Influencer marketing results
Real campaigns. Real numbers. Every industry.
A sourced library of 70 influencer campaigns that worked, grouped into six industries: finance and fintech, software and B2B tech, fashion and luxury and beauty, direct-to-consumer and retail, regulated and age-gated, and local and small business. Each card leads with the result, shows the hard numbers, names the challenge, then the play. Every figure links to its public source.
How to read this: these are campaigns from across the industry, pulled together as proof of what the channel can do. We did not run them. We share them because the patterns repeat, and they are the same patterns we build for the brands we work with.
Industry 1 of 6
Finance & fintech
Banking apps, money tools, insurance, payments, and crypto winning younger customers through creators they already trust.
15 campaigns, every number sourced.
Fintech · Consumer fintech
MoneyLion
A consumer finance and banking app.
Finance category rank
Climbed from No. 33 to No. 1 in the app store finance category.
No. 1
Finance category rank (from No. 33)
+135%
Daily active users
100M+
Earned media impressions
4M+
New customers
The challenge. Move away from a stiff, traditional finance image and feel innovative and fun to a younger, digitally native audience.
The play
- ✓Tied the brand to a tentpole moment: a creator-led show takeover plus two high-impact commercials, including a money-drop spot.
- ✓Used a small group of mega-creators to carry the launch so the app felt current overnight.
Source: Beet.TV
Fintech · Neobank
Current
A challenger bank for younger customers.
In a single year
530 million YouTube views, and the app grew from 1 million to 3 million users.
530M
YouTube views in one year
201M
Views from three creator videos
+700%
Daily in-app pay requests
200+
Creators partnered
The challenge. Reach Gen Z and Millennials underserved by traditional banks, and stand out in a crowded neobank market.
The play
- ✓Built an in-house creator team and ran a long-term, exclusive deal with one top YouTube creator rather than scattered placements.
- ✓Leaned on long-form YouTube so the product was woven into entertaining content, not bolted on as an ad.
Source: Business Insider
Fintech · Teen banking
Step
A no-fee banking app and secured card for teens.
Two months after launch
Past 500,000 users, adding 7,000 to 10,000 new accounts a day at peak.
500K+
Users two months after launch
7k-10k
New accounts per day at peak
$50M
Series B, partly attributed to the traction
The challenge. Reach teens aged 13 to 18, a group that traditional banking marketing cannot touch.
The play
- ✓Partnered with a creator who was the exact target audience, and made her an investor so the endorsement was genuine.
- ✓Let the creator's own platform carry the message to a native teen audience.
Source: TechCrunch
Fintech · Neobank
Revolut
A UK digital bank.
During the campaign
Reached No. 1 in the App Store, with 17.2 million views of the campaign hashtag.
No. 1
App Store rank during the campaign
17.2M
Hashtag views
55K+
Online engagements
The challenge. Win sign-ups for a limited-edition card from digital-native consumers who distrust traditional banks.
The play
- ✓Ran a multi-format 'Defy Expectations' campaign with a hugely popular British YouTube group.
- ✓Combined digital activations with experiential events to make the card feel like a cultural drop.
Source: Media Agency Group
Fintech · AI money assistant
Cleo AI
An AI financial-assistant app.
After fixing attribution
Conversion rate up 34% while cost per action fell 46%.
+34%
Conversion rate
-46%
Cost per action
The challenge. Measure the true value of TikTok campaigns instead of an unreliable last-touch view.
The play
- ✓Moved to a self-attributing measurement model for a full view of conversions.
- ✓Reallocated spend toward the creator content that actually converted.
Source: TikTok for Business
Fintech · Debt management
Tally
A credit-card debt management app.
Channel efficiency
TikTok came in 300% more efficient than Instagram on cost per install.
300%
More efficient than Instagram (cost per install)
40-50%
Lower cost per million views vs Instagram
The challenge. Reach adults over 18 efficiently, past the idea that TikTok was just for kids.
The play
- ✓Paired the platform's self-serve ads with creator-sponsored videos on trending formats.
- ✓Rode native trends so a finance app felt at home on the feed.
Source: Business Insider
Fintech · Personal finance
SoFi
A personal-finance company.
A new kind of creator deal
Turned a creator into an executive with equity, for trust built over five years of education.
Equity
Creator given a stake, not a one-off fee
5 years
Of consistent, non-gimmicky audience trust
The challenge. Move past transactional posts to deep, long-term trust and a real product feedback loop.
The play
- ✓Elevated a trusted finance creator into a named executive role with aligned incentives.
- ✓Built an ongoing show and advocacy role instead of paying for scattered placements.
Source: Marketing Brew
B2B SaaS · Cloud accounting
Xero
Cloud accounting software for small business.
Over an 18-month build
Paid customer conversions grew 1,200% while cost per acquisition fell by nearly half.
+1,200%
Paid conversions (89 to 1,200)
+700%
Total signups (237 to 1,994)
-48.7%
Cost per acquisition ($778 to $399)
16% to 60%
Conversion rate
The challenge. Scale acquisition globally in a crowded market, starting with no affiliate or creator infrastructure.
The play
- ✓Built an affiliate and creator program from zero across multiple platforms, instead of one-off posts.
- ✓Used data to recruit lookalike partners and fill the gaps against larger competitors.
