According to the research done by the sports and entertainment intelligence platform SponsorUnited, nearly one third of the businesses that have signed partnerships with influencers over the course of the past year did not have any such deals in 2023 or 2022 on their books. Ninety-six percent of those firms entered into a single collaboration with a celebrity influencer included in the top 100 (as measured by the number of followers they have on social media), while the remaining four percent entered into several partnerships.
SponsorUnited observed that many brands are going towards non-celebrity influencers due to the fact that they are more cost-effective and provide higher engagement. This is despite the fact that celebrity influencers are appealing. According to Bob Lynch, the founder and CEO of SponsorUnited, “the data is clear,” as was stated in a release. “A person’s level of engagement decreases in proportion to the number of endorsement deals they negotiate. Every day, companies are looking for the next great voice that has not yet been heard, and in today’s world, that voice is virtually always an influencer.
Why it is important to us. It may take a few years for trends in the marketing sector to properly establish themselves, but all of a sudden, they have become a part of our everyday life. In the same way that sponsored social ads, shoppable ads, live streams, and retail media networks are coming into their own, influencer marketing is now completely pervasive.
Some brand categories are making the astute decision that an engaged and knowledgeable advocate has more relevant reach than, for example, Taylor Swift, and costs less. These are the two trends that should be taken into consideration in this context. Brands that are still entering the sector for the very first time are also a trend that should be noted.
Who are the new brands? Three categories accounted for about forty percent of the brands that were new to the market:
- Consumer products.
- Apparel and accessories.
- Food products.
An overall activity of the brand. Cosmetics and skin care products had the biggest number of offers (65), followed by footwear and apparel that was not related to sports. This was the case across all brands that were monitored. Walmart and L’Oreal were in the forefront of the competition, each securing six new deals.
As opposed to influencers, celebrities? Different brand categories resulted in different levels of preference for celebrities over influencers (or vice versa):
- Celebrities were the target audience for items of luxury clothing and accessories.
- In the realm of technology, including consumer electronics, influencers hold a dominant position.
When it comes to influencers, brands tend to favor younger individuals, with those under the age of 34 accounting for approximately 80 percent of transactions in the category of influencers.
The ones who prevailed. It is common for celebrities to have more brand deals than influencers, but according to this analysis, two young influencers had the most new deals: James Charles, a make-up star on YouTube, and Charli D’Amelio, who is renowned on TikTok.
A staggering 825 million new followers were added to the top 100 most followed celebrities and influencers over the course of the past year, according to the report, which contains perhaps the most astounding statistic. When it comes to celebrities, the individuals who experienced the most significant growth were Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano, who gained 22 million followers, and Dwayne Johnson, who gained 10 million followers. On the other hand, among influencers, YouTuber MrBeast [sic] gained no less than 182 million new followers.
