How to make influencer work harder WITHOUT making it the “fast fashion” of media

Talk:

The influencer marketing industry has grown exponentially. No longer a nice-to-have; it’s a full-funnel media powerhouse that the biggest brands are prioritising this year. But with greatness can come the inevitable downfall, and in 2025, we’ve already heard the whisperings of influencer being overused, over-extended, and over-blown. The real truth is that influencer marketing IS all it’s cracked up to be. But 80% of brands are still doing it wrong. As an industry, we’ve become guilty of churning out content, jumping on the never-ending trend cycle, and using data and performance to pump out more, more, more. So, in this talk, I want a reset. Let’s not turn influencer into the “fast fashion” of media. Let’s figure out how we can really make it work harder this year but without losing the value and human connection that made it so powerful to begin with. Over 30 minutes, I’ll set out:

• Where we’re going wrong…
• What needs to change…
• A playbook for building a great influencer strategy this year that has real value, meaning and DOESN’T get lost in the noise

With real-world examples, I hope this provides some inspiration and passion as we look into 2026!