Source: Hamster Garage
B2B SaaS · Accounting
Intuit QuickBooks
Accounting software for small business.
Across the program
434.7 million impressions at a cost per click 3.6x better than target.
434.7M
Total impressions
27.8M
Total engagements
2.9M
Paid link clicks
$0.38
Cost per click (vs $1.75 target)
The challenge. Build awareness and trust among small-business owners and accountants facing financial stress.
The play
- ✓Activated a diverse set of small-business owners and accountants as authentic storytellers.
- ✓Chose real-operator voices over traditional B2B advertising.
Source: Collectively
Insurtech · Insurance
Lemonade
An AI-powered insurance brand.
Search ads plus creator video
Cost per acquisition down 72% on TikTok, with 87% of customers buying insurance for the first time.
-72%
Cost per acquisition (TikTok search ads)
-50%
Cost per lead
+239%
Click-through rate
87%
First-time insurance buyers
The challenge. Sell a legacy product to Millennials and Gen Z who neglect insurance and dislike complex claims.
The play
- ✓Explained the frictionless model with a simple animated video, then a real-user video series.
- ✓Layered in search ads to catch high-intent people actively looking for cover.
Source: Colormatics, TikTok for Business
Fintech · Money transfer
Paysend
A global money-transfer app.
Low-cost UGC at scale
A 9% activation rate in Canada, at roughly $100 to $150 per creative asset.
9%
Activation rate in Canada
$100-150
Average cost per creative asset
10+
Languages across creators per month
The challenge. Source high-quality, affordable UGC from creators speaking many languages for a global app.
The play
- ✓Ran monthly content campaigns with 10-plus multilingual creators.
- ✓Leaned into humorous, native-feeling UGC instead of polished ads.
Source: Insense
Fintech · International transfers
Wise
An international money-transfer service.
From the affiliate channel
15 to 20% month-over-month sales growth, tracked partner by partner.
15-20%
Month-over-month sales growth
Live
Tracking by campaign and location
The challenge. Acquire customers globally through performance marketing, under heavy financial regulation.
The play
- ✓Built a robust global affiliate program on dedicated partnership tech.
- ✓Used live performance data to reallocate budget toward what worked.
Source: Impact.com
Crypto · Exchange
Coinbase
A cryptocurrency exchange.
An NBA activation
Over 250,000 impressions at a strong 2.5% engagement rate, with no scripts.
250K+
Impressions
2.5%
Engagement rate
5
Team-native creators
The challenge. Activate an NBA sponsorship authentically, without scripted content or active players.
The play
- ✓Gave five fan-creators courtside access and a show-don't-tell brief.
- ✓Let genuine team connection carry the message instead of forced celebrity reads.
Source: Influence Weekly
Crypto · Blockchain
Tezos
An energy-efficient blockchain.
Broad awareness play
Over 1.1 million views and a 1.33x return, for $167K in influencer media value.
1.1M+
Views
40K+
Fan engagements
1.33x
Return on investment
$167K
Influencer media value
The challenge. Establish the chain as a fun, accessible, energy-efficient home for NFTs.
The play
- ✓Chose nine creators across tech, gaming, entertainment, and crypto with low audience overlap.
- ✓Highlighted ease of use and marquee partnerships on YouTube and Twitch.
Source: NeoReach
Fintech · Buy now, pay later
Klarna
A buy-now-pay-later brand.
Celebrity equity play
Turned its 'Smoooth' message into a global pop-culture moment with a shareholder-creator.
Global
PR and brand-awareness reach
Shareholder
The celebrity took a stake in the brand
The challenge. Lift a core brand message to a global pop-culture level.
The play
- ✓Rebranded a music icon into the campaign's character for a major push.
- ✓Tied his incentives to the brand by making him a minor shareholder.
Source: Klarna
Industry 2 of 6
Software & B2B technology
Enterprise tech and developer tools proving that expert creators move real pipeline, not just awareness.
11 campaigns, every number sourced.
B2B SaaS · Enterprise AI
IBM Granite
An enterprise large language model for business workloads.
Positioning an enterprise LLM
43 million impressions and more than 67,600 link clicks from seven expert creators.
43M
Impressions
9M+
Engagements
67,600+
Organic and paid link clicks
7
Creators (5M+ combined reach)
The challenge. Lift the perception of a purpose-built enterprise LLM with both developers and C-suite decision-makers in a crowded AI market.
The play
- ✓Used a two-wave story: creators previewed a project built on the model, then shared the finished result.
- ✓Spread the content across LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts so it reached technical and executive audiences.
Source: Shorty Awards
B2B SaaS · Enterprise IT
Dell Technologies
A global technology company promoting a CIO research study.
A B2B research launch
1.7 million potential reach and asset pageviews 276% above the previous benchmark.
1.7M
Potential reach
8,000+
Asset pageviews (276% over benchmark)
2+ min
Average time on the asset page
8
Expert influencers, 30+ posts
The challenge. Build excitement and reputation for a data research study aimed at CIOs, CXOs, and senior IT leaders.
The play
- ✓Partnered with eight individual experts deep inside the target network to promote an interactive eBook.
- ✓Leaned on credible insider voices over paid placements to lift the asset above prior benchmarks.
