Influencer marketing examples
Creator, celebrity and micro-influencer campaigns that got people talking. Grouped into 3 formats, with a one-line version for your brand and a budget guide on each.
Doable with a small team, gifting or a simple partner swap.
Needs a paid creator, some production or a co-branded product run.
Celebrity fees, TV airtime or a large custom build.
Budget is our estimate of what it would take to run the same idea yourself, not what the brand spent.
The creator product
5 examples
Product: [CREATOR]'s real [ORDER / HACK / ROUTINE], named "The [NAME]" Where: [YOUR MENU / APP / STORE] for [2–4 WEEKS] Announce: by the creator, to their audience first Track: a code or app flow so every sale is attributed
Budget: Mid. A named item with a well-known creator needs a fee.
Vaseline Originals
With Ogilvy Singapore, Vaseline traced popular Vaseline hacks back to the creators who started them, named them Vaseline OGs and built real products from their ideas, sharing the revenue.
Result Built on more than 3.5 million Vaseline hack posts online. The earlier Vaseline Verified work won a Titanium Lion at Cannes.
Why it spread
Crediting and paying the people who made the trend turns a brand into a platform creators want to be part of. Source
The Travis Scott Meal
McDonald's sold Travis Scott's usual order as a named meal, promoted to his fanbase.
Result Demand was high enough that some restaurants ran short of Quarter Pounder ingredients.
Why it spread
A celebrity's real order is cheap to produce, and fans could buy into it for a few dollars. Source
The Charli
Dunkin' put Charli D'Amelio's usual cold brew order on the menu as "The Charli".
Result Sold hundreds of thousands of drinks and app downloads spiked 57% on launch.
Why it spread
Her fans could buy the exact drink they'd seen her order in her videos. Source
USB002 files
Dropbox and Fred again.. released working creative files from his USB002 tour for fans to use.
Why it spread
It gives creators something real, and shows the product doing its actual job. Source
Google Maps lists
Dua Lipa filled Google Maps with 12 shared lists of her own travel recommendations.
Why it spread
A celebrity's real favourite places are useful and personal, which makes fans save them. Source
Let creators make it
5 examples
Creators: [20–100] micro-creators in [NICHE], or [2–5] trusted names Brief: one message, their format Offer: product + [FEE / CODE / REVENUE SHARE] Track: a personal code per creator
Budget: Small to mid. Gifting costs product; paid creators need a fee.
#YouGrillWeSpill
CPF had influencers and experts take young Singaporeans' questions about retirement in a BBQ-themed series.
Result 10 million video views and over 300,000 interactions.
Why it spread
Letting the audience grill the institution made a dry topic feel like a conversation. Source
The emergency gameshow
SCDF worked with SGAG on a gameshow-style reality series teaching Singaporeans the difference between an emergency and a non-emergency.
Result 1.7 million views and nearly 300 fewer non-emergency and false-alarm calls.
Why it spread
Local creators made a public service message feel like entertainment people chose to watch. Source
The athlete army
Gymshark grew by sponsoring fitness creators to wear and talk about its kit, and by 2020 was paying 125 influencers.
Result Valued at over £1 billion in 2020.
Why it spread
Real gym-goers wearing the clothes in their own videos made the brand look like part of the community. Source
Eyes Lips Face
e.l.f. commissioned an original song for a TikTok hashtag challenge that spelled out the brand name.
Why it spread
The sound was catchy on its own, so creators used it far beyond the challenge.
Free watches for Instagrammers
Daniel Wellington gifted watches to Instagram creators of all sizes, each with their own discount code to share.
Why it spread
Lots of small creators posting the same simple product made the brand look everywhere at once, and the codes made each post trackable. Source
The unexpected face
8 examples
Face: [PERSON] your audience would never expect for [CATEGORY] Hook: [THE MISMATCH, OR A RUMOUR THAT THEY'RE BEHIND THE BRAND] Tease: [LEAKED PHOTOS / CREATOR DEBATE] for [1–4 WEEKS] Pay-off: [THE AD / THE LAUNCH / THE REVEAL]
Budget: Small to big. A meme figure or niche creator is cheap; an A-lister and TV slot are not.
Michael CeraVe
CeraVe spent a month seeding a fake rumour, with paparazzi shots and influencers, that Michael Cera had founded the brand, then paid it off with a Super Bowl ad.
Result 9 billion earned impressions before kick-off.
Why it spread
A believable conspiracy gave creators something to debate before the ad even aired. Source
Mexican Pizza: The Musical
After fans campaigned for its return, Taco Bell brought back the Mexican Pizza, announced by Doja Cat at Coachella and promoted with a TikTok musical starring her and Dolly Parton.
Result It sold out, and Taco Bell made it a permanent menu item.
Why it spread
It rewarded a real fan campaign and let the fans be part of the launch. Source
Ronaldo's 9.9 dance
Cristiano Ronaldo danced to Shopee's jingle for its 9.9 Super Shopping Day ad.
Result The video keeps resurfacing and going viral.
Why it spread
It was widely mocked as cringe, which is exactly why everyone shared it. Source
Susan Boyle's jingle comeback
Cornetto launched Cornetto Max with a Susan Boyle remix of its old Just One Cornetto jingle, teased with paparazzi-style studio shots.
Why it spread
Nostalgia plus a surprise celebrity gave people something to speculate about before the reveal. Source
Louis Theroux for Air Max 95
JD cast documentary maker Louis Theroux as the face of the Nike Air Max 95 OG Neon's return.
Why it spread
An unexpected face gets people talking in a way a usual athlete wouldn't. Source
Not A Nightcap
Kahlúa cast grandparents who were already viral online to move cream liqueur out of the bedtime slot, including a care home party.
Why it spread
Creators with a ready-made following give the brand an audience and a tone on day one. Source
The £1 Fish Man, Chief Bargain Officer
London e-bike operator Forest hired the star of the 2012 One Pound Fish video to front its £1 ride offer.
Why it spread
A meme everyone already links to "£1" explains the offer in one look. Source
The halftime compact
During her Super Bowl halftime show, Rihanna paused to touch up with a Fenty Beauty compact on stage.
Why it spread
A founder using her own product in front of the biggest TV audience of the year. Source
How to plan an influencer campaign
- Start with the audience, not the follower count. Pick creators your buyers already watch.
- Give creators one message and let them make it their way.
- Test with gifting or a small paid batch before a big fee.
- Give every creator a code or link so you know what sold.
- Re-hire the creators whose codes worked, and drop the rest.
Want an influencer campaign like these?odim.co runs on-demand influencer marketing: creator sourcing, seeding and the brief.
Talk to odimInfluencer marketing examples: FAQ
What is influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing is paying or gifting creators to feature your product to their audience, usually on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube.
What are some successful influencer marketing examples?
McDonald's Travis Scott Meal, Dunkin' x Charli D'Amelio, CeraVe's Michael Cera campaign, Daniel Wellington's micro-creator gifting and Gymshark's athlete programme are well-known examples.
How do small brands do influencer marketing?
Start with gifting to micro-creators, each with a personal code, then pay the ones whose codes sell. Filter by Small budget.
What's the difference between influencer marketing and a brand collaboration?
Influencer marketing works with a person (a creator or celebrity). A brand collaboration pairs two brands. We cover those on the brand collaboration examples page.
More viral marketing examples
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Spot a mistake or know a campaign we should add? Email team@odim.co.