITY’S OWN WEBSITE
EVENTS
INSTAGRAM
TWITTER
FACEBOOK
LINKEDIN
OTHER
20

33%
22%
19%
17%
8%
High levels of engagement
on social media is a critical
requirement for marketers
As Figures 9 below illustrate, 33% of survey
respondents believe it’s critical a celebrity has high
levels of engagement on social media with the right
audience, for them to be an attractive proposition.
These findings, while unsurprising, raise a question
mark over what this means for celebrities who have
made a conscious decision not to embrace social
media, as well as increasing pressures for celebrities
who are already active on social media. For example,
Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo recently published
an Instagram story which parodied what’s expected
from actors on social media. Within it she jokingly
asked a co-star: “it’s Friday; have you fulfilled your
social media obligations yet today?”
IT’S CRITICAL A CELEBRITY HAS HIGH LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH THE RIGHT
AUDIENCE FOR US TO WORK WITH THEM
WE ALWAYS CONSIDER A CELEBRITY’S SOCIAL MEDIA REPUTATION BEFORE ENGAGING THEM
IT MATTERS THAT A CELEBRITY’S SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE IS TRULY AUTHENTIC
BEING ASSOCIATED WITH A CELEBRITY NAME/FACE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEIR NUMBER OF
FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
WE WORK WITH CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE NO SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
Which of the following statements best describe your view on a celebrity’s
social media presence?
Figure 9
21

WHAT COLLABORATIONS HAVE DRIVEN
THE MOST VALUE TO BRANDS?
The survey reveals that in 2017, digital influencers
represent the largest majority group that brands
have worked with for endorsement and commercial
opportunities. This marks a noticeable shift since
last year’s survey, when singers and musicians were
the most popular genre of celebrity that brands had
collaborated with (for 40% of companies), closely
followed by film actors (35%). As the figure below
illustrates, 61% of respondents say they have worked
with digital influencers in the past 12 months, compared
with 57% who have worked with singers or musicians,
and approximately half who have worked with TV actors
and models. This is a game-changer for the industry,
and interestingly, in last year’s survey, 43% of
company respondents predicted social media stars
would rise to the top within brand endorsement
opportunities. This doesn’t take away from the
continued relevance and popularity of respected
celebrities, and the findings show clearly that singers/
musicians in particular still hold much clout and appeal
with brands and their audiences. But, there is no longer
any doubt over the growing pressure digital-born talent
is placing on traditional celebrities, and over the next
12 months it will be critical that brands understand how
to differentiate between the commercial opportunities
that they have available. While there are many reasons
for this, experts acknowledge an overarching driver has
been the increasing prominence of Generation Z, the
crop of young people born between 1996 and 2011,
who have grown up in a digital era when information
is available at all times. There is much that could be
said about this rising generation of consumers, but in
short, they are a collaborative generation, ethnically
diverse, increasingly brand wary, see gender identity
as a spectrum, egalitarian, and are not afraid to back
the social movements they care about. For example,
more than 25% of Gen Z respondents to a recent survey
said that they had boycotted a brand because it did not
align with their moral views. “Some of Generation Z
are still influenced by traditional celebrities and
influencers,” shares independent consultant Michelle
Goodall. “For example my daughters are influenced
and impressed by Emma Watson, they talk about
some politicians and activists, authors such as JK
Rowling and Jonathan Stroud, sportspeople and TV
presenters as ‘celebrity’, but we have to understand
that their traditional media time has been replaced
by Snapchat Explore, Buzzfeed, YouTube and
DMing mates through Snapchat, WhatsApp and
Instagram.”
“Digital influencers are breaking down barriers and finding themselves at the forefront of
campaigns particularly in the US, and I think this will follow suit in the UK. A household
name isn’t just someone who is seen on the TV anymore. However, you can also see
traditional celebrities crossing over into the digital space. There is room for crossover for
both digital and traditional celebrities in my opinion.”
Which of these celebrity or influencer groups have you worked with in the
last 12 months?
61%
57%
51%
49%
49%
42%
42%
38%
32%
6%
Figure 10
Expert view: Tanya Burr, Leading fashion and beauty vlogger
Digital influencers represent the largest majority group
DIGITAL INFLUENCERS
SINGERS/MUSICIANS
TV ACTORS
MODELS
PUBLIC FIGURES
PHOTOGRAPHERS/CREATIVE ARTISTS/MAKEUP ARTISTS ETC
FILM ACTORS
SPORTS PERSONALITIES
AUTHORS/WRITERS
OTHER
22