Source: TopRank Marketing
B2B SaaS · Enterprise software
SAP
An enterprise software company building a podcast for business leaders.
An influencer-led podcast
52 million potential reach and a 66% increase in podcast downloads.
52M+
Potential reach from creator shares
+66%
Podcast downloads vs prior season
101%
Over industry-average downloads
The challenge. Create a content destination for business leaders interested in emerging technology, past a standard interview format.
The play
- ✓Featured multiple creators per episode as co-hosts and guests in a topic-based, storytelling format.
- ✓Let each creator bring an audience and cross-promote, so reach compounded across episodes.
Source: TopRank Marketing
B2B SaaS · Customer experience platform
Sprinklr
A unified customer-experience platform expanding to smaller teams.
A masterclass event
More than 5,000 event registrations across four regions, with 23.4 million people reached.
5,000+
Event registrations
23.4M
People reached
~100K
Engagements
Above plan
Accounts reached and MQLs
The challenge. Reach smaller enterprise social teams for a self-serve plan and turn interest into pipeline.
The play
- ✓Launched a documentary-style masterclass fronted by prominent B2B social creators.
- ✓Combined organic and paid creator distribution to fill the funnel with qualified accounts.
Source: TopRank Marketing
B2B SaaS · Travel management
Engine
A B2B travel-management platform launching a rebrand.
A full-funnel program
773 signups at a $51.75 cost per acquisition, with organic reach 2.3x the projection.
773
Signups
$51.75
Cost per acquisition
510K+
Organic impressions (2.3x projected)
2.49%
Paid CTR (3.5x benchmark)
The challenge. Win awareness and adoption for a rebrand by making corporate-travel pain points feel relatable.
The play
- ✓Used ten micro and mid creators on skit-style content about lost receipts and clunky group travel.
- ✓Put paid spend behind the best organic content to lift click-through well past benchmark.
Source: The Shelf
B2B · Construction technology
Leica Geosystems
A technology provider in the heavy-construction industry.
One niche creator, two years
More than 1 million impressions and 150% year-over-year engagement growth among decision-makers.
1M+
Impressions
1M
Decision-makers reached
25,000+
Engagements
+150%
Engagement growth year over year
The challenge. Differentiate technology solutions inside a narrow heavy-construction audience that distrusts marketing.
The play
- ✓Partnered with a single 20-year construction veteran creator for credibility.
- ✓Built field tutorials, customer stories, and podcasts that generated real business leads.
Source: Chirp PR
B2B · Construction cameras
TrueLook
A maker of surveillance cameras for construction sites.
Three creators, 548 leads
548 new leads and 500,000 people reached from just three carefully chosen creators.
548
New leads
500,000
People reached
2,446
Engagements
3
Creators (215K combined reach)
The challenge. Reach construction bosses and risk-management professionals, a very narrow B2B audience.
The play
- ✓Reviewed more than 80 potential creators and selected only three with the exact right audience.
- ✓Ran them across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to turn a tiny roster into real pipeline.
Source: GRIN
B2B SaaS · Enterprise AI
Salesforce
A cloud software platform launching an AI product.
A Super Bowl creator spot
70 million visits to the campaign page from a 30-second Super Bowl spot, built in 27 days.
70M
Visits to the campaign page
$1M
Puzzle prize pool
27 days
From idea to air
The challenge. Build mainstream awareness for an AI product among a broad Super Bowl audience.
The play
- ✓Fronted a 30-second spot with a mega-creator that launched a digital treasure hunt.
- ✓Turned a one-time ad into a participatory campaign people kept clicking into.
Source: Salesforce
Technology · Gaming hardware
NVIDIA
A technology company promoting new gaming and AI products.
A multi-platform launch
48.3 million impressions and 25,000 new followers in a single week.
48.3M
Impressions
13.4M
Reach
258,400
Engagements
25,000
New followers in one week
The challenge. Take new product releases mainstream across several platforms at once.
The play
- ✓Worked with eleven tech and gaming creators across Twitch, YouTube, and X.
- ✓Ran a livestream giveaway that pointed viewers to follow the brand, compounding reach.
Source: NeoReach
B2B SaaS · AI video editing
Submagic
An AI video-editing tool for creators.
A program instead of a sales team
1.6 million euros in revenue from 9,000+ creator-promoters, with no traditional sales team.
EUR 1.6M
Total revenue generated
9,000+
Active promoters
EUR 85K+
Monthly attributable revenue
The challenge. Scale signups without a sales team or a paid-ad budget.
The play
- ✓Built a performance-commission affiliate program tied directly to conversions.
- ✓Let creators show, in their own words, how the tool saved them hours each week.
Source: FirstPromoter
B2B SaaS · Productivity software
Notion
A productivity and notes app in its early growth phase.
Early growth on YouTube
A cost per signup often under one dollar, with signups that kept coming for months.
Under $1
Cost per signup
Evergreen
Signups months after a video went live
The challenge. Grow efficiently in the early days without a large paid budget.
The play
- ✓Backed full, dedicated YouTube videos over cheaper 60-second ad reads.
- ✓Accepted a higher sticker price per video for content that kept converting long after launch.
Source: First Round Review
Industry 3 of 6
Fashion, luxury & beauty
Fashion houses and beauty brands turning fashion weeks, festivals, and celebrity faces into measurable earned media.
