A Brief History of Influencer Marketing

Understanding influencer marketing has never been more important, but to do so, it is crucial to understand its origins. In this blog post, I will outline its brief history which will serve as an introduction for future posts that will go deeper into more specific topics such as the rise of nano- or CGI influencers.

The first influencers can be traced back to the early 20th century when brands (there were only a few brands on the market at the time – product-centred marketing) created personas to emotionally influence consumers’ purchasing behaviour. The most popular example of this is Santa Claus made up by Coca-Cola whose significance, as we all know largely exceeded its original purpose as a single-brand influencer.

When the product choice expanded with more brands on the market, the seller’s market shifted to a buyer’s market. Also, due to new technology advancements, advertising became possible on radio and TV and marketers needed new ways of selling products. This is how the time of celebrities as influencers started. They had the same importance in the marketing strategy as influencers do today. During this time there was an unwritten rule: the bigger the celebrity the bigger their influence.

Influencer marketing today characterises not only value-centred marketing (customer is now a human being with values and beliefs) but also an era of participation because online content sharing and social media platforms are becoming more and more accessible in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

It is now possible for ordinary people to have their voices heard by a wider audience. Influencers are content creators, opinion leaders and often experts in their field which makes them more reliable, trustworthy and relatable in the eyes of the consumers.