12 influencer marketing examples to inspire yours

Influencer marketing has become one of the most powerful tools for brands looking to reach new audiences and drive engagement. By partnering with influencers who resonate with your target market, you can create authentic connections and boost brand awareness in a way that traditional advertising methods often fall short.

From promoting your brand through unboxing videos to running creative giveaways, influencer marketing offers endless possibilities for brands, ecommerce shops, and businesses.

In this post, we’re looking at 12 captivating influencer marketing examples that have made a big splash online. We'll break down what made them successful and show you how to apply these strategies to your brand campaigns.

We'll also discuss how Gelato's platform revolutionizes the way brands collaborate with influencers, adding a whole new dimension to their collaborative efforts with custom creations.

• Influencer marketing offers diverse campaign types, including sponsored posts, product collaborations, giveaways, and social media takeovers.

• Successful influencer marketing initiatives rely on authenticity, creativity, and influencers who align with the brand’s values and target audience.

• Influencer-generated content, such as tutorials, reviews, and unboxings, provides real value and deepens audience trust.

• Other influencer marketing techniques include brand ambassador programs and long-term partnerships to build deeper audience connections and drive sustained engagement.

Influencer marketing campaigns are collaborations between brands and individuals who have built a strong following on their social media platforms. These influencers use their personal connection with their audience to promote products or services, creating an authentic, relatable touchpoint for brands. 

An influencer marketing agency helps with influencer marketing campaigns by connecting brands with influencers who can promote their products or services to their audiences.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to influencer marketing. Different influencer marketing campaigns achieve very different results. Depending on your brand's goals, you can experiment with a variety of campaign types:

• Sponsored social media posts: Brands pay influencers to create and share content featuring their product or service. These posts are usually marked as "sponsored," but when done right, they feel authentic and fit the influencer's content style. 

• Product reviews and unboxings: These are in-depth reviews of a brand's product or videos of the unboxing process—from the packaging to the product itself. These videos are highly engaging as they give viewers an inside look at what they’re getting before purchasing. 

• Giveaways and contests: Influencers partner with brands to offer their followers a chance to win free products, services, or exclusive experiences. These campaigns often encourage followers to take specific actions, like tagging friends or sharing posts, to enter the contest. 

• Social media takeovers: With this, brands hand over the reins of their account to an influencer for a day or a set period. The influencer creates posts and engages with the brand’s audience, often giving behind-the-scenes content or sharing personal insights related to the brand. 

• Affiliate marketing campaigns: In these campaigns, influencers promote a product using a unique affiliate link. Each time one of their followers purchases through that link, the influencer earns a commission. This is a win-win for both the brand and the influencer. 

• Brand ambassador programs: A brand ambassador program involves a long-term partnership between a brand and an influencer. Unlike one-off collaborations, brand ambassadors consistently promote the brand over a set period, often becoming the brand's face on social media.

• Influencer-hosted events: These events can be in-person or virtual, but they always center around the influencer hosting or co-hosting on behalf of the brand. They can include product launches, live Q&A sessions, or even workshops that tie into the brand’s offerings. 

• User-generated content campaigns: With UGC campaigns, influencers encourage followers to create content featuring the brand’s product or service. The brand can then reshare this content, amplifying the campaign’s reach. 

• Influencer collaborations on product lines: Influencers work closely with the brand to design and promote exclusive products, leveraging their personal style and influence. These collaborations allow brands to create tailor-made products for the influencer’s audience.

• Influencer-created tutorials or how-to content: This content can be incredibly valuable for products requiring some explanation or demonstration. Tutorials provide practical value to the audience while subtly promoting the product in a helpful, non-pushy way.

While influencer marketing offers countless brand opportunities, success depends on a few key elements. The following factors can make or break your campaign:

• Alignment with brand values: The influencer you choose should authentically align with your brand's values. The partnership will feel forced and inauthentic if the content and voice don’t match its brand identity.

• Target audience fit: It's not just about the number of followers an influencer has—it’s about reaching the right audience. Ensure the influencer’s followers match your ideal customer profile for the best results.