16 campaigns, every number sourced.
Fashion · Apparel
Tommy Hilfiger
A global fashion house.
New York Fashion Week
$56.5 million in earned media value, up 75% on the prior campaign.
$56.5M
Earned media value (+75%)
3,100
Posts
250
Influencers activated
$23.4M
EMV from one K-pop star alone
The challenge. Turn a New York runway into a dominant global media event.
The play
- ✓Staged a culturally loaded takeover that merged high fashion with hometown music legends.
- ✓Invited top global talent so the moment traveled far past New York.
Source: Lefty
Fashion · Apparel
Calvin Klein
A global fashion brand.
New York Fashion Week
Owned 52.67% of all fashion-week brand conversation, for $23.9 million in earned media value.
52.67%
Share of voice at NYFW
$23.9M
Earned media value
$5.5M
EMV from one celebrity's fan base
The challenge. Stay at the center of the cultural conversation during a crowded fashion week.
The play
- ✓Leaned on a celebrity-first strategy that mobilized global fan armies.
- ✓Activated television talent to capture existing entertainment conversations.
Source: Onclusive
Lifestyle · Activewear
Alo Yoga
An activewear and wellness brand.
Fall campaign
A 1,640% jump in sales year over year, at a 367% return on investment.
+1,640%
Sales growth year over year
367%
Return on investment
133K
Views on sponsored content
The challenge. Elevate visibility and retail sales through creators who embody the brand's wellness ethos.
The play
- ✓Mixed macro and micro creators across YouTube, Instagram, and blogs.
- ✓Encouraged authentic formats: outfit-of-the-day, unboxings, and day-in-the-life vlogs.
Source: Shorty Awards
Lifestyle · Dating app
Bumble
A dating and connection app.
An experiential pop-up
Over 200 million media impressions, double the goal, from a month-long SoHo activation.
200M+
Media impressions (2x goal)
400K
Direct impressions (60% above goal)
3,500
Attendees, about two hours each
The challenge. Move from a digital app to a real-world community and promote new features.
The play
- ✓Built a highly photogenic, Instagrammable space that invited sharing.
- ✓Seeded key influencers and media pre-launch, and cross-promoted with partner brands.
Source: Exhibitor Online
Fashion · Accessories
Coach
A leather goods and accessories brand.
Its NYFW show
$2.2 million in earned media value, a 38% lift year over year.
$2.2M
NYFW earned media value (+38%)
3M
Impressions from the creator collective
78
Pieces of content
The challenge. Reach a younger, more diverse audience without alienating the core customer.
The play
- ✓Paired longtime brand advocates with smaller new ambassadors in a mentorship model.
- ✓Gathered creators in New York during fashion week to collaborate at live events.
Source: Ad Age
Luxury beauty · Skincare and cosmetics
Estee Lauder
A global luxury beauty house modernizing its appeal.
A budget reallocation
Net sales up 9% to $14.86 billion after moving 75% of the ad budget to creators.
75%
Of ad budget into creators
$14.86B
Net annual sales (+9%)
$380M
Reinvested in digital advertising
The challenge. Shift brand perception toward Gen Z and Millennials and lift return on ad spend.
The play
- ✓Committed the majority of the advertising budget to social-media creators.
- ✓Paired high-profile ambassadors with micro-creators across YouTube and Instagram.
Source: Hello Partner
Luxury beauty · Cosmetics
Dior (67 Shades)
A luxury house launching an inclusive foundation range.
An inclusive product launch
2.66 million reach and engagements 269% above target, one creator per shade.
2.66M
Audience reach
1.85M
Impressions
591,000
Engagements (269% over target)
6.6%
Engagement rate
The challenge. Launch a 67-shade foundation line with a genuine, visible proof point for inclusivity.
The play
- ✓Matched 67 creators to the 67 shades, each posting over consecutive days for a steady drumbeat.
- ✓Repurposed 72% of the content as shoppable assets across a two-month window.
Source: Hello Partner
Luxury fashion · Apparel
Dior (Fashion Week)
A luxury house competing for attention during fashion week.
Owning the conversation
$90.5 million in earned media value and a 56% share of voice among 100 luxury brands.
$90.5M
Earned media value
56.05%
Share of voice
3.77M
Mentions in a single hour
5.7%
Engagement rate
The challenge. Own the digital conversation during a crowded fashion week.
The play
- ✓Placed regional ambassadors who mobilized large APAC fan bases.
- ✓A small group of those ambassadors generated close to half of the week's media value.
Source: Onclusive
Luxury fashion · Apparel and accessories
Miu Miu
A contemporary luxury label inside a major fashion group.
An aesthetic renaissance
58% retail sales growth in 2023, approaching one billion pounds in revenue.
+58%
Retail sales growth (2023)
+57%
Retail sales growth (Q2 2024)
~GBP 1B
Annual revenue
83%
Of Instagram earned media value
The challenge. Align the brand aesthetic with the personal brands of culturally relevant faces.
The play
- ✓Partnered with high-profile celebrities who embodied the brand's character.
- ✓One face alone accounted for the five highest-performing brand posts.
Source: CreatorIQ
Luxury beauty · Fragrance
Bulgari Parfums
A luxury fragrance brand using data-led creator selection.