Female niche influencers are proving the most popular
A detailed breakdown on brand-talent collaborations across
different categories of celebrities and influencers this year:
Exploring the digital influencer group in more detail,
75% of respondents have worked with female niche
influencers in the past 12 months, representing the
largest group (see Figure 11 below). Following closely
behind are female micro and mid-tier influencers,
whom 68% of respondents have worked with this
year. Niche and micro-influencers, of less than
15,000 followers, offer brands an increasingly
interesting proposition. Not only is their price tag
much lower than a top-tier influencer, or an A-list film
actor, for example, but there has been much research
to show that their leverage around a particular subject
can sometimes hold more clout. Consumers trust
their opinion on a specific topic more, because
they know it’s their passion. According to a recent
study by Experticity, micro-influencers are asked their
opinion on buying a product 22 times more than the
average person. They are also more likely to have
firsthand knowledge about a product or service and
are generally better at explaining how a product could
be used. Therefore when the brand match is a good
one, the collaboration can seem a lot more credible
and authentic. An intriguing finding is that male
influencers appear notably less popular than female
talent. A study earlier in the year by Instagram
scheduler Hopper, based on two year’s worth of
data, found that female Instagram users get five
time more ‘likes’ than male users. The average
number of ‘likes’ for female users, including celebrities,
influencers and ordinary users, was 578, compared
to 117 for male users. Men are also 10 times more
likely to like, comment or regram a woman’s post
than posts by men. Commenting on the findings,
Mike Bandar, co-founder of Hopper said: “Instagram
has always been a predominantly female platform,
but these findings show just how tough it is out there
for male-focused brands and influencers to build
followings and reach audiences. It’s not all doom and
gloom though, insights like this are an asset that can
help users create content that will best connect with
their audiences. It’s not just about great photos, regular
posts and the right hashtags - and our savvy users
recognise this and make it work to their advantage.”
As the Figure below highlights, within the film actor
group, aspiring talent is in just as much demand as well
established, A-list talent. In fact, the most in-demand
group over the past 12 months was emerging female
stars, i.e. those who have only very recently made a
name for themselves within the industry.
Which types of digital
influencers have you worked
with in the last 12 months?
Which types of film actors
have you worked with in
the last 12 months?
Figure 11
Figure 12
MALE FEMALE
NICHE INFLUENCERS
(example: organic beauty)
25% 75%
MICRO-INFLUENCERS
(under 15,000 followers)
32% 68%
MID-TIER INFLUENCERS
(15,000 - 1m followers)
32% 68%
TOP-TIER INFLUENCERS
(+1m followers) with a global presence
41% 59%
AUTHORITATIVE
(expert representation of an
industry body, journalist,/editor etc)
42% 58%
MALE FEMALE
ASPRING ACTORS
(yet to be discovered but popular locally)
52% 48%
A LIST FILM ACTORS
(well known name and face that is
recognisable to a global audience)
47% 53%
B LIST FILM ACTORS
(well known for their role in select
films, supporting actor roles)
47% 53%
EMERGING STARS
(film actors that have recently made a
name for themselves with a role or cameo)
45% 55%
NICHE FILM ACTORS
(known to a select group of
people interested in the genre of
films. eg:indie films, short films
45% 55%
23

Which other types of influencers
have you worked with in the last
12 months?
Female reality TV stars currently represent the
most popular segment of TV talent, which one
might safely assume is supported by a strong social
media profile.
Within the field of music, it’s intriguing that female
background singers are the most sought after group,
closely following by rising female stars. Robin Shaw,
director of music creative agency Warm Street, says
there’s much value to be had in identifying music
talent to collaborate with, before they have become a
recognised name. “If you really know the market and
know where it is going, there are certain influencers
who if you pick up early and support them, they will
really appreciate it, and work with you long term.”
However, he warns, “there’s a danger in going blindly
into these sorts of artist relationships, not really
knowing who they are, their music, why they wear
these brands etc.”
Social media has helped to make other artists, such
as authors and photographers, far more accessible to
their loyal fans, and they are consequently rising in
influence and becoming any increasingly attractive
proposition to brands, as the figure below reveals.
As the figure below shows, the sports personality
space is extremely male dominated. Only in two
categories, athletics and gymnastics, are female
influencers being sought after more. However this
balances female popularity in the other celebrity and
influencer groups highlighted above.
Which types of TV actors
have you worked with in
the last 12 months?
Which types of sports
personalities have you worked
Which types of singers/
musicians have you worked
Figure 13
Figure 14 Figure 16
Figure 15
MALE FEMALE
POPULAR TV ACTORS
(lead actors in a
popular TV show/series)
44% 56%
EMERGING TV ACTORS
(well known for their role in a
few shows, supporting roles)
47% 53%
TELEVISION PRESENTERS/
TV HOSTS
44% 56%
REALITY TV STARS 41% 59%
MALE FEMALE
AMERICAN FOOTBALL 100% 0%
BASKETBALL 92% 8%
FOOTBALL/SOCCER 91% 9%
BASEBALL 88% 13%
GOLF 78% 22%
CYCLING 63% 38%
SWIMMING 63% 38%
TENNIS 63% 38%
ATHLETICS 48% 52%
GYMNASTICS 13% 88%
MALE FEMALE
FAMOUS SINGER/MUSICIANS
(a well-known name and face that is
recognisable to a global audience)
49% 45%
WELL ESTABLISHED
SINGER /MUSICIANS
(known mostly to a group of people
interested in the particular genre of
music eg:country,music, classical)
45% 37%
RISING STAR
(an emerging name in the world of music
37% 63%
ASPIRING MUSICIAN
(talent who is just starting out but has
built a loyal local audience)
46% 54%
A BACKGROUND SINGER
(someone who performs solo or with
other singers and musicians in a
recording or commercial
33% 67%
MALE FEMALE
ACTORS/WRITER 49% 51%
PHOTOGRAPHERS/CREATIVE
ARTISTS/MAKEUP ARTISTS ETC
49% 51%
PUBLIC FIGURES 43% 57%
MODELS 25% 75%
24

In 2017, only 8% of brands are using celebrities
for long term contracts (compared to 10% in
2016), highlighting one of the most critical ways in
which digital influencers have impacted the celebrity
marketing space. Instead, as the illustration below
highlights, campaign-specific contracts have risen
in popularity, with approximately a third of survey
respondents saying they generally choose to work
with celebrities in this way. This compares with 22%
of companies who showed preference for campaign
specific contracts in last year’s survey.
Owing to the fast-moving nature of social media,
brands within the fashion and beauty space particularly
are finding success with quicker turnarounds in
influencer/celebrity collaborations. Emma Gregson at
ITB Worldwide advises:
“As a brand, what are you looking to achieve? If
it’s about telling a brand story, then a one-post
moment isn’t going to cut it. You need to harness
the right influencers who can tell their organic
tales over the course of a campaign.”
How do you generally work with talent when using them as part of your
marketing strategy?
Figure 17
Campaign-specific contracts are on the rise
AS PART OF A LONG
TERM CONTRACT
8%
CAMPAIGN SPECIFIC
CONTRACT
32%
AS A ONE-OFF
19%
VARIES
41%
25

