The 100 Most Influential People In Influencer Marketing
The total market size of Influencer Marketing has been estimated to reach $15 to $20 Billion within the next 5 years. These 100 individuals are the reason the industry will get there. They are people you should listen to, connect with or just merely idolize. Use this list to engage, explore and learn.
Thousands of Individuals
Each week in Influence Weekly I curate 15 to 20 articles. I've literally sifted through thousands of individuals to find those who have an outsized, net positive, impact on the industry. Those in the top 100 have shown up and continue to put in the hard work so that our entire industry can feel good, look good and get better.
Noteworthy Contributions
I considered several factors, including noteworthy contributions each individual has made to the industry, or the impact the company, they represent, has had. This encompasses not merely followers and views. I considered technical innovations, groundbreaking research, and new ways of doing old things.
Eclectic and Balanced
The list is a healthy balance of those who work in the shadows and those who sit squarely in the spotlight. It consists of spirited influencers, crafty creators, innovative CEOs, exceptional talent managers, whip-smart technologists and savvy journalists - all of whom are intensely focused on driving Influencer Marketing forward.
The outlook for Influencer Marketing looks bright in 2020.
Adam Mosseri
Instagram is the #1 platform for Influencer Marketing. It's included in a wide majority of campaigns. But has Adam, and all of Instagram, declared war on Influencers by hiding likes? Where Instagram goes, there goes influencers. At least this year.
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Susan Wojcicki
CEO of YouTube. What YouTube decides to do will dictate where our attention goes this year. Currently enthralled a debate over children's content. We may see a huge increase in brand deals with kid's content creators. Also demonetization of LGBTQ+ content drives those creators toward influencer marketing.
Zhang Yiming
CEO of Bytedance, TikTok's owner. TikTok has had an outsized impact on Influencer Marketing by competing with the likes of IG, FB, YT. A few years ago, short form video was a toy, Vine had a chance. Now TikTok has over 1.5B downloads.
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Kylie Jenner
Deemed the youngest self made billionaire. Is one of the top Beauty Influencers in existance and runs her own empire. The Kardashian clan has an outsized influence in fashion and beauty.
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Fabrizio Freda
Estee Lauder CEO who shared that 75% of their investment now is in digital social media influencers. This news could begin a new era of increasing budgets going to Influencer Marketing.
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David Dobrik
Redefined brand deals by creating a Tik Tok channel as part of a deal with Chipotle. Gave away 13 cars, all as part of brand deals. Has had to make up for huge demonetization on YouTube.
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Taylor Lorenz
Where her attention is, the world goes. Currently writing on internet trend for The New York Times. Covered the Spon Con Con late 2018 and continues to bring out the best and worst of Influencer Marketing.
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Lee Trink
CEO of FaZe Clan. Their pop up stores have proved that in-person retail can be fun. This talent management company slash gaming company slash fashion company slash entertainment powerhouse is set to make even more waves this year.
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Shane Dawson
YouTuber who recently has broken out of a slump by collaborating on long form documentaries with other youtubers. His collab with Jeffree Star last year morphed into an epic brand colloration. Conspiracy Collection sold out in one day making the pair, $35 Million. Also crashed Shopify.
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Ben Jeffries
Member of Business of Influencers in the UK and started an agency with Caspar Lee. BMW i UK Tech Founder of the Year. Influencer is not just one of the largest Influencer Marketing agencies in UK, but also the world. Named As The Drum's Rising Star 2019
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Founder of Jeffree Star Cosmetics. Along with Shane Dawson, showed the world the power of beauty and youtube. Combined their forces for one of the most epic collabs this year. Only paled in scope by Mr. Beast and 600 YouTubers.
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Associate Director for Advertising Practices at Federal Trade Commission. The FTC, released Disclosures 101: New FTC resources for social media influencers.
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AKA, Jimmy Donaldson. His campaign TeamTrees redefined the limits of cause based campaigns. To put TeamTrees in perspective. the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised $115 million in 5 years. Mr Beast raised $16M in 1 month. Also became part owner of VidSummit.
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Was paid not just to promote a brand, but to move Live streaming platforms from Twitch to Mixer. Paved the road for Shroud, and others to join him.
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Head of Mixer Content Acquisition. Leads the team that acquired Ninja, and Shroud. Mixer is taking on Twitch head-on.
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Executive Director at Truth in Advertising, Known as TINA, a non profit organization. This year registered a complaint with the FTC against Ryans Toy Reviews.