Precision targeting
158,000 engagements at a 21-cent cost per engagement, 51% above market effectiveness.
158,000
Engagements
$0.21
Cost per engagement (46% lower)
$720K
Earned media value
33
Creators chosen from a pool of 64M
The challenge. Launch a new fragrance range efficiently without wasting spend on the wrong creators.
The play
- ✓Selected 33 creators by reputation index across fashion-week, makeup, and style categories.
- ✓Ran 183 posts and stories from that tight, credible roster.
Source: AddSauce
Luxury fashion · Apparel and accessories
Jacquemus
A contemporary luxury brand built for mobile and social.
Internet-first luxury
$2.9 million in monthly online revenue at roughly triple the industry engagement rate.
$2.9M
Monthly online revenue
828,696
Website sessions
3.7-4.7%
Engagement rate
34%
Of sales from mobile web
The challenge. Build a high-converting luxury brand through minimalist content, without heavy ad spend.
The play
- ✓Made striking, minimalist visuals built for fast-scroll feeds.
- ✓Optimized the whole experience for mobile, where a third of sales happened.
Source: Digital Agency Network
Premium fashion · E-commerce apparel
Revolve
A premium online fashion retailer built on creator networks.
A festival takeover
$30 million in revenue over a four-day festival, with 4.4 billion social impressions.
$30M
Revenue over four days
4.4B
Social impressions
25M
Engagements from 5,000 posts
5x
The official sponsor's impressions
The challenge. Own social share of voice during a major music festival against bigger spenders.
The play
- ✓Hosted hundreds of creators at an exclusive event and covered travel for branded content.
- ✓Turned a single weekend into a content engine that outran the festival's official sponsor.
Source: Forbes
Beauty · Skincare
Vaseline
A 153-year-old skincare brand modernizing for Gen Z.
Community-validated content
136 million views and a 43% sales lift, reaching one-billion-euro Power Brand status.
136M
Social views
+43%
Sales increase
450
Influencers in co-creation
EUR 1B
Power Brand status
The challenge. Fight skincare misinformation while making a legacy brand relevant to a younger audience.
The play
- ✓Had scientists lab-test community-sourced beauty hacks and mark the verified ones.
- ✓Worked with 450 creators to turn those verified hacks into paid social content.
Source: Unilever
Beauty · Cosmetics
e.l.f. Cosmetics
An affordable cosmetics brand relaunching a bestseller.
A creator-led relaunch
50,000 units sold in 10 hours and $857,000 in earned media value.
50,000
Units sold in 10 hours
18.9M
Views in 24 hours
$857K
Earned media value
No. 1
On TikTok Shop
The challenge. Relaunch a bestselling product with a goal of ten times the original launch.
The play
- ✓Named a well-known beauty creator CEO for a day with humorous, native content.
- ✓Rode trending sounds and timely cultural moments to maximize reach.
Source: Viral Nation
Beauty · Beauty tech
Solawave
A red-light-therapy skincare device brand.
Seeding plus a paid burst
5.7 million impressions at a two-dollar CPM, moving from No. 5 to No. 2 in category earned media.
5.7M
Impressions
$2
CPM
650
Creators activated
No.5 to No.2
Category earned-media rank
The challenge. Stand out in a crowded beauty-tech category without heavy paid spend.
The play
- ✓Combined gifted seeding across 650 creators with a focused holiday paid campaign.
- ✓Gave creators full creative freedom and let the right distribution do the work.
Source: Aligned Growth Management
Beauty · Skincare
goPure Beauty
A skincare brand building a UGC library through seeding.
Zero-cost UGC to revenue
More than $200K in revenue at a 204x return, from products seeded at no media cost.
147
Video reviews generated
26%
Video conversion rate
$200K+
Revenue
204x
Return on investment
The challenge. Produce high-quality UGC for a brand refresh without a large production budget.
The play
- ✓Sent free product to 160 micro-creators in exchange for authentic video reviews.
- ✓Repurposed the best videos as shoppable carousels directly on product pages.
Source: Insense
Industry 4 of 6
DTC & retail
Direct-to-consumer brands getting outsized reach at a low cost per view, several scaling from early revenue to nine figures.
17 campaigns, every number sourced.
DTC · Beverage
Gratsi
A premium boxed-wine startup.
In one month
Sales grew 10x, at a cost per thousand views about 73% below the going rate.
10x
Sales growth in one month
7.5M
Views across 26 TikToks
$1.69
CPM (about 73% below average)
2k to 350k
Cases sold per year, over time
The challenge. Build awareness and direct sales after acquisition costs spiked on paid social.
The play
- ✓Used 11 affordable micro-creators across travel, couples, and family, all over 21.
- ✓Ran two videos per creator, one product-forward and one with the product simply in the background.
Source: Ubiquitous, Inc.
DTC · Supplements
Bloom Nutrition
A wellness and greens-powder brand.
Timed to an Amazon feature
Became the No. 1 Best Seller in Amazon Launchpad at a $1.47 cost per thousand views.
No. 1
Best Seller, Amazon Launchpad
5.5M+
Views
$1.47
CPM
The challenge. Land a concentrated burst of awareness to capitalize on an Amazon homepage feature.
The play
- ✓Tested a creator with two videos first, then scaled the winner to a four-video burst.
