How the Best Brands Win With Influencers

Campaign breakdowns. Each one starts with the result, then shows the play behind it.

Ten brands, the outcome they got, and the moves that got them there, with the numbers from our own sponsorship database.

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What's inside

1Overview
2Campaign breakdowns
3Next steps

Liquid Death

They treated a plain commodity like a punk band, so the jokes and the cans did the advertising.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem	Selling plain canned water, a commodity that Dasani and Aquafina already own.
What they did	Gave boring water a punk-rock attitude and a tallboy can people wanted to film.
The stumble	A 2025 switch to stevia made loyal fans cancel subscriptions and return product.

THE PAYOFF

Revenue grew from $3M in 2019 to a reported $333M in 2024, with a $1.4 billion valuation.

What it led to

Every funny video and every can became free advertising people shared on their own.

Liquid Death

What we tracked

One video we tracked

BS w/ Jake Paul · 641K views · Nov 2024

Jake Paul on Defeating Mike Tyson, Calling Out Canelo & Making History

Why it fit. A boxing and culture podcast. A loud, young, mostly male crowd that matches the brand's edge.

What our data shows

Sponsored YouTube videos we track	30
Creators involved	12
Views on those videos	1.1M
First to latest	Jul 2021 to Feb 2026

From our sponsorship database. A sample of their YouTube work, not their whole program.

Sources: Built In LA 2021 and 2024 | TapTwice Digital 2025 | Benzinga 2024

Poppi

They made soda a natural prop in creators' daily routines, then repeated the one format that worked.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem. A new soda fighting two giants who own the shelf and the ad budgets.

What they did. Built growth on TikTok with Get Ready With Me videos, then added Charli XCX and Post Malone.

The stumble. An $8.9M settlement over gut-health claims, plus backlash for gifting $25K vending machines to rich creators.

WHERE IT LANDED

Revenue grew from $13M in 2020 to $500M in 2024, then PepsiCo bought Poppi for about $1.95 billion.

What it led to

Found one format that works and ran it again with bigger names as the budget grew.

Poppi

In our data

One video we tracked

Jaclyn Hill · 570K views · Mar 2024

GRWM Q&A!! IM MOVING!

Why it fit. A beauty creator doing a Get Ready With Me. The drink sits on the counter while she talks. Soft and natural.

What our data shows

Sponsored YouTube videos we track	3
Creators involved	3
Views on those videos	995K
First to latest	Oct 2023 to Jan 2026

From our sponsorship database. Poppi's reach ran mostly on TikTok, so YouTube is a small slice.

Sources: Fortune 2026 | TapTwice Digital 2025 | PepsiCo press release 2025 | Marketing Brew 2025 | Axios 2025

Rhode Beauty

They engineered the unboxing, so the package itself became the ad creators posted for free.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem	A celebrity launch gets a big first week, then the attention fades.
What they did	Skipped most ads and made unboxing worth filming, with oversized boxes and creator trips tied to each launch.
The stumble	A creator flagged the blush looked ashy on deeper skin. Rhode fixed it in public with new shades.

THE OUTCOME

$212M in net sales in the year ending March 2025, then e.l.f. Beauty bought Rhode for up to $1 billion.

What it led to

Made the package itself the ad, so creators posted it for free.

Rhode Beauty

Where the reach ran

We track little YouTube sponsorship for Rhode. Its reach ran mostly through Instagram and TikTok creators, which is the model working as designed.

Sources: CNN 2025 | e.l.f. Beauty press release and SEC filing 2025 | wit & whimsy 2024

Fashion Nova

They bet on a thousand small creators posting every day, instead of a few big names.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem. Fast fashion changes weekly, so the brand needs constant fresh content.

What they did. Worked with about 1,182 creators in 2020 alone, roughly 5,700 posts, using simple hashtags and product names.

The stumble. A $4.2M FTC fine in 2022 for hiding bad reviews, and a 2019 wage-theft story in its supply chain.

WHAT IT BUILT

Grew into a brand with over $1 billion in yearly sales, fed by creators posting every day.

What it led to

Treated creators like a faucet they could turn up, with tracking simple enough to manage thousands of posts.

Fashion Nova

The numbers behind it

One video we tracked

Arlette Amuli · 3.1M views · May 2025

Ep 57: Pop The Balloon Or Find Love | With Arlette Amuli

Why it fit. A viral dating game show with a huge young audience. The clothes show up right on camera.