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CEO of Gushcloud, a massive influencer agency in 9 countries through out Southeast Asia, Korea and the U.S. Counts over 200 employees. Their presence in SEA was a pre cursor to many agencies moving in now, among them Goat and Whalar, also agencies on this list.
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Savage x Fenty runs one of the most advanced and respected influencer programs in terms of volume and sophistication in incorporating media and whitelisting.
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Reed's Night Media signed Mr. Beast in early 2019. Mr Beast also appears on this list. Reed also worked with Dude Perfect. In total his clients have 80 Million subscribers.
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CEO of Famous Birthdays. The Famous Birthdays website has recently become the IMDB for Gen Z social media stars.
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Co-Founders Arron Shepherd, Nick Cooke, Harry Hugo have taken a proactive approach to advancing the industry. Creating daily vlogs on YouTube and Linkedin.
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Co-Founder and CEO at AspireIQ. Which is leading the way in tools for influencer marketing campaigns. Used by brands like Purple and L'oreal.
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aka, Tfue. A top gamer who recently sued FaZE Clan to get out of a contract.
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CEO of BEN, AdAge’s 40 under 40 & influencer marketing pioneer. BEN uses AI tech to advance entertainment advertising through brand integration and influencer marketing.
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CEO of Grin which raised $6 million this year from VCs.
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CEO at Interactive Advertising Bureau. The IAB Influencer Marketing Guide for Publishers outlines how publishers are using influencer marketing tactics. IAB Spain launched the first Influencers Marketing White Paper.
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CEO of ACTIVATE. Has been quoted in WWD, Digiday, eMarketer, BusinessInsider, Business of Fashion, RetailTouchpoints, Glossy, Racked and more
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Director of Complaints and Investigations at the Advertising Standards Authority. (ASA) The UK advertising watchdog.
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In the fashion world, she's the top influencer. Kim Kardashian filed legal documents that revealed she makes $300,000 to $500,000 for just one sponsored post.
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CEO of HYPR. Real-Time Social Analytics for Every Influencer in the World.
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CEO of China's PARKLU. Parklu is not just one of the few companies executing KOL deals, they also create reports and share information about the campaigns with the world.
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Keeping the U.S. informed of what's going on in China around Influencer Marketing and KOLs. Host of the China Influencer Marketing podcast.
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CEO of CMA in the UK: Competition and Markets Authority. Sixteen social media stars agreed to change how they post online following warnings from the CMA.
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Igor Vaks Founded CreatorIQ in 2014. This year had investments from Unilever and 2 venture funds that totaled $12 Million.
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CEO of Ruhnn Holdings, one of the few publicly traded Influencer Marketing companies.
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CEO of South Africa’s Advertising Board, who this year drafted Code of Conduct for Social Media and Influencers
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Joshua Cohen is the CEO of TubeFilter. TubeFilter literally filters online content, following digital storytellers and pulling out the best stuff. They boost views by sharing high quality content and keeping people up to date with important industry dates.
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CEO of Mavrck, Which recently acquired GroupHigh and is named in market reports as a key solution provider in the influencer marketing platform market.
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CEO Style Coalition, For almost 10 years Style Coalition has been building a network of the industry's top Influencers while managing and producing their campaigns.
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Popular Pays CEO. Raised $12.6m of venture capital. Graduated Y Combinator (W15). 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30.
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Unilever Ventures has upped it pace significantly this year, making several investments in unique beauty brands where it can pair its operational and distribution expertise.
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Founder and CEO of Digital Brand Architects. Manages the careers of 150 top influencers. And this year was acquired by UTA.
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Weiss explained, during an interview with Recode, she was out to turn the historically hierarchical industry beauty, where editors and celebrities at the top sell unattainable perfection to the masses, on its head.
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CEO of Linqia. Their big report is good info for pitch decks.
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Co-Founder of Tribe Dynamics. Behind the rise of breakout brands like Colourpop, Alo Yoga, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Morphe, Fashion Nova, Tatcha, and Drunk Elephant.
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Cofounder and CEO of Lumanu. Their survey of influencers has made possible to see inside their hearts and souls.
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Created Business of Influencers, a UK based network of 400+ professionals.
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Revolve Co-CEOS, Michael Mente and Mike Karanikolas, have built a Billion Dollar Brand Based on Influencer Marketing. It has hired everyone from Kendall Jenner and her 112 million followers to smaller micro-influencers in the thousands to promote the brand. The company credits its influencer marketing strategy for bringing in as much as $650 million to $700 million in revenue a year, Forbes reported.