- ✓Gave full creative freedom so the product showed up naturally in her routine.
Source: Ubiquitous
DTC · Home goods
FilterBuy
A direct-to-consumer air-filter brand.
For an 'invisible' product
Close to 40 million views, at a blended cost per thousand views under $3.
~40M
Blended views
8.1M
Views on a single creator video
$1.65
Paid CPM (7 to 9x better than target)
2.21%
Engagement on 19.5M impressions
The challenge. Build top-of-funnel awareness for a low-interest product people forget for months.
The play
- ✓Picked comedy creators over how-to explainers, so a forgettable product rode inside funny skits.
- ✓Chose edgy humor over safe corporate messaging, then put paid spend behind the winners.
Source: Ubiquitous
DTC · Food
Nerdy Nuts
A DTC peanut-butter brand.
From a $2,500 budget
Scaled to $500,000 in monthly sales, with 5,947 sales in weeks.
$500K
Monthly sales (from a $2,500 start)
5,947
Sales within weeks
2M+
Hashtag views
The challenge. Stand out in a saturated peanut-butter market without a paid-media budget.
The play
- ✓Gave two family creators free product and a 10% affiliate cut of sales.
- ✓Handed over full creative freedom to make content native to each audience.
Source: MarketingSherpa
DTC · Beauty
Bésame Cosmetics
A premium beauty brand.
On Amazon, in two months
A 273% jump in new-to-brand customers, with a 133% sales lift on the featured product.
+273%
New-to-brand customers
+133%
Sales lift on the featured product
500K
Views across five creators
The challenge. Send external traffic to Amazon listings to lift Best Seller Rank and organic visibility.
The play
- ✓Ran five creators on short product videos, then kept the top two on long-term, lower-rate deals.
- ✓Used external creator traffic to feed the Amazon ranking flywheel.
Source: Envision Horizons
DTC · EdTech
Ello
An AI reading app for kids.
On a $40K paid budget
110,600 link clicks to the landing page, from 6.58 million impressions.
110,600
Link clicks on $40K spend
6.58M
Paid and organic impressions
3.2x
Higher engagement on Stories
7.70%
Top creator click-through rate
The challenge. Generate trial sign-ups among parents and normalize AI in education.
The play
- ✓Phase one used parenting micro and mid-tier creators filming real, kid-led demos.
- ✓Phase two used allowlisting to retarget viewers of the top-performing content.
Source: The Shelf
DTC · Athletic apparel
Gymshark
A fitness apparel brand built on a creator community.
A decade of creator partnerships
Grew from $500,000 to 401 million pounds in a decade, reaching a one-billion-pound valuation.
$500K
Revenue (2013)
GBP 128M
Revenue (2018)
GBP 401M
Revenue (2023)
GBP 1B
Valuation
The challenge. Build a fitness apparel brand without traditional advertising or retail distribution.
The play
- ✓Signed YouTube fitness creators early, at around 50,000 followers, with free product and commission.
- ✓Deepened those relationships with community events as the creators grew with the brand.
Source: Grow Your Clothing Brand
DTC · Beverage
Liquid Death
A canned-water brand with counter-culture branding.
A commodity turned premium
Grew from $10 million to $333 million in four years, reaching a $1.4 billion valuation.
$10M
Revenue (2020)
$110M
Revenue (2022)
$333M
Revenue (2024)
$1.4B
Valuation
The challenge. Turn a commodity product into a premium lifestyle brand in a crowded beverage market.
The play
- ✓Used distinctive beer-can-style packaging built to be shared on social.
- ✓Aligned celebrity investors with the counter-culture brand to fuel organic content.
Source: Sacra
DTC · Functional beverage
Poppi
A prebiotic soda brand built TikTok-first.
TikTok-led growth
Scaled from $26 million to $500 million in three years, then sold for $1.95 billion.
$26M
Revenue (2021)
17M
Views on a founder video
$500M
Revenue (2024)
$1.95B
Acquisition price
The challenge. Win health-conscious Gen Z and Millennials in a crowded functional-soda category.
The play
- ✓Invested heavily in creator partnerships through get-ready-with-me style videos.
- ✓Layered in high-profile celebrity collaborations to amplify the momentum.
Source: Sky Society
DTC · Beauty
Rhode Beauty
A creator-founded skincare brand.
Built for sharing
$212 million in net sales in twelve months, then a $1 billion acquisition, entirely direct-to-consumer.
$212M
Net sales (12 months to Mar 2025)
$1B
Acquisition price (May 2025)
The challenge. Build awareness and conversion through creators without traditional paid advertising.
The play
- ✓Engineered highly shareable unboxings with branded merch around each launch.
- ✓Tied brand trips to specific product launches for a unified look across hundreds of posts.
Source: SARAL
DTC · Fast fashion
Fashion Nova
A social-first fast-fashion brand.
A volume play
Past $1 billion in annual sales using 1,100 creators and roughly 6,000 sponsored posts a year.
1,100
Creators (2020)
6,000
Sponsored posts (2020)
$1B+
Annual sales
The challenge. Compete in saturated fast fashion through a social-first distribution model.
The play
- ✓Worked with thousands of micro-creators rather than a few mega names.
- ✓Tracked it all with product-specific hashtags and exact product names in captions.
