Influencing the World – a digital event showcasing what’s next for influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is growing at speed. It is set to be worth $15bn by 2022. But in such a fast-moving industry – with each year birthing new talent, channels and trends – how can marketers ensure they are at the very top of their influencer game?

This one-day digital festival will take marketers on a journey across the world of influence, tackling the biggest trends and topics of the moment to explore how to tap into the millions of influencers, tastemakers, creators and storytellers around the world to create long-term impact with audiences and unlock ROI as part of an integrated marketing mix.

“Influencer marketing was once often bolted on to the end of marketing programs, but we’ve experienced a seismic shift and for progressive brands today influencer marketing has become the beating heart of their marketing channel planning strategy,” says Emma Harman, chief client officer at Whalar.

With more eyes on influencer than ever before, The Drum and Whalar have curated three sessions that will focus on:

• The strategic power of influencers in the marketing mix

• Future gazing: what’s next for the creator economy?

• Unlocking ROI and long-term value through influencer partnerships

From the cultural influences shaping the future of the creator economy, including social commerce, diverse and inclusive representation and sustainability, to the priming power that TikTok has over other media channels, this one-day event will cover the biggest influencer marketing topics of the moment and beyond – making it a must-attend event for anyone working in advertising and marketing.

“We’ve proven the priming effect that influencer-led campaigns have across platforms and channels,” adds Harman. “We now know that our memory of a TV ad increases if we’ve first seen related influencer content. We’re less likely to skip through YouTube ads if we’ve first watched the influencer-led campaign, too. We become more emotionally invested in an Instagram influencer’s content if we’ve already been primed to the content via TikTok.

“Influencer posts, when they’re emotive and memorable, provide a priming platform for the other channels within the campaign – be it social, TV or out-of-home.”

In addition to Harman, confirmed speakers include Sir John Hegarty; Lisa Batty, head of brand strategy for Europe, TikTok; Natalie Wills, global director-marketing, Zalando; Keely Cat-Wells, chief executive, C Talent; and Marco Bertozzi, Whalar’s newly-appointed president EMEA. More sp