• Authentic and creative content: The most successful campaigns allow influencers the freedom to be creative and authentic in their messaging. Audiences are quick to spot overly promotional content, so it’s important that the influencer’s posts feel aligned with their usual content.

• Strong influencer-brand relationship: Building a genuine relationship with influencers leads to more effective and long-term partnerships. When influencers truly love and believe in a brand, it shows in their content and increases engagement.

• Clear goals and objectives: Defining clear objectives from the start is crucial. Are you looking to increase brand awareness, drive sales, or boost engagement? Having a clear goal will help you measure the campaign's success and refine your strategy for future collaborations.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take a closer look at some real-world examples of influencer marketing campaigns that were done right. 

1. Daniel Wellington

Daniel Wellington is a Swedish watch company. They collaborated with Instagram star Kendall Jenner for the campaign #DanielWellingtonLook. She posted photos wearing a Daniel Wellington watch, immediately exposing the brand to her massive audience. A personalized discount code linked to Kendall’s name added exclusivity to the campaign.

The real success lies in the discount codes. These not only incentivized followers to purchase but also made it easier for the brand to track the effectiveness of each influencer. Daniel Wellington’s campaigns showed how a combination of simplicity, style, and strategic partnerships can turn an unknown brand into a household name.

2. Glossier

Glossier is a beauty brand that partnered with everyday users, micro-influencers, and influencers like beauty vlogger Ingrid Nilsen. This gave the brand a face, making followers feel more connected to the community through authentic testimonials.

Glossier’s strategy, #GlossierGang, felt authentic because it came from real users who genuinely loved the products. With honest product reviews and personal stories about how Glossier products fit into their daily routines, Glossier made its followers feel like part of an exclusive community. 

3. Dunkin’ Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts is known for its iconic iced coffee and baked goods. They collaborated with one of TikTok’s biggest stars, Charli D’Amelio, for several promotions. The partnership started with a fun National Donut Day campaign, where Charli shared posts of herself enjoying Dunkin’ Donuts products. Dunkin’ even created a drink inspired by Charli—“The Charli”—and promoted it heavily through social media. 

Charli’s massive influence among Gen Z meant that Dunkin’ could tap into a younger demographic, which helped rejuvenate the brand’s image. Using the drink named after Charli added a layer of exclusivity, making fans feel like they were getting a piece of the influencer’s lifestyle. 

4. Fenty Beauty

Fenty Beauty, founded by singer Rihanna, is renowned for its wide range of inclusive beauty products designed for all skin tones. Beauty influencer Jackie Aina partnered with Fenty to showcase makeup tutorials highlighting the brand’s foundation shades for women of color, making diversity and representation a campaign's core message.

Fenty Beauty’s influencer campaign #FentyFace was more than just a product promotion; it was a statement about diversity and representation. By partnering with influencers from various ethnicities and skin tones, Fenty broke away from the narrow beauty standards that have long dominated the industry.

5. Airbnb

Airbnb connects travelers with unique lodging options worldwide. To promote unique stays, Airbnb collaborated with travel influencer Jack Morris, who documented his Airbnb stays across different countries. He shared his travel experiences with his followers through beautiful Instagram photos and engaging YouTube vlogs, highlighting their properties and the overall Airbnb experience.

Rather than simply promoting a place to stay, the campaign #AirbnbExperiences told stories of adventure, comfort, and discovery, making the brand synonymous with unique travel experiences. This helped followers imagine themselves living the influencer’s experience, which made Airbnb’s offerings more desirable.

6. Gymshark

Gymshark is a fitness apparel brand known for its innovative and stylish workout gear. Fitness influencer Nikki Blackketter worked with the brand to design a signature workout collection. She wore the line in her workout videos, encouraging her followers to join her fitness journey using Gymshark apparel.

By partnering with influencers with genuine authority in the fitness space, Gymshark built credibility and trust with its target audience. And the #GymsharkChallenge allowed audiences to be a part of the brand and the influencers’ content. 