MANGO
DEMONSTRATES
THE VALUE IN
MEANINGFUL,
ONGOING
ENGAGEMENTS
CASESTUDY
Influencer Camille Charrière is part of the
#Mangogirls line-up, a brand campaign that
enlists the help of around about 20 style
influencers and taste makers across the globe
each season. The squad has the freedom
to choose the garments they would like to
wear from the season’s collection, and then
Instagram themselves wearing the outfit, with
the required hashtags. According to Mango’s
communications director, Guillermo Corominas,
the names are suggested by the “fashion
fanatics” working at Mango’s headquarters, who
all follow these influencers. He claims it isn’t so
much about the number of followers that the
girls have, but more about the fit between the
style of the influencer and the brand.
ITB Worldwide has been involved in running
the #Mangogirls campaign for the past four
seasons, and is also responsible for engaging
all of the talent. #Mangogirls is a purely social
campaign, with the girls activating exclusively
on their Instagram account. Each season two or
three of the girls are also chosen to be more
involved, and shot featured in digital campaign
content, such as for the Mango Journeys digital
content series,” explains Emma Gregson.
“Within our casting we make sure we have very
aspirational girls involved who can help move
the fashion needle for the brand. When you get
it right, you build loyalty among the girls you
work with, and that has naturally transcended
itself and into the brand being seen as a bit
of a champion for fashion influencers. The
campaign has really helped define who Mango
is as a brand, and they’ve seen a great shift in
who is coming to buy.”
Since the #Mangogirls campaign began
(for SS16/AW16/SS17 – AW17 results still
pending) it has achieved a combined reach
of over 105m followers, a total of over 5m
interactions (including likes and comments).
The average number of interactions per
campaign post are 19,500, with an average
engagement rate per post of 2.3%. The @
mango Instagram profile has also seen its
number of followers rise by 1.9m, which is
a 26% uplift since before the #Mangogirls
program launched.27

THE CHALLENGES THAT EXIST
Despite some optimism within last year’s survey
that budgets for celebrity and influencer marketing
would increase (a view expressed by 39% of
company respondents, and 49% of agencies), it
appears budgets are continuing to prove a challenge
for brand marketers. According to the majority of
experts interviewed for this report, budgets for celebrity
engagement are continuing to be a challenge, which
is of increasing concern when the cost of celebrity
and influencer endorsements is rising. According to
Captiv8, the cost of a single Instagram post with a
top tier influencer (3m to 7m followers) could be in
the region of $75,000, while a YouTube collaboration
with a similar influencer could cost $187,500.
Figure 18 below shows that for the majority of
respondents (41%), less than 10% of their overall budget
is being allocated to celebrity or influencer marketing.
Only 10% of respondents (combined) claim they are able
to spend more than half of their budget on celebrity
engagement. Arguably there’s an education gap that
needs to be bridged: to create a stir on scale, brands
need to learn through experience, and be realistic about
the sorts on budgets that they need to be dedicating to
celebrity and influencer engagement.
Anne Batz, founding partner of talent-brokering
consultancy Talent Republic, agrees that budgets are
becoming more and more stringent, calling sometimes
for more inventive solutions. “It’s important to be
creative with a smaller budget in terms of how
you structure the partnership. If it’s an appealing
brand, the celebrity or talent may take a smaller
fee in exchange for commodities, exposure and/or
beautiful content,” she claims.
As the Figure below reveals, almost half (47%) of
respondents cite being able to identify celebrities
who resonate with their target audience, as their
greatest challenge. In the battle to remain authentic
and trusted, brands are needing to be more vigilant than
ever in terms of who they collaborate with.
Emma Gregson at ITB Worldwide claims Generation
Z is making it ever more critical that brands stay
true to their roots, and invest in time, tools and
expertise to identify the best possible partnerships.
“Generation Z, they are peer-to-peer, and the challenge
brands have is how do they retain who they are as
a brand? How do they stay true to their brand DNA
if they’re relying on hundreds of other people to
talk about the brand? That’s going to be the next
interesting development, and it is certainly posing a
big challenge right now for the industry.”
How much of your overall
budget is currently spent
on influencer/celebrity or
entertainment marketing?
What has been the biggest
challenge in working with
talent?
Celebrity budgets are
becoming more stringent
47% say “identifying
celebrities who resonate
with our audience” is an
ongoing challenge
LESS
THAN
10%
10%
30%
30%
50%
50%
75%
OVER
75%
41% 33% 16% 7% 3%
IDENTIFY TALENT
WHO RESONATE WITH
OUR TARGET AUDIENCE
47%
GETTING THEIR
ATTENTION AND BEING
ABLE TO ENGAGE THEM
36%
KNOWING WHO TO
REACH OUT TO 35%
GETTING THEIR CORRECT
CONTACT INFORMATION 23%
GRANTING THEM THE
CREATIVE FREEDOM
THEY DESIRE
21%
KNOWING THEIR
ENDORSEMENT HISTORY 16%
ACCURATELY DEFINING
WHAT THE TALENT
IS INTERESTED IN
14%
Figure 18 Figure 1928

