Are influencers a media channel? And should media agencies have jurisdiction over them? We put these questions to our network — here’s what they had to say.
Anna-Lee Bridgstock — executive director of data and product at Jungle Creations
Influencer marketing is reaching a pivotal moment, with the UK industry projected to be worth £1.3bn by 2029. It has firmly established itself as a media channel and on media plans, playing a critical role in boosting brand awareness and driving long-term sales. Despite this rapid growth, influencer marketing has a tendency to remain siloed from the broader marketing mix. In its early stages marketers could be forgiven for treating it as an experimental channel, but as it matures into a key part of campaigns it needs to be integrated more strategically. Influencer marketing should be planned in coordination with the broader ecosystem to maximise effectiveness and efficiency. When used as part of a unified media and creative strategy alongside traditional and digital media, it has the potential to deliver superior brand results due to its authenticity as a channel.
Media agencies certainly do have jurisdiction around ensuring influencer is on the media plan, and that the content is active at the optimal time, and is optimised with the right levels of spend. However, specialist social and influencer agencies who live and breathe these types of engagements every day, play a vital role in delivering impactful strategies and campaigns. Ultimately, the question is not whether influencers should be treated as a media channel, but how we can elevate the role of influencers within the marketing mix to unlock their full potential.
Monica Majumdar — head of strategy at Wavemaker
Influencers are not an obvious choice for a media touchpoint. Alongside paid, owned, and earned channels — the likes of personal recommendations, word of mouth, and social — they can effectively reach and engage consumers. Akin to product placements and ad-funded programming, influencers allow brands to convey their unique selling points more organically. By using familiar and trusted voices they can integrate seamlessly into the content consumed by target audiences day in/day out. The power of ‘influencers’ is not only as a brand-driving touchpoint. As seen with our GroupM sister agency, GOAT, they can drive performance metrics and be attributed directly to sales. Currently influencers as a media touchpoint sit in no-man’s land: PR, creative and even experiential agencies, all claim ownership. Media agency expertise lies in finding the right blend of brand and performance, across all touchpoints, to drive growth. Just as we excel in finding the right media partners to drive effectiveness, efficiency and brand fit, we can find the right influencers. If they are considered a measurable media touchpoint, then media agencies should have jurisdiction.
Anton Jerges — CEO at We Are Collider
As an experience agency we’re seeing an increasing volume of clients briefs where the focus is creators and influencers. They’re becoming a fundamental part of the marketing mix, and an increasingly important element when it comes to the amplification of experiential activations. So much so that we recently invested in an earned media agency (Seven Communications) to give our experiential offering greater cultural relevance. Given their prominence in the marketing mix it could be argued they have already become a channel in their own right. But I would question why, and whether it would ever be workable for media agencies to have jurisdiction over them. The power of influencers is their uniqueness and their authenticity for the people who follow them. If they’re controlled by media agencies, trying to parcel them up into commodities like space or airtime, this power would be eroded.
Tom Sneddon — managing partner at Supernova
According to the Oxford Dictionary an influencer can be defined as any person (or character) with a measurable impact on an audience. So by the very nature of this description (whether it’s an A-lister, industry expert, or a neighbour or friend); should an influencer’s voice or opinion become sought out by a brand, their role is to offer measurable impact, such as media value. However, here comes the rub… yes, influencers can be a media channel — with ad spend, cross-platform usage and bespoke assets all able to be tracked, measured and optimised for impact. But this is simply the transactional benefit of the partnership. In order to achieve any media value, brands also need originality, craft and (dare I say it) creativity. As a result, creators (because, let’s face it, ‘influencer’ massively undervalues their role) sit in a unique position — one where it isn’t about choosing between selling or entertaining, but selling through entertaining. Therefore the best talent partnerships need a connected understanding of modern marketing — bringing audience needs, brand values, culturally connected creativity and measurable impact together as one. That’s why I co-founded Supernova — to help brands unlock meaningful impact in the creator economy.
Callum McCahon — executive strategy director at Born Social
Are influencers a media channel? Yes and no. Creators shouldn’t be reduced to ‘just another media buy’, or treated as a mere placement on a media plan. Their value lies in their ability to co-create, leveraging authenticity and emotional resonance that no traditional channel can replicate. This authenticity is what grabs attention and builds deeper connections. However, to unlock their full potential, creators must work more closely with media strategies. Combining influencer-driven content with paid media amplifies its reach, ensures precision targeting, and drives measurable results. Our data shows that campaigns blending influencer content with paid distribution often outperform brand-owned creative.
The key is balance. Influencers should neither be siloed as organic-only solutions, nor treated purely as tactical tools. When integrated into a broader strategy they become a bridge between creativity and performance — a true reflection of today’s evolving marketing landscape. Let’s not just use influencers, let’s partner with them to drive impactful outcomes.
Alicia Van Coillie — social director at Greenpark
Influencers are people who create relevant content. They earned their followers through the content they make by also knowing their audience very well. What influencers are not, are billboards. Using influencers as billboards is the wrong way to go into influencer marketing, and giving media agencies jurisdiction over them will only push this further. Ultimately, influencers will no longer have the credibility they have now. They already have a hard time holding onto their credibility today. What needs to be done is treat influencers and their platforms as opportunities for brands to showcase how they can enrich their audience’s/customer’s daily life, by letting an influencer create an example and broadcasting it. Influencer marketing is not about the brand, it’s about the audience of the brand and the influencer, and how brands fit into their lives.
Featured image: Mizuno K / Pexels
