Influencer Advisory™How does HexClad marketing work?
HexClad marketing runs on creator videos used as ads. Its head of growth puts 90% of the influencer budget into those ads and 10% into creator fees.
Founder · November 13, 2026 · 3 min read
The head of growth at HexClad, a multi-hundred-million-dollar company, puts 90% of the influencer budget into the whitelisted content and 10% into the organic fee
So creators fill a big part of the ad account. About a third of HexClad's ad account is creator led, from Gordon Ramsay down to small creators who convert. (Marketing Operators)
Tik Tok shop, GMV Max ads are probably where Meta was for us in like 2021. And it was like volume of content is what allowed us to scale those channels then.
Marketing Operators
How does HexClad use influencer marketing?
Test creator posts as ads, then fund the winners
HexClad looks for good organic posts from gifted creators. Then it pays for a paid version of the same idea. (Aaron Orrendorf)
It never hands creators a script. They get bullet points and the shots the brand wants to see. (Marketing Operators)
- A side by side test settled the brand vs. performance fight at HexClad. Problem, agitate, solution creator videos beat a polished brand film by 45% efficiency at the same spend. (Cody)
Hexclad's real edge is making great ads with people who have authority but are not creators.
HexClad still expects to go back to flat fee deals when it wants allow-listable ad creative from a creator with clout.
Once the ads are running, the next question is how to judge them.
How does HexClad measure influencer marketing?
Judge creators on reach, then give the ads time
HexClad first set sales goals at the bottom of the funnel for its creator program, and had to change them. Now its influencer team gets an impressions target for each product line. (Lily Comba, Founder & CEO) (Marketing Operators)
- Seeding brought HexClad 500 million US impressions in 3 months. That number was enough to pay for an influencer hire. (Marketing Operators)
HexClad deliberately runs at bad efficiency from July to October to fill the funnel for November and December.
A lifestyle creator signed for 9 months. After a month, her 1-day click ROAS fell below HexClad's normal bar. What fixed it: HexClad kept spending. Her ads brought strong engagement, lots of new visitors and a different age group, who may need longer to buy.
Reach and patience matter most when you want volume.
How does HexClad use TikTok Shop affiliates?
Use affiliates for volume and new buyers
HexClad had about 500 affiliate videos go up in a month or two. (Marketing Operators)
- On TikTok Shop, 32% of HexClad buyers are 18 to 34. On Shopify it is 11%. That gap is why HexClad keeps investing. (Marketing Operators)
HexClad credits $25 million a year to Awin. It thinks the real figure is two to three times higher, because buyers take a long time to decide. (Marketing Operators)
HexClad rates the new YouTube affiliate checkout experience above an Awin outlink.
Seeding, ads and affiliates all have to run at once for this to work.
- How do brands get 25,000+ affiliates posting every month?
- How Do You Measure Earned Media Value Without Fooling Yourself
Can my brand do this without a team like HexClad's?
Most brands do not have a full growth team for this, so we build the program with you.
Put ad money behind the creator content that already works.
If you have some of the steps in place, we audit what's missing in each and how to take it further.