What our data shows

Sponsored YouTube videos we track	63
Creators involved	32
Views on those videos	11.1M
First to latest	Oct 2020 to Jan 2026

From our sponsorship database. A sample of their YouTube work, not their whole program.

Sources: Influencer Marketing Hub | GetSaral | FTC.gov 2022 | Sourcing Journal 2019

Alani Nu

They built on one founder's fitness following and made an energy drink feel made for women.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem	Energy drinks felt male and aggressive, and the big brands had huge budgets.
What they did	Built on founder Katy Hearn's fitness audience and ran follow-like-tag giveaways that spread on their own.
The stumble	200mg of caffeine per can clashes with its better-for-you image, and regulators took notice.

THE EXIT

Revenue grew from about $68M in 2020 to roughly $595M in 2024, then Celsius bought Alani Nu for $1.8 billion.

What it led to

Started with one creator's audience, grew a network, and used limited drops to keep people coming back.

Alani Nu

In our database

One video we tracked

Whitney Simmons · 185K views · Nov 2025

WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!

Why it fit. A fitness creator with a loyal female audience sharing a personal moment. The drink fits right into her day.

What our data shows

Sponsored YouTube videos we track	24
Creators involved	4
Views on those videos	395K
First to latest	Jan 2023 to Apr 2026

From our sponsorship database. Its reach ran mostly on Instagram and TikTok, so YouTube is a small slice.

Sources: SEC Form 8-K and BevNET 2025 | GrowthNavigate 2025 | Global News 2023

SKIMS x Dolce & Gabbana

They led with a true friendship, so a mass-meets-luxury collab read as genuine, not a cash grab.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem. SKIMS wanted luxury shine, Dolce & Gabbana wanted younger reach, and both risked looking like sellouts.

What they did. Leaned on the genuine Kardashian and D&G friendship, and kept it a limited capsule priced $48 to $698.

The stumble. The site crashed at launch, and the pairing reopened old D&G scandals and boycott calls.

THE RESULT

$3.6M in Media Impact Value in the first 48 hours, with two Kim Kardashian posts each worth over $1M.

What it led to

Turned one true friendship into a believable story, kept it limited, and placed it in lifestyle content.

SKIMS x Dolce & Gabbana

What our data shows

One video we tracked

Caroline Winkler · 955K views · Mar 2025

Home Organization for my ADHD loves

Why it fit. A home and lifestyle creator, far from the usual fashion channels. SKIMS reaches calm, design-minded viewers.

What our data shows

Sponsored YouTube videos we track	395
Creators involved	197
Views on those videos	23.2M
First to latest	Jun 2021 to Jun 2026

From our sponsorship database. This covers SKIMS YouTube sponsorships overall, not only the Dolce & Gabbana drop.

Sources: WWD citing Launchmetrics 2025 | CSP Times 2025

Fenty Beauty

They led with one honest idea, makeup for every skin tone, and handed it to creators big brands ignored.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem	Most makeup brands carried few shades for deeper skin, leaving those customers out.
What they did	Launched with 40 foundation shades and worked with creators across every skin tone.
The stumble	A 2024 Fenty Hair pop-up drew complaints from Black women with 4C hair. Fenty apologized.

OUT OF THE GATE

Reported $100M in sales in its first 40 days, and grew into a brand valued around $2.8 billion.

What it led to

Owned one clear idea, inclusivity, and let everyday customers show the range on every skin tone.

Fenty Beauty

Where the reach went

We track only a handful of Fenty YouTube sponsorships. Most of its creator reach ran on Instagram and TikTok.

Sources: The Fashion Law and multiple secondary sources | Refinery29 2024

Calvin Klein

They kept it to eight creators and tracked every sale, instead of one loud, unmeasured splash.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem. The holidays are the loudest shopping season, and shoppers want gift ideas, not more ads.

What they did. Worked with eight creators on two angles, holiday styling and a gift guide, with paid promotion behind them.

The stumble. Calvin Klein has had ads pulled before, like a 2024 UK ban on an FKA twigs poster, later partly reversed.

THE RETURN

4.3 million impressions, 6,770 purchases, and a 7.02 return on ad spend on a tight holiday push.