A fifth of survey respondents agree that granting
celebrities the creative freedom they desire is an
ongoing challenge. It can be a tricky balancing act,
and experts interviewed for the report agreed that
brands can often be seen trying to force creative
on a celebrity, which maybe isn’t ideal for them. A
collaborative approach is key, but due to the many
in-depth layers of content that brands need from
their celebrity talent nowadays, owing to the
myriad social and communications platforms that
need to be utilised, not only is there the TV or print
ad to shoot or film, but there’s a growing need for
behind the scenes footage, QA interviews, etc, and
often this can amount to a huge volume of content
which celebrities aren’t necessarily willing to give
everything of themselves to.
Actress Sophie Turner, speaking within the Sunday
Times article referenced above, shares from a celebrity
perspective the challenge of maintaining personal
creative freedom and authenticity on social media, while
respecting brand relationships and guidelines. Recently
she was photographed wearing an item of clothing
that she shouldn’t have been wearing. “I’m tied in to
a brand...[and] unknowingly, in my naivety, I did
something else with this other brand, not knowing
it was a competitor,” she explains. “When I first saw
the photos I was like, ‘Yeah, but no one cares’, but
people cared! I had lawyers calling me up being like,
‘Hey, you can’t do this!’ And it kind of shook me
up because I was like, ‘Oh f***, people are watching
me, seeing what I’m doing, listening to what I’m
saying.’” She admits this is “the price of fame”, but
not all celebrities are happy and willing to adhere to
such restrictions.
Offering talent creative
freedom is a challenge for 21%
“Influencers know their own audience better than anyone. If you
have decided to work with an influencer due to them being a good
fit for your brand, you should trust their creative license. This will
give your posts an authentic feel on the influencer’s social channels
and will help to give you the result you want. They represent your
brand, or endorse your brand, as a third party. Millennials for
example will trust an influencer more than a piece of advertising.
Influencers know their own audience better than anyone.”
Expert Opinion: Davina Kumal, PR influencer programme
manager, the International Institute for Anti-Ageing (iiaa)
29

DIGITAL INFLUENCERS HAVE IMPACTED THE WAY BRANDS
WORK WITH CELEBRITIES
41% 43% 13% 3% 0%
IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT TALENT THAT ARE A FIT FOR YOUR
BRAND IS A HARD, TIME CONSUMING TASK
19% 48% 20% 13% 0%
MEASURING ROI ON INFLUENCER/CELEBRITY MARKETING IS A
CHALLENGE
17% 46% 34% 3% 0%
A ONE-OFF ASSOCIATION WITH A CELEBRITY IS AS EFFECTIVE
AS A LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP
13% 28% 37% 21% 1%
WITH DIGITAL MEDIA, WORKING WITH CELEBRITIES OR
INFLUENCERS HAS BECOME MORE ACHIEVABLE/AFFORDABLE
11% 48% 26% 14% 1%
WHEN IT COMES TO ENGAGEMENT, REACH IS MORE IMPORTANT
IN THAT CONTEXT
6% 25% 36% 32% 1%
Identifying the right talent that are a good fit for the
brand is becoming increasingly laborious and time
consuming, and stands out as one of the greatest
challenges in 2017. In last year’s survey, 66% of
companies and 58% of agencies agreed this was
a problem, and this year that figure rises to 84%
(see Figure below). It’s a notable finding, and goes to
show that while brands understand the importance of
a good match, they still haven’t really cracked the best
way to go about it. Additionally, measuring the ROI
of celebrity marketing is a challenge for 63%. The
rise of social media and digital talent has undoubtedly
complicated the measurement piece and as an industry,
we are still some way from reaching a standardised ROI
framework. One of the biggest obstacles is reaching
consensus of opinion on what to measure: on the one
hand there’s an abundance of social data and metrics
available, but on the other hand the depth of this
information can sometimes be limiting, making it tricky or
impossible to drill down to a single influencer or product.
“There is a lot of excitement about mid-tier influencers
and the positive impact on ‘engagement’ compared
to those who are followed by millions. It’s the
diminishing law of return seen historically through
social media: build your audience and see your
engagement decline. There is a trend for marketer
to view engagement as the most desirable metric for
influencer marketing. Can I be blunt? Unless you can
move the needle on some business building outcome,
or can make a clear case for increased engagement
= increased sales or some other valuable business
benefit, then ‘engagement’ becomes the new vanity
metric. Any CFO looking at your campaigns isn’t
going to get excited about engagement, unless there
is some way of tying increased engagement with ROI,
e.g. sales, donations or cost savings/efficiencies.”
Michelle Goodall, digital marketing consultant
84% agree that identifying
talent that are a good
brand fit is a hard, time
consuming task
STRONGLYAGREE
AGREE
DISAGREE
STRONGLYDISAGREE
NEITHERAGREE
ORDISAGREE
Figure 20
30

One of the potential reasons for ROI measurement
being an ongoing challenge is that success continues
to be measured traditionally. 60% of respondents
say that press coverage received off the back of
a celebrity collaboration is their primary gauge
of success (see Figure 21 below), which 62% of
respondents also working with influencers agree with
(see Figure 22). Of course historically, column inches
were crucial in the world of celebrity, and continue to
be to some extent, but as digital influencers encroach
on the celebrity engagement space further, brands
need to be looking at more up-to-date metrics.
Just 41% of respondents say they are measuring
revenue generation, and 14% track lead referrals
within a campaign. As one might expect, these
figures are slightly higher for respondents also
working with digital influencers, with 54% measuring
revenue generation. Interestingly, these figures
have fallen somewhat since last year’s survey, when
55% of companies said revenue generation was
an important measure of success, and 24% were
looking to lead referrals.
This could indicate that conversion and sales are
becoming less of a focus for celebrity marketing, with
brands instead taking a longer-term view. However it
could also mean that as social media dominates,
brands are struggling to draw a direct link between
celebrity and influencer marketing and sales, which
is further complicated by the fact that revenue-based
results won’t always be instant.
Campaign success
continues to be measured
in ‘old’ metrics
How do you measure the
success of a campaign where
celebrities have been used as
part of the strategy?
60%
49%
46%
41%
41%
5%
14%
3%
Figure 21
PRESS COVERAGE RECEIVED ON THE
BACK OF IT
WEB TRAFFIC GENERATED
NUMBER OF ONLINE MENTIONS
NUMBER OF TIMES CONTENT SHARED
REVENUE GENERATION
LEAD REFERRALS
SENTIMENT
OTHER
How do you measure the success
of a campaign where celebrities
and influencers have been used
as part of the strategy?
62%
59%
54%
51%
46%
15%
26%
2%
Figure 22
PRESS COVERAGE RECIEVED ON
THE BACK OF IT
WEB TRAFFIC GENERATED
REVENUE GENERATION
NUMBER OF ONLINE MENTIONS
NUMBER OF TIMES CONTENT SHARED
SENTIMENT
LEAD REFERRALS
OTHER
31