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Founder at Village Marketing + Village Studio. Last year, Vickie Segar made news for a 2,400-square-foot, $15,000-per-month Manhattan apartment that nobody actually lived in.
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AMAA CEO. In Australia, the Audited Media Association (AMAA) formed AIMCo, a dedicated industry council focused on influencer marketing.
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3,000 Creators have taken Creator Education. He is quite literally training the next generation of creators and influencers.
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Journalist at Talking Influence. Talking Influence has celebrated and championed great work across the industry with their coverage and their awards show.
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Robert Levenhagen is CEO & Co-Founder of German based InfluencerDB which is software for influencer marketing and influencer relationship management where brands can find and analyze influencers. The software also acts as a facilitator for monitoring marketing campaigns as well as brand channels.
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Looking forward to seeing what comes from her new venture: Moe Assist
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CEO of Tencent which developed WeChat. WeChat is the most popular messaging app in China. Over 1 Billion MAUs. KOLs is big and WeChat is where their influence lies.
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Founder and CEO of The Business of Fashion. His Business of Fashion covers influencers regularly. As the fashion industry grows and matures, so does the coverage of it's marketing techinques.
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Professor of Influencer Relations, DePaul University + Freelance Influencer Marketing Strategist.
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Takumi launched in 5 new markets this year. Ogilvy UK earlier this year inked a deal with Instagram influencer marketing platform Takumi that will give clients like Bacardi and Skoda the ability to execute local campaigns with influencers in multiple languages quickly.
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CEO of Open Influence. They are leaders in technology and media. Their reports and studies have clearly shown where Influencer Marketing is doing great and where it still can grow.
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Present of the Ad Association, CMO of Unilever
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Little Red Book, also known as Xiaohongshu, is a luxury retail app that gained popularity because of its peer-to-peer approach. In reacting to closed the businesses of over 13,000 KOLs which they hope will help create a better place for marketers to come and bring the best
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CEO of VSCO, which is quickly becoming the hottest photo app. yes a photo app. You can't get away from VSCOGirls and VSCO actually is what Instagram is trying to become by getting rid of likes.
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CEO of Fohr and host of YouTube industry show: A Drink With James. Each week James espouses on the trends and answers questions influencers have about the industry.
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CEO of IMA, which merged with Media Monks this year. IMA’s network consists of over +40,000 influencers
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Gleam Futures CEO. Representing the likes of Zoella, and Tanya Burr.
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Founder of Scrunch, one of Australia’s fastest growing influencer marketing platforms
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Hosts All Things Video and is CEO of Influencer Software Paladin Software.
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TRIBE CEO, an Australian influncer marketing company expanding globally. 2018 Cannes Lion Juror. TRIBE is a self serve marketplace connecting social media influencers with leading brands
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CEO of Launchmetrics. Their reports this year on Media Impact Value (MIV) have allowed influencers and agencies to speak on the same level. MIV could give EMV a run for it's money.
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Building Kombo Ventures. Former Team 10 / Jake Paul manager, and formerly WME. Currently manages SSSniperwolf and other digital talent. Also the founder of Wakeheart, a collaboration with the Dolan Twins.
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Head of Biz Dev and Partnerships at Tagger Media. Former Head of Influencer Marketing Strategy, UK & WW at MediaCom. Growing the EMEA business which is a region that looks to be in radical growth mode right now.
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Cofounder of Buzzoka. They released: Buzzoka's Influencer Marketing Outlook Report which showcases the challenges and opportunities in India's Influencer Marketing ecosystem.
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As Head of Gaming Creators at Facebook, Phil has the ability to move the gamer industry into the next era.
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Founder of the cosmetics line Huda Beauty. Huda continues to be the shining example of creating your own brand.
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CEO of rewardStyle. Brands are investing well over $100 million in the rewardStyle platform annually and enterprise clients are doubling their investment year over year
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CoFounder of Reach Agency, Ad Age Small Agency of the Year. A top creative agency for brands specializing in social video.
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CEO of Influential, a leading agency for influencer marketing. Defended the industry on Fox Business and continues to be a heavily quoted voice in the industry.
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CEO of Popular Chips. Influencer Marketing AI-Driven Platform for Insights, Tracking and Relationship Management. Based in Singapore.