7. Fashion Nova

Fashion Nova is a fast-fashion retailer known for its trendy and affordable clothing. Rapper Cardi B regularly promoted the brand by wearing Fashion Nova outfits in her Instagram posts, contributing to viral attention and skyrocketing sales of specific items she featured in the #NovaFits campaign. 

Fashion Nova’s campaign succeeded because of its volume and variety. By collaborating with big influencers—celebrities, fashion bloggers, and everyday Instagram users—the brand became omnipresent in the fashion world. 

8. MVMT

MVMT is a lifestyle watch and sunglasses brand known for its sleek designs and affordable prices. They partnered with travel influencers Jay Alvarrez and Alexis Ren, who posted photos of their globetrotting adventures while wearing MVMT watches, positioning the brand as a go-to accessory for stylish, adventure-seeking travelers.

With the campaign #MVMTadventure, MVMT watches became associated with a sense of wanderlust and exploration by focusing on influencers in the travel niche. The aspirational content resonated with followers who wanted to emulate the influencer’s lifestyle, driving both awareness and sales.

9. Morphe

Morphe is a bold beauty brand best known for its makeup palettes. It gained widespread popularity by partnering with YouTube's mega influencers and beauty gurus like Jaclyn Hill and James Charles to launch an exclusive makeup palette. The campaign featured Charles creating bold, colorful makeup looks using Morphe products, inspiring fans to recreate the looks and experiment with the palette. 

Morphe’s #MorpheBabe campaign succeeded by deeply integrating influencer collaborations into their brand identity. The influencer-created tutorials provided real value to followers, teaching them new makeup techniques and inspiring them to purchase Morphe products to recreate the looks themselves. 

10. Old Navy

Old Navy is a popular American retailer known for affordable clothing for men, women, and children. Fashion influencer Katie Sturino, who promoted Old Navy's size-inclusive clothing options, shared posts of herself styling outfits to show how Old Navy pieces fit into everyday fashion for all body types.

Their campaign #OldNavyStyle reflected its customer base of all body sizes—working or stay-at-home moms, young professionals, and fashionistas—and the brand made its products feel more attainable and versatile. Followers could easily see how Old Navy pieces fit into their own lives, whether for work or casual wear. 

11. HelloFresh

HelloFresh is a meal kit delivery service that delivers pre-portioned ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes. They partnered with actor and influencer Joe Wicks, who shared videos preparing HelloFresh meals in his kitchen. His approachable cooking style and fitness persona helped emphasize how easy and healthy the meal kits were.

HelloFresh's campaign #FreshEatsWithJoe worked by showcasing the product's value through real-life experiences. Using engaging content, like cooking tutorials and unboxing, gave followers a clear understanding of how the service worked and why it was worth trying. 

12. Revolve

Revolve is a popular  online fashion retailer. Fashion influencer Aimee Song attended exclusive Revolve-hosted events at Coachella. She posted about the experience, highlighting the brand’s latest collection in glamorous, festival-inspired outfits.

Revolve’s approach to #RevolveFestival stood out because it turned influencer marketing into an event. Instead of just sending products to influencers, the brand created an experience around its collections, making its clothes a central part of a glamorous, aspirational lifestyle.

In this post, we explored 12 effective influencer marketing campaigns, each with its own unique approach and strategy. Whether you’re looking to collaborate with influencers on product lines or showcase your brand through tutorials, these examples offer insights that you can use to supercharge your own influencer marketing strategy to boost your brand's visibility. 

Gelato's print on demand platform plays a pivotal role in boosting your influencer marketing game with its comprehensive suite of tools designed for brands to create and sell custom merchandise.

By partnering with Gelato, influencers and brands can create custom products, like t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and more, through a global print on demand network. We handle everything from printing and packaging to shipping so influencers can focus on their promotional efforts rather than getting bogged down by logistics.

Gelato's API integration makes it easy to sync Gelato with your online store, ensuring a smooth, automated process from design to delivery.

Sign up for Gelato and choose a suitable subscription plan to overhaul your influencer marketing strategy for bigger and better outcomes!