Less than a third of
respondents are using
trackable links
It’s important for marketers to acknowledge that the
number of people who see a social media post by a
celebrity or influencer will never be equal to the total
number of followers. Brands need to be able to know
how many impressions are being generated from
sponsored posts, and via trackable links, be able to
determine which celebrity or influencer drove specific
referrals to a website or social media channel, which
then led to a sale or alternative call to action (possibly
just shy of sales). As Figure 23 below shows, the
majority (63%) of respondents are relying on generic
web analytics data for measuring ROI. Just 29%
are using trackable attribution links within influencer
content, and a further 28% are utilising trackable
platform-specific metrics. A mere 12% are including
floodlight tags within campaign content.
Which of these tools/metrics do you use to measure ROI?
13%
63%
29%
28%
22%
20%
12%
13%
Figure 23
Brands should be making better use of platform-
specific measurement features.
This year, Instagram, which is one of the fastest
growing social media platforms, has rolled out new
features and functionality that make it easier for brands
to measure tangible ROI through the platform. For
example, in the summer it released a standardised
format for celebrities and influencers to tag a brand
as the sponsor for their post, meaning that the post
will include a “Paid partnership with” notification
at the very top. (These disclosures can also show up
on Instagram Stories.) Not only does this allow for
enhanced transparency, but also the tag means the
brand will automatically get access to the same data as
the influencer around a post’s reach and engagement,
and that data will show up in the same Facebook
dashboard as the rest of their advertising data.
Additionally, Instagram is now letting all business
accounts with 10,000 or more followers add links
to their Instagram Stories, which could be to a
specific product page, for example. Via a swipe-up
mechanic, brands can include a clear call to action,
so that followers understand the intention of the link.
OUR WEB ANALYTICS
TRACKABLE ATTRIBUTION LINKS WITHIN CONTENT CREATED BY CELEBRITY OR INFLUENCER
PLATFORM-SEPCIFIC METRICS E.G. TRACKABLE SHOPPING LINKS WITH INSTAGRAM
SUCCESS METRICS PROVIDED BY CELEBRITY OR INFLUENCER
SOCIAL MEASUREMENT TOOLS E.G.BRANDWATCH
SPECIALIST SENTIMENT ANALYSIS TOOLS
FLOODLIGHT TAGS
OTHER
32

33%
As Figure 24 below highlights, three-quarters of
respondents are continuing to identify influencers and
celebrities to work with via manual research across
social media platforms and forums, etc. In previous
Celebrity Intelligence and Fashion Beauty Monitor
research, it’s repeatedly emerged that marketers are
carrying out influencer and celebrity research manually
and in-house, without the aid of specialist research tools
and databases.
As we move closer towards 2018, the need for
more efficient methods of research, incorporating
audience intelligence and data-driven insight, is
only going to increase, and brands would be well
advised to consider the tools or experts they would
benefit from investing in. It’s encouraging to see that
45% of respondents are investing in specialist celebrity
engagement tools, such as Celebrity Intelligence,
when in last year’s survey just 36% of companies
and 32% of agencies were taking this approach.
However with 41% still relying on recommendations
from colleagues and industry peers, that’s a sizeable
majority of brands who are really limiting their options in
terms of the scope of celebrities and influencers they’re
identifying to work with.
Of course the likelihood of identifying ‘the right match’
decreases if limited research tools are available to the
brand marketer. Independent consultant Michelle
Goodall claims the overarching challenge to celebrity
and influencer marketing will be poorly judged
celebrity/brand relationships, where there’s little
or no mutual value. The more insight and data brands
have to hand about celebrities, the better the chance
they will have of forging a meaningful partnership. “I
genuinely believe the killer of influencer campaigns
will be that consumers (and particularly Generation
Z) ignore sponsored messages/posts or mentally ad-
block influencer content if it gets too commercial,”
she explains. “I know my kids visibly roll their eyes or say
‘that’s so sponsored!’ when their favourite YouTubers
endorse products and it feels incongruous.”
75% continue to identify
celebrities and influencers
manually
Which tools or methods do you currently use to identify talent
when using them as part of your marketing strategy?
75%
45%
41%
29%
10%
10%
Figure 24
MANUALLY SEARCHING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND FORUMS
SPECIALIST CELEBRITY ENGAGEMENT TOOLS
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES OR PEERS IN THE INDUSTRY
PHYSICALLY ATTENDING SPECIALIST EVENTS AND CONFERENCES
FREE SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING TOOLS
PAID FOR SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING TOOLS
OTHER
33

