Influencer marketing is no longer an experiment - big brands are all in

It wasn’t long ago that influencer marketing was seen as a niche play, a “test-and-learn” budget item for brands experimenting in digital. But that era is over.

Big brands are now investing millions in talent-led campaigns and those still on the sidelines risk falling behind in what is now one of the biggest shifts modern advertising has seen.

The numbers tell the story: brands aren’t just dabbling in this space anymore - they are shifting serious budgets.

This week’s Digital 2025 Australia report from Meltwater and We Are Social shows social media advertising in Australia surged 12% in the past year to reach US$4.26 billion, or close to 30% of total digital ad spend. 

At last night’s AiMCO Awards in Sydney, which gathered more than 300 influencers, agencies and brands, those leading the charge made one thing clear: influencer marketing is no longer a bolt-on - it’s the new front line of brand storytelling.

For Lily Huynh, the food and lifestyle influencer who took home the Best Food & Beverage Influencer award, the industry shift has been staggering.

“I really don’t know how this happened. It’s just grown exponentially over the past year. I’m still shocked,” said Huynh, who now commands an audience of more than eight million followers across four platforms, including more than three million on TikTok alone.

New media powerhouse

What was once dismissed as an experimental tactic is now outperforming traditional media in audience engagement, trust and conversion.

“This industry has come a long way in the last three to four years,” said Sam Kelly, managing director at Hello Social. “People looked down on influencer marketing, but the tide is shifting. The big guys are scared. Production companies are shitting themselves, publishers are shitting themselves and CMOs now want to take meetings with us.”

Kelly, whose independent agency last night took home a slew of awards, including Best large agency/business, said the shift is being driven by audience behaviour - and advertisers are following.

“At the end of the day, advertisers follow audiences. You just have to look at the ratings of traditional TV versus where people are actually spending their time,” he said.

Spawnpoint Media CEO Jordan Barclay, whose Melbourne-based content agency pulls in more than 100 million weekly views across its social channels, agrees.

“YouTube has had more viewership than Disney, Netflix and any major streamer for the last couple of years now,” Barclay said. “We are essentially the modern home viewing experience.”

The real power, he added, isn’t just in the scale - it’s in the connection influencers have with their audience.

“We could have an hour-long video promoting a product, and not only does the audience willingly choose to watch the whole hour, they actually connect with the product,” he said. “That is infinitely more valuable than three seconds walking past a billboard that they probably won't even notice.”

Cultural credibility drives results

The scale and impact of influencer marketing isn’t just about eyeballs - it’s about cultural relevance and trust.

Suzie Shaw, CEO of We Are Social Australia, said today’s influencers are some of the most culturally salient people in the world.

“There’s a greyness between who is an influencer and who is a celebrity, but they are the new generation of celebrities. Social media has completely democratised people's ability to build their own audience.”

For Huynh, her massive platform is as much about community as it is about content.

“I see my brand as a business, but there’s a lot of different aspects to that business. The number one priority is my community,” she said. 

“I see it as a business. You have to be well connected. It’s an interesting intersection. I am a marketing business, but I’m also a creator. What is most important is that I represent myself as an individual and show up authentically.”

This ability to build and sustain trust is a core reason why influencer marketing outperforms traditional advertising.

“In general, we see exponentially stronger performance of the same content on an influencer’s channel versus on the brand’s channel,” Shaw said. “We attribute that to trust and engagement. People are tuning into these people because they want to hear what they've got to say, and they are willing to give them their time and attention.”

Why authenticity is winning

The days of brands spending millions on high-gloss, high-production ads may be numbered. More and more, brands are embracing the creator model, where the best influencers handle content ideation, production and distribution - often with stronger results than traditional advertising.

“Brands are now trying to show up like creators,” said Kelly. “They are shifting away from highly produced, million-dollar ads and now working with creators to do it in an authentic way. Influencers bring content capabilities plus a highly engaged audience - it’s magic.”

Huynh agrees. She said that her followers trust her recommendations because she actively engages with them, rather than just pushing out content.

“I feel like my followers are my best friends. I’ve spent a lot of time building up trust with my community - I interact with comments, I take their questions and turn that into new content. It’s a very tight-knit community,” she said.

That trust translates into real impact for brands.

“My community knows that I only partner with brands that I really trust and already really like,” she said. “There’s a stronger impact when you see someone you love endorsing something. When you see a billboard or a TV commercial, it’s not a one-on-one connection - it’s distant.”

The biggest mistake brands make? Assuming the audience doesn’t care about transparency.

“I make it very, very clear when I partner with a brand. I’m not hiding anything. I show a paid partnership label, I’m very transparent,” Huynh said. “People lose trust when creators try to hide that. My audience knows I promote brands I love, and they are happy to support that.”

Influencer marketing at scale

For brands that still view influencer marketing as an add-on, rather than a core strategy, time is running out.

“If you’re not in this space, you are already behind,” said Barclay. “We work with clients who are spending the majority of their budget here.”

Sam Kelly argues the next phase of influencer marketing will be defined by scale, sophistication and deeper brand integration.

“We used to go and put an ad on Channel 9 News. Now, these guys are the publishers. They make the ad, they make the content and different versions of that content. They can do educational and long-form content, hard sales, or big cultural and iconic stunts that cut through.”

For Huynh, working with brands is highly strategic.

“I’m very, very selective. I turn down the majority of brands who approach me. I believe in quality over quantity,” she said. “I definitely prioritise longer-term relationships. I would rather work with fewer brands who I have a stronger alignment with.”

That selectivity is why influencer-led marketing works - it’s authentic, transparent and deeply connected to audience trust.

“A big part of this is about meeting people where they are,” said Ross Candido, VP at Meltwater.

“A good hard data point to attach to this is that 58 percent of internet users now research products in social media and 23 percent of those Australians actively using social media now follow influences.

Candido said for many brands, the influencer-community is now a very direct path to purchase.

"There are multiple strategies within the influencer community to grow,” he said.

Evolve or lose relevance

While major brands are investing millions into influencer marketing, Barclay said traditional agencies are still on the sidelines, unsure of how to approach the space. 

But independent agencies like Hello Social and Spawnpoint Media have doubled down, delivering large-scale influencer-led campaigns that rival traditional media buys.

“Traditional advertising agencies haven't caught up and they’re not adapting,” Barclay said.

Hello Social’s Sam Kelly said the shift is only accelerating and legacy agencies are starting to take notice.

Both Hello Social and Spawnpoint said the offers to sell are coming thick and fast. 

“Yes, people are knocking on our door, but we have a long-term plan. Our founders are all young, so we have a lot of years ahead of us. At the end of the day, we do great work, we attract great people, and we make money. We’re here for the long game,” Kelly said.