Spicing up brands' influencer marketing: 6 trends to watch in 2024

A new Ogilvy Red Paper delves into six transformative influence trends that will shape and define 2024.

The findings in this report can help ensure brands benefit from influencer marketing as global ad spend in the space continues to rise.

The future of influence is one where influencers are not just adjuncts to marketing campaigns, but an integral component of brand strategies. This evolution is challenging brands to think bigger and bolder; forging robust relationships with creators that transcend traditional collaboration models.

Led by Rahul Titus, Ogilvy's Global Head of Influence, a diverse group of global Influence experts dive into the following six trends:

The year of sport

Driving cultural impact will go beyond the field in 2024 – from the impact of the Olympics being streamed on TikTok for the first time to the burgeoning fascination with sports stars off the field. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship, for example, has brought a new legion of fans for Kelce and he’s seen an uptick in 1.6 million Instagram followers.

AI influence goes hyper-personal

AI will tighten its grip on Influencer marketing as Meta rolls out its AI Personas in the new year. Virtual twins of household names such as Kendall Jenner – named Billie – will shift Influence from passive spectatorship to hyper-personalised interactions in ways fans once thought were impossible.

Sonic influence

The sound of influence is another core trend set to dominate. Christina Aguilera and Latto’s viral ‘hip-hopera’ duet for Just Eat received five times the mentions across the UK, Ireland and Australia Katy Perry’s had last year, while Garnier-owned hip-hop track Micellar Rewind – used by Influencers when showing the benefits of a make-up remover – has 4.3 billion views. Sonic and visual identity are not mutually exclusive, both will complement each other in the coming year to amplify profiles, gain cultural resonance and improve the share of voice for brands.

Sustainable influence

The importance of influencing a better tomorrow will continue to impact Influencer content too. Brands’ ESG claims are under a magnifying glass from fans ready to call out greenwashing. Couple this with the pressure on Influencers to hold themselves accountable when making claims, 84% of creators say they’re hesitant to post about climate change and the environment for fear of backlash.

Employee advocacy

Internal voices will increasingly drive external impact. Nearly nine-in-ten (89%) of C-Suite marketers recognise the benefits of employee advocacy on platforms such as LinkedIn, but 2024 will usher in more B2C brands capitalising on their employees’ influence. They quickly win over consumers’ trust thanks to their uniquely informed insights and authentic advocacy of a business.

From the second screen to the main screen

The report cites how livestreaming across social platforms will continue to be a critical medium. 66% of brands already report that creator-led content delivers more ROI than traditional ads and Gen Z are also Christmas shopping on TikTok for the first time. Influencers could see revenue opportunities through live-streaming over traditional subscription models as more platforms integrate payment schemes.

Rahul Titus, Ogilvy’s Global Head of Influence, said, “Influence is still growing rapidly. These trends show a huge amount of untapped potential, especially in new spaces like health, and employee advocacy and in new formats like sonic or AI influence. 96% of the creator economy is still untapped meaning the possibilities are endless - this should excite brands, offering them unique and evolving ways to interact with audiences and stand out in a cluttered marketplace.”

“2024 Influencer Trends You Should Care About” is the result of contributions from Rahul and a team spanning Ogilvy’s Global network including John Harding-Easson, Head of Influence, EMEA; Ansley Williams, Head of Influence, North America; Imogen Coles, Head of Influence, UK; James Baldwin, Global B2B Influence Lead; Brenda Ho, Associate Director PR & Influence, APAC; and Sam Johnson Influence Executive, UK.