THE FUTURE
OF CELEBRITY
ENGAGEMENT
This year’s survey findings point towards notable
maturity within the celebrity and influencer
engagement space. The revelation that digital
influencers have surpassed established celebrities, in
terms of popularity for brand campaigns, is arguably
the most poignant discovery. It brings to light the
unprecedented impact social media has had upon
the world of celebrity, and how the lines between
celebrity and digital talent are increasingly blurred.
But what does the future hold for celebrity engagement?
Here are some key trends that this year’s survey data,
and expert interviews, reveal...
As one might expect, digital influencers will be
increasingly sought after by brands, largely driven
by the demands and expectations of Generation Z.
As Figure 25 below shows, the largest majority of
survey respondents (44%) believe digital influencers
will be best suited to endorsement opportunities
that they have coming up. Sitting below this are TV
actors, with 38% of respondents claiming they would
be most relevant to forthcoming campaigns, but this
margin between digital talent and celebrities is only
like to grow in size, unless it implodes, which one
expert argued could be a possibility.
Overall it seems likely that the emerging trend for
campaigns that blend a frontline celebrity with rising
digital talent, will continue. Celebrities will retain
cut-through and appeal for certain generations
particularly, and for the short term they will be
continue to reach channels above and beyond what
a social influencer can aspire to. Meanwhile, digital
talent will serve a more targeted and engaged
communications strategy, with the focus being on
content creation for more niche and segmented
audience groups. This will mean that celebrities
who choose to stay off social media may be able to
continue to do so, without ruling out lucrative brand
deals. Nick Ede at East of Eden advises marketers to
“use social influencers strategically, ensuring they
are the right people, not just because they have a
big following.” Several experts interviewed for the
report also spoke of a move towards quality over
quantity, where budgets are used for carefully, after
thorough research, for the ‘right’ celebrity or influencer.
Thinking about upcoming endorsement work you have planned, which
types of celebrities would be the most relevant to your particular strategy?
44%
38%
37%
35%
27%
21%
24%
17%
14%
2%
Figure 25
1. Digital influencers will prevail in popularity
DIGITAL INFLUENCERS
TV ACTORS
FILM ACTORS
SINGERS/MUSICIANS
PUBLIC FIGURES
SPORTS PERSONALITIES
MODELS
AUTHORS/WRITERS
PHOTOGRAPHERS/CREATIVE ARTISTS/MAKEUP ARTISTS ETC
NONE OF THE ABOVE
34

2. Niche and emerging
influencers and
celebrities will rise
in popularity
Female niche influencers are likely to rise in popularity
over the next 12 months, according to Figure 26 below.
Approximately three-quarters of respondents feel
this group of influencer would be most relevant for
their upcoming endorsement work. As some experts
interviewed for this report explained, niche influencers
offer something quite different, and if the talent is
unknown and untapped commercially, it can be a
great way for a brand to build a meaningful, ongoing
relationship with an individual.
However, independent consultant Michelle Goodall
predicts that top-tier celebrities and influencers
will continue to be an interesting opportunity for
brands, as they don’t have the desire to cash in
on their fame in the way that mid-tier influencers
might be driven to do so. “Top tier celebrities and
influencers are looking for more creative, commercial
tie-ups through the lens of ‘how does this brand match
with my beliefs and what is important to me’. I believe
those who can choose to be more selective with their
partnerships, only choosing the brands that they believe
‘fit’ and offer absolute parity, will be the more meaningful
propositions.” She cites British actress and activist
Emma Watson, as savvy social media user, as a good
example, who shows a “very focused approach to
ethical goods, not just for the Beauty and the Beast
‘The press Tour’ Instagram account, which she
created to raise awareness of the sustainability of
her tour wardrobe, but also on an ongoing basis”. Reality TV stars are also likely to hold increasing appeal
for brands moving forwards, particularly as they can often
toe the line between celebrity and influencer. Kirsty
Williams, COO of Insanity Group, offers the example
of TOWIE star Lydia Bright, who today has 873,000
followers on Instagram. “Her audience has grown
up with her, she’s very accessible, credible, and she’s
celebrated by the weekly fashion magazines, as well
as having access to mainstream TV, “ Williams explains.
Her brand endorsements began small, but more recently
she collaborated with Mercedes to promote one of its
smaller SUV vehicles, following a successful campaign
for its Smart car. “It felt like a genuine fit. Her audience are
younger, but aspiring to become Mercedes customers in
the future, and it’s meaningful because the relationship
has been established over time.”
As Figure 27 reveals, film actors will likely remain
important to brand campaigns for quite some time,
with female actors having slightly greater appeal. It’s
revealing that emerging and aspiring actors will be
more sought after than A-list talent.
Figure 26
Figure 27
Figure 28
Which types of digital
influencers would be most
relevant for your upcoming
endorsement work?
Which types of TV actors would
be most relevant for your
upcoming endorsement work?
Which types of film actors
would be most relevant for your
MALE FEMALE
AUTHORITATIVE
(EXPERT REPRESENTATIVE
OF AN INDUSTRY BODY,
JOURNALIST, EDITOR ETC)
35% 65%
NICHE INFLUENCERS
(FOR EXAMPLE, ORGANIC
BEAUTY, GLUTEN FREE ETC)
26% 74%
MICRO-INFLUENCERS
(UNDER 15,000 FOLLOWERS) 35% 65%
MID-TIER INFLUENCERS
(15,000-1M FOLLOWERS) 35% 65%
TOP-TIER/ALPHA INFLUENCERS
(+1M FOLLOWERS) WITH A GLOBAL
REACH AND PRESENCE
32% 68%
MALE FEMALE
A LIST FILM ACTORS
(WELL-KNOWN NAME AND
FACE THAT IS RECOGNISABLE
TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE)
47% 53%
B LIST FILM ACTOR
(WELL KNOWN FOR THEIR
ROLE IN SELECT FILM,
SUPPORTING ACTOR ROLES)
42% 58%
NICHE FILM ACTORS
(KNOWN TO A SELECT
GROUP OF PEOPLE INTERESTED
IN THE GENRE OF FILMS
EG: INDIE FILMS, SHORT FILMS)
39% 61%
EMERGING STARS
(FILM ACTORS THAT HAVE RECENTLY
MADE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES
WITH A ROLE OR CAMEO)
39% 61%
ASPIRING ACTORS
(YET TO BE DISCOVERED
BUT POPULAR LOCALLY)
36% 64%
MALE FEMALE
POPULAR TV ACTORS
(LEAD ACTORS IN A POPULAR
TV SHOW/SERIES)
42% 58%
EMERGING TV ACTORS
(WELL KNOWN FOR THEIR ROLE IN A
FEW SHOWS, SUPPORTING ROLES)
32% 68%
TELEVISION PRESENTERS/
TV HOSTS
37% 63%
REALITY TV STARS 30% 70%
35