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Cameo CEO. Created a new business model and stream for influencers with Cameo. According to CrunchBase, Cameo has raise $65.2M
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CEO of Loaded, had a huge year. The work he did with Ninja and Shroud has changed the streaming industry this year.
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Finnish CEO and founder of Matchmade. A regular speaker and panelist at industry events.
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SVP, Corporate Marketing at Inmar and Collective Bias. In March, published results of a survey investigating how 30% of U.S. consumers are more likely to purchase a product endorsed by a non-celebrity blogger than a celebrity.
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CEO of #Paid, #paid is a technology company that builds tools for the creator economy. Businesses of every size—from DTC brands to fortune 500 companies—use their software to collaborate with creators and grow their businesses.
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Hiip’s co-founder and CEO. This year bought an influencer marketing firm in Indonesia. Is poised to conquer Southeast Asia just before the full power of the region's influencer marketing is seen.
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Top TikTokker. Was the face of Forever 21’s holiday campaign
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CEO of Viral Nation
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CEO of We Are Verified. Tana Monague's Manager. Tana Mongeau’s launch of her MTV show, one of the most branded IG accounts of all time, and finding a brand niche with Trish Paytas were pretty massive.
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Wrote, Influencer in late 2018. That book alone will spawn a new generation of influencers who do it the right way.
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CEO of indaHash. Her company is a leading international platform which automates content marketing campaigns with digital influencers on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
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Izea CEO. One of the few public companies focused on Influencer Marketing. They are harbringers of the good along with any slights that Influencer Marketing could encounter in the public markets.
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Evan Asano is a graduate of Stanford University who founded Mediakix – a full-service influencer marketing agency – in 2011. Their clients include Birchbox and Uber, amongst many more.
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Founder of Relatable. Puts out amazing reports.
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Cofounder and Head of Talent at Ellify Talent Agency. Their creators have created some of the most recognizable influencer marketing campaigns on YouTube with hundreds of millions of views for top brands such as Dollar Shave Club, Audible, Google, Squarespace, Honey, Skillshare, Raycon, World of Tanks, Raid: Shadow Legends and many more.
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Whalar CEO. Whalar did research earlier this year that showed the emotional impact of Influencer Content.
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CEO of BBTV, which is not just Canada's biggest MCN but the largest MCN in the world.
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Head of National Sales at Mobcrush and Board of Directors at WIMMIES (Women in Media).
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Co-instructor of Influencer Marketing for the MBA program at UCLA. Has been keynote speaker at the Influencer Marketing Days Conference, Influencer Marketing Hub, and Influencer Marketing Summit Mexico. A contributor at INC, Huffington Post, Forbes, Salesforce. You can catch “Influencer Marketing with Shane Barker!” on SEMrush.
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Founder of Influencer Marketing Conference and Expo
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PepsiCo, PRWeek 40 under 40 Honoree. Oversees communications for powerhouse ready-to-drink tea and hydration portfolio for billion-dollar brands including, Lipton, Brisk, Aquafina as well as category leader Pure Leaf, LIFEWTR and bubly sparkling water.
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Founder of Pocket.Watch which has propelled Ryans Toy Review and EvanTubeHD to new heights.
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WATCHLIST
People we're keeping an eye on. Their contributions may have major ramifications or a deeper impact than we know of right now. They are worth following.
Building Podcorn, Famebit for podcasters.
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Founder and CEO, American Influencer Awards
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Internet Trends each year exeeds expectations
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CEO of Akira Coffee. Creating new brands for Influencers.
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Journalist at The Atlantic.
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CEO of Mighty Scout, a campaign management SaaS
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Everything you want in an influencer marketing consultant! said David Wing
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Head of Console & Online Gaming at Facebook
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Tik Tokker who's influence is actually felt on LinkedIn, where she posts about the business of being an influencer.
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Co-Founder of Blended Strategy Group
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Founder of Star Power
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Estee Lauder Director of Marketing Technologies
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Influencer Specialist for Fashion Nova
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Vice General Manager at Baidu HaoKan Video. He oversees all aspects of HaoKan Video’s businesses, including products, content, creators, marketing, and strategy.
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Trending Family not only is an agency. It also is now releasing a podcast called Sponsored Post.
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Top Tiktokker rising this year. Made the Tik Tok 100.
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Chief Talent Officer at Addition
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B2B Social Media Speaker
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Founding Partner of Hypr
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YOOLA is the largest MCN outside of North America.
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