Source: SARAL
DTC · Cookware
HexClad
A premium hybrid cookware brand.
Year-over-year acceleration
Grew from $80 million to $125 million in a year with a 2,000-creator network.
$80M
Starting revenue
$125M
One year later
2,000+
Signed creators
66
Creators activated for peak season
The challenge. Move beyond paid ads to sell high-ticket cookware at scale.
The play
- ✓Built a long-term equity partnership with a celebrity chef as investor and ambassador.
- ✓Seeded chefs and food creators widely, then activated the best with conversion-focused briefs at peak.
Source: Modern Retail
DTC · Functional beverage
OLIPOP
A prebiotic soda brand with a hybrid affiliate model.
A creator revenue channel
A 982% return, with creators now 12% of total sales, up from 4%.
982%
Return on investment
12%
Of total sales (from 4%)
560M+
Partner-hashtag views
1,400+
Custom coupon codes
The challenge. Compete in a crowded functional-beverage category without traditional paid ads.
The play
- ✓Recruited micro and mid creators on 10 to 20% commission plus product.
- ✓Prioritized organic placement over branded video to lift the micro-creator share of revenue.
Source: Impact.com
DTC · Watches
MVMT Watches
A bootstrapped watch brand built on micro-creators.
A bootstrapped exit
Grew from $1 million to $60 million in four years and a $300 million sale, with no outside funding.
$1M
Launch revenue
$60M
Revenue (year four)
62
Starting micro-creators
120,000+
Branded-hashtag posts
The challenge. Reach mass scale with no marketing budget and no paid ads.
The play
- ✓Started with 62 micro-creators averaging about 47,000 followers, each with a unique code.
- ✓Grew the ambassador base systematically, where many small creators beat a few expensive names.
Source: Mediakix
DTC · Home and bedding
Cozy Earth
A premium bedding brand built on content partnerships.
Past discount codes
55% of $110 million in revenue from content partnerships, with co-branded pages lifting conversion 214%.
55%
Of revenue from partnerships
+214%
Conversion rate
+67%
Average order value
600+
Creator storefronts
The challenge. Extend creator partnerships beyond simple discount codes.
The play
- ✓Anchored the strategy on repeat high-profile endorsements.
- ✓Moved from promo codes to co-branded creator landing pages that matched the product's premium feel.
Source: Impact.com
DTC · Supplements
Gruns
A daily vitamin-gummy brand built on creators from day one.
Supplement growth at speed
From zero to $300 million in annual recurring revenue in two years, then a $1.2 billion sale.
$50M
Revenue (year one)
$300M
ARR (year two)
4M
Gummies shipped daily
$1.2B
Acquisition price
The challenge. Outpace established supplement brands with much larger media budgets.
The play
- ✓Partnered with high-profile creators from day one alongside mid-tier voices.
- ✓Treated influencer marketing as core infrastructure, helped by an inherently shareable product.
Source: Modern Retail
DTC · Home cleaning
Purdy & Figg
A UK cleaning-products brand scaled on seeding and whitelisting.
Seeding to whitelisted ads
Grew from 452,000 pounds to 50 million pounds in three years, with a 61% lower acquisition cost.
GBP 452K
Revenue (2021)
GBP 50M
Revenue (2024)
-61%
Customer acquisition cost
+78%
Return on ad spend
The challenge. Acquire customers cost-efficiently in a saturated cleaning category.
The play
- ✓Seeded a starter kit to hundreds of micro-creators each month.
- ✓Repurposed the best organic posts as whitelisted paid ads, re-seeding to keep the content fresh.
Source: Kynship
Industry 5 of 6
Regulated & age-gated
Cannabis, sexual wellness, supplements, and betting brands winning reach exactly where paid ads are blocked or restricted.
5 campaigns, every number sourced.
Cannabis · Dispensary
Stok'd
A Toronto-area cannabis dispensary under strict ad rules.
Inside Canada's ad rules
Online sales up 12% and new online checkouts up 40%, where showing the product is banned.
+12%
Online sales
+8%
In-store sales
+40%
New online checkouts
The challenge. Advertise a dispensary where showing product, people, or the store itself is prohibited.
The play
- ✓Ran ads for three real neighboring small businesses, loaded with cannabis double-meanings.
- ✓Implied the dispensary next door through cues and camera angles, never showing it directly.
Source: Adweek
Cannabis · Dispensary
STIIIZY
A best-selling US cannabis brand with a streetwear feel.
Experiential reach
More than 1,000 customers lined up at a single dispensary opening, building a $1.5 billion brand.
1,000+
Customers at one opening
$1.5B
Brand valuation
Large-scale
User-generated content
The challenge. Reach audiences where cannabis brands are blocked from paid social advertising.
The play
- ✓Turned dispensary openings into lifestyle block parties with merch drops, food, and music.
- ✓Activated mega and micro creators plus local photographers to capture the crowd energy.
Source: Marijuana Times
Sexual wellness · Functional chocolate
Tabs Chocolate
A sexual-wellness chocolate brand barred from paid ads.
Organic affiliate engine
$11 million in 18 months with zero paid ads, at a 9.8x return.
$11M
Revenue in 18 months
9.8x
Return on investment
22M
Monthly views
250+
Creators in a shared hub
The challenge. Reach customers while blocked from Meta and TikTok paid ads for the product category.