Which types of singers/
musicians would be most
endorsement work?
Which other types of influencers
would be most relevant for your
Which types of sports
personalities would be most
endorsement work?
MALE FEMALE
FAMOUS SINGER/MUSICIANS
(A WELL-KNOWN NAME AND F
ACE THAT IS RECOGNISABLE
TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE)
45% 55%
WELL-ESTABLISHED
SINGER/MUSICIANS
(KNOWN MOSTLY TO A GROUP
OF PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THE
PARTICULAR GENRE OF MUSIC EG:
COUNTRY MUSIC, CLASSICAL)
41% 59%
RISING STAR
(AN EMERGING NAME IN
THE WORLD OF MUSIC)
44% 56%
ASPIRING MUSICIAN
(TALENT WHO IS JUST STARTING OUT
BUT HAS BUILT A LOYAL AUDIENCE)
41% 59%
A BACKGROUND SINGER
(SOMEONE WHO PERFORMS
SOLO OR WITH OTHER SINGERS
AND MUSICIANS IN A RECORDING
OR COMMERCIAL)
14% 86%
MALE FEMALE
PHOTOGRAPHERS/
CREATIVE ARTISTS/
MAKEUP ARTISTS ETC
39% 61%
AUTHORS/WRITERS 50% 50%
MODELS 35% 65%
PUBLIC FIGURES 47% 53%
MALE FEMALE
BASKETBALL 89% 11%
FOOTBALL/SOCCER 76% 24%
AMERICAN FOOTBALL 71% 29%
GOLF 70% 30%
CYCLING 67% 33%
TENNIS 62% 38%
BASEBALL 60% 40%
ATHLETICS 52% 48%
SWIMMING 50% 50%
GYMNASTICS 30% 67%
OTHER 80% 20%
Figure 29
Figure 31
Figure 30
3. Budgets will increase
for 42%
42% of respondents said their budgets would increase
moderately or significantly in the next 12 months. Yet,
despite the need for a greater proportion of marketing
budgets to be attributed to celebrity and influencer
engagement, it seems more likely that funds will
remain pretty much the same, for approximately half
(47%) of survey respondents.
In the next 12 months, will your
budget for influencer/celebrity
or entertainment marketing
DECREASE REMAIN
THE
SAME
INCREASE
MODERATELY
INCREASE
SIGNIFICANTLY
11% 47% 36% 6%
Figure 32
36

4. Data will become a
more fundamental
part of celebrity and
influencer marketing
As the industry continues to mature, it makes sense that
the number of brands taking a data-driven approach to
celebrity and influencer marketing will increase. Moving
forward, it will be crucial that brands replace subjective
identification methods or personal recommendation, with
data-based intelligence and analysis, so that they have
an in-depth understanding of the celebrity or influencer
and their audience, and can know for sure if their ideal
consumer will be reached through the partnership.
Additionally, as niche influencers rise in prominence,
it will be even more critical for brands to have an in
depth understanding of their audience, to ensure the
match is a credible fit. Audience intelligence will be
instrumental in leading this evolution, offering valuable
insight into the most fitting and impactful influencers to be
collaborating with, based on the characteristics, behaviour
and demographics of their followers.
5. Brands will broaden
their reach to
international influencers
For celebrity and influencer marketing to mature further
and become a top priority at board level, it needs to be
demonstrating global reach. While many A-list celebrities,
such as actors, have global recognition, this generally
isn’t the case for digital influencers. Increasingly, brands
will need to seize the opportunity to reach out to
new international markets through collaborations
with local influencers, who are known and trusted
within their region. Markets such as China, Japan and
India offer exciting, largely untapped possibilities, and
have unique influencer ecosystems that brands must
immerse themselves in, in order to establish meaningful
partnerships. For example, Josh Steimle, founder and CEO
of international digital marketing agency MWI, says: “One
thing that differentiates China from Western markets
is that there’s no age barrier for mobile usage—it’s
not uncommon to see an old guy using a smartphone
while riding a bike. That has created a different
market dynamic, where there are more opportunities
for influencers to reach an older segment of the
population on mobile.” It will be crucial that brands have
access to influencer and audience data, to understand
the platforms that are being used by country, such as
WeChat in China, and to identify a good authentic fit.
Simply translating content into Chinese, for example, and
pushing out via a poorly researched Chinese influencer
will be futile, as audiences will immediately spot the
lacking authenticity.
6. Augmented reality
and holograms will
enable consumers to
get closer to celebrities
than ever before
It might sound crazy, but augmented reality within the
celebrity engagement space is closer than one thinks,
which could enable consumers to get much closer to
celebrities and influencers than ever before. China is one
country leading the way with AR, and according to new
research from Worldpay, 95% of survey respondents in
China have used VR or AR technology in the past three
months, indicating a growing consumer demand for the
technology. Early AR prototypes were a bit rough around
the edges, but current VR technology has the ability to
present a clear and engaging three-dimensional image
so vividly, that a truly dynamic user experience is possible.
Experts interviewed for this report said they could
foresee the technology being used in an experiential
way in the future, enabling consumers to engage
with celebrities and influencers in a far deeper and
more meaningful way. During New York Fashion Week
last year, Intel partnered with designers including Erin
Fetherston, Prabal Gurung and Band of Outsiders, to
live broadcast their shows in virtual reality. It provided
fans with a fully immersive version of a classically flat
live stream experience, enabling them to feel as though
they were sat in the front row. Quite recently, Nicole
Kidman starred in a five-minute short film for Etihad
Airways, titled “Reimagine”, which took viewers on
a 360-degree virtual reality story. The concept was
to immerse viewers in an experiential journey following
Kidman through one of Etihad’s new Airbus A380s flying
non-stop between New York and Abu Dhabi.
Shane O’Hare, SVP of marketing for Etihad, in an
interview with Adweek, said: “Some things need to
be experienced, not explained. You don’t explain the
taste of a meal at a high-end restaurant or the feel of
good linen in a five-star hotel bedroom. In the same
way, our incredible A380 product cannot adequately
be described by words alone, or by traditional film, or
even by 3D film alone. It has to be experienced. Virtual
reality allowed us to make that experience real for
viewers.” Celebrity holograms are also another possibility
for brands, meaning a convincing digital stand-in of an
A-list actor, for example, could appear in a high street
shop or at a fashion event. This was recently trialed at
up and coming British designer Martine Jarlgaard’s show
during London Fashion Week, where attendees wore
Microsoft Hololens headsets to see the full spring/summer
2017 collection coming to life in the form of holograms
in front of them, which they could interact with from all
angles. The experiment turned a passive fashion show
into something far more immersive and engaging. It was
a clever PR stunt, but went some way towards showcasing
how brands could use AR technology moving forward.
For those lucky enough to see a budget increase,
the impact will be marginal of less than 10%, for
46% of respondents. A mere 3% of respondents
expect to see their budgets double.
How much of your overall
budget is currently spent
on influencer/celebrity or
entertainment marketing?
LESS
THAN
10%
10%
20%
20%
30%
30%
50%
50%
70%
70%
100%
46% 27% 12% 12% 2% 1%
Figure 33
37