These figures come from internal notes we could not match to a public Calvin Klein source. Treat them as an illustrative example, not a confirmed result.

What it led to

Kept the creator group small and focused on one goal, with paid backup behind the best posts.

Calvin Klein

The numbers we have

We track only a few Calvin Klein YouTube sponsorships. Most of its creator work runs on Instagram and TikTok.

Sources: Funnel figures from internal notes, source unconfirmed | ITV and ASA 2024

Foreo

They run creators as a standing program, adding 25 to 30 a month, rather than one-off posts.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem	A pricey device needs more convincing than a cheap cream, and trust has to keep building.
What they did	Runs a formal affiliate program that adds 25 to 30 new creators a month, from nano to macro.
The stumble	No major public controversy. The bigger risk is uneven quality at that volume if it is not watched closely.

THE RECOGNITION

A finalist for Rakuten's Best Influencer Campaign award, reportedly beating its return-on-investment targets.

What it led to

Treats creators as long-term partners and places the device across many kinds of content.

Foreo

A deep footprint

One video we tracked

Foureyes Furniture · 2.7M views · Jun 2023

I Turned Down $7,000 For This

Why it fit. A woodworking channel, far from beauty. Foreo reaches a broad, curious audience, well beyond makeup fans.

What our data shows

Sponsored YouTube videos we track	646
Creators involved	220
Views on those videos	25.5M
First to latest	Dec 2019 to Jun 2026

From our sponsorship database. One of the deepest creator footprints we track, which fits their always-on style.

Sources: foreo.com affiliate program | SocialLadder interview 2024

AG1

They ran one simple offer and code across hundreds of creators for years, far beyond the health niche.

What they did despite the constraints

The problem. Supplements face heavy skepticism, and AG1 needed trust at a huge scale.

What they did. Sponsors hundreds of creators across health, business, and podcasts with one repeated offer and code.

The stumble. No big public failure. The risk is cost and fatigue when a brand shows up in nearly every video.

THE FOOTPRINT

The deepest creator footprint in our database: 2,503 sponsored YouTube videos, 949 creators, and 300M+ views.

What it led to

One simple offer across hundreds of creators, kept for years, far outside the health lane.

AG1

The biggest footprint

One video we tracked

Better Ideas · 7.1M views · Dec 2023

The fastest way to ruin your entire life

Why it fit. A self-improvement channel. The audience already wants better habits, so a daily greens drink fits.

What our data shows

Sponsored YouTube videos we track	2,503
Creators involved	949
Views on those videos	300M+
First to latest	Jul 2021 to Jun 2026

This is the deepest creator footprint in our whole database.

Sources: Our sponsorship database, measured June 2026

Why most influencer marketing falls flat

Now the honest part. Most influencer marketing fails for plain reasons. Here are the three that bite first.

✓Fake numbers. A lot of influencers lie about their stats, or they buy followers. From the outside, you cannot tell who is genuine.
✓The good ones are hard to reach. Everyone wants them, and many are locked into exclusivity deals. So cold outreach mostly surfaces the weaker ones.
✓They are spread thin. The best creators work with many brands at once. They will not go the extra mile unless you have a system that makes them want to.

None of this means influencer marketing does not work. It means it needs a plan.

How we read every one of these

We looked at each campaign through the same simple lens. That is how you focus past the hype and see what to copy.

✓The result. What they got.
✓The problem. What they were up against.
✓What they did. The play, plus the videos we tracked.
✓The stumble. The risk or mistake they had to manage.
✓How it scaled. The repeatable system you can borrow.

We did not run these campaigns. We measured them from the outside, including from our own sponsorship database.

The common thread

Look across all of these and the same moves show up.

✓They picked creators who fit. The audience matched the product, so posts felt natural.
✓They made content worth sharing. Funny, pretty, or useful, so people passed it on for free.
✓They ran it like a system. Not one post, but many creators, repeated over time.
✓They could measure it. Clear codes, hashtags, and product names, so they knew what worked.
✓They handled the stumbles. When something went wrong, the strong brands fixed it in public.

That is the hard part, and it is the part most brands skip.

Want this kind of program, without the guesswork?

We build done-for-you creator programs for brands in health, wellness, and regulated markets. We find creators who fit, keep them for the long run, and track every result.

If that sounds useful, let's talk.

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