The play
- ✓Built a network of hundreds of micro-creators paid on affiliate commission, not flat fees.
- ✓Ran a shared creator hub where 250-plus creators traded hooks and briefs to cut friction.
Source: Social Snowball
Betting and gaming · Fantasy sports
FanDuel
A sports-betting and fantasy platform.
Performance acquisition
A 5-to-1 return with 23 million organic impressions, at ten times lower cost than prior partnerships.
5:1
Return on investment
23M
Organic impressions
10x
Lower cost than prior partners
$1.8B
Entry fees collected
The challenge. Scale signups ahead of football season while cutting acquisition cost.
The play
- ✓Ran performance deals with comedy and gaming creators aimed at men 18 to 45.
- ✓Used revenue-share affiliate links so creators promoted across a full season.
Source: NeoReach
Supplements · Collagen
Obvi
A collagen-supplement brand using a tiered seeding model.
Concentrating on winners
$1.2 million in year one, with a single creator returning 17.5x on a $22K spend.
$1.2M
Year-one revenue
17.5x
Top-creator return on spend
$400K
Single-creator lifetime value
$475K
Peak-season window revenue
The challenge. Replace paid-social return lost to privacy changes with a new acquisition channel.
The play
- ✓Seeded 100-plus creators a week with commission, an audience discount, and free product.
- ✓Tested broadly, then concentrated spend on the proven top performers for seasonal pushes.
Source: Influencer Hero
Industry 6 of 6
Local & small business
Restaurants, startups, and small brands getting local reach and in-store intent at a low cost per view.
6 campaigns, every number sourced.
Local food · Restaurant
Dave's Hot Chicken
A fast-casual fried-chicken brand opening new locations.
A local launch
1.6 million local views and 64,000 engagements ahead of two packed opening days.
111
Pieces of creator content
1.6M
Local views
64,000
Engagements
3.8%
Engagement rate
The challenge. Break through a crowded city food scene before opening day.
The play
- ✓Invited local food creators to exclusive preview events to flood the feed with early content.
- ✓Used both Instagram and TikTok across local reviewers and spicy-food niche accounts.
Source: Relish
Charity tech · Search product
SearchKibble
A search product that funds shelter-pet meals.
A niche activation
954,000 impressions and a 2.3x return from a single pet-niche creator activation.
954,000
Impressions
273,000
Hashtag views
116,000
Engagements
2.3x
Return on investment
The challenge. Reach a specific, highly engaged community for an unknown product.
The play
- ✓Activated seven pet-niche creators on TikTok featuring their own dogs and cats.
- ✓Led with the emotional hook of helping shelter animals through everyday searches.
Source: NeoReach
DTC food · Snack bars
Mezcla
A plant-based protein-bar brand selling through big-box retail.
Retail-focused reach
6.4 million impressions at a $22 organic CPM, with comments showing in-store purchase intent.
6.4M
Organic impressions
$22
Organic CPM
1,800
Comments
639
Shares
The challenge. Turn creator awareness into shelf velocity at Target and Costco.
The play
- ✓Partnered with family and lifestyle creators whose audiences shop big-box stores.
- ✓Featured the product on shelves in grocery hauls and lunch-packing routines.
Source: Aligned Growth Management
DTC food · Bone broth
Kettle & Fire
A bone-broth brand selling DTC and through major retailers.
Two creator tiers
$200K in creator-led sales at a sub-five-dollar CPM, running six campaigns at once.
$200K
Creator-led sales
Under $5
CPM
$135K
UGC ad revenue
$0.17
Cost per engagement
The challenge. Lift both DTC and retail velocity at chains like Walmart and Costco.
The play
- ✓Ran two tiers: a lifestyle ambassador club and a registered-dietitian club.
- ✓Had creators film the product on retail shelves to build a mental shopping map for viewers.
Source: Aspire
Fintech · Online mortgage
Nesto
An online mortgage platform with a tiny content team.
UGC at scale
A 23% lower cost per lead than Meta ads, from 60 creator videos at $25 each.
60
Video assets
$25
Cost per asset
-23%
Cost per lead vs Meta ads
10 days
Average turnaround
The challenge. A two-person team could not produce content at scale for a high-stakes mortgage product.
The play
- ✓Sourced UGC creators through a marketplace with filtering instead of manual outreach.
- ✓Produced affordable video at volume to feed paid social with fresh creative.
Source: Insense
Fitness app · Health and fitness
Zing Coach
An interactive fitness app optimizing acquisition.
Creative testing
A 25% lower cost per acquisition in a single month from focused UGC creative testing.
-25%
Cost per acquisition in one month
22
UGC assets per month
$200
Average asset cost
The challenge. Bring down high acquisition costs through systematic creative testing.
The play
- ✓Sourced creators matched to a specific target profile with screening questions.
- ✓Tested modular content variations as whitelisted ads to find the messaging that landed.
Source: Insense
The takeaway
The pattern holds across every industry.
Whether it is a banking app, an enterprise platform, a fashion house, a box of wine, or a dispensary that cannot run a single paid ad, the winners look similar: the right creators, content that earns attention before it sells, and paid spend put behind what works. That is the program we build, end to end.