CONCLUSION
Social media has made its impact at all
levels within the celebrity marketing
industry, and as we move into 2018,
it appears digital influencers will be
in higher demand for forthcoming
endorsement opportunities than
established celebrities. Does this take
away from the continued relevance and
popularity of respected celebrities?
Of course not, at least not for the time
being, and the majority of marketers
interviewed for this report agreed
celebrity engagement is still proving
extremely effective.
But, there is no
longer any doubt
over the growing
pressure digital-born
talent is placing on
traditional celebrities,
and over the next
12 months it will be
critical that brands
get to grips with how
they marry the two.
A blended campaign
that encompasses
celebrity with a
digital influencer layer
seems like the most
logical way forward,
as global brands like Gap and The
Body Shop have already demonstrated.
This will enable brands to achieve cut-
through and those valuable column
inches, while also talking to consumers
in a more targeted and meaningful way.
The question celebrities increasingly
need to consider is how they use social
media, if at all, and how they ensure it
is authentic. It’s notable that just 8%
of survey respondents say they work
with celebrities with no social media
presence, and this figure seems likely
to decrease very gradually. Although
it’s currently not a prerequisite for A-list
celebrities to have active social media
profiles, it may certainly make them
less desirable if they don’t, and at this
stage it’s tricky to be sure whether some
have already alienated themselves from
certain commercial opportunities. It’s an
intriguing debate, and one which will
reveal itself more over coming months.
Overall, there is strong evidence that
celebrity and influencer collaborations
are becoming more meaningful, with
brands taking greater interest in their
audience following
particularly, and how
it resonates with
their own audience.
There is plenty of
indication within the
survey results that
marketers will be
taking an increasingly
data-driven approach
towards identifying
the best influencers
to work with, relying
less on personal
connections and gut
instinct, or a crudely
gathered group of
individuals to choose
from. Possibilities within the industry
are clearly being hampered by budget
constraints, and this is exacerbated
by the growing need to demonstrate
tangible ROI.
While a year ago ‘engagement’ was the
new buzz word, as an industry we have
moved on from that quite quickly, and
have arguably come full circle back to
the need for brands to demonstrate that
their efforts have moved the needle on
important business objectives. Cracking
the ROI piece will be fundamental for
industry maturity in the future.
APPENDIX
Which of the following
best describes your
company or role?
CLIENT SIDE
(PART OF AN IN-HOUSE TEAM)
47%
AGENCY/VENDOR/CONSULTANT 53%
38

09
12
12
13
14
20-21
20-21
20-21
22
23
23
27
28
37
37
REFE RENCES
http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/what-is-an-influencer
https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/10/daily-chart-9
https://www.rhythmone.com/assets/insights/RhythmOne_FullYear2016InfluencerBenchmarks.pdf
https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Consumer-Trust-Evolving-Digital-Age/1014959
https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/09/16/loreal-on-why-other-brands-are-using-influencers-the-wrong-way/
https://www.edelman.com/news/2017-edelman-trust-barometer-reveals-global-implosion/
https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/scarlett-johansson-1#page3
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sophie-turner-growing-up-on-game-of-thrones-l8b66936b
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-rise-of-gen-znew-challenge-for-retailers/%24FILE/EY-rise-of-gen-znew-challenge-for-retailers.pdf
http://go2.experticity.com/rs/288-AZS-731/images/Experticity-KellerFaySurveySummary_.pdf?_ga=1.52674216.1259934216.1472868059
http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/social-media-marketing/female-instagram-users-get-5x-more-likes-than-men/4209
http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/what-is-an-influencer
https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/10/daily-chart-9
https://www.emarketer.com/Article/Influencers-Big-China-Influencer-Marketing-Underutilized/1016364
http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2017/09/12/chinas-retailers-lead-augmented-and-virtual-reality-the-rest-the-world-follows
39

The only celebrity and influencer
marketing tool you need
Learn more at
www.celebrityintelligence.com

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