5 of the Best Influencer Marketing Campaigns in 2024

Influencer marketing continues to redefine how brands connect with their audience, driving engagement, sales, and loyalty. With 2024 setting new benchmarks for creativity and impact, businesses can learn valuable lessons from this year’s most effective campaigns. Each example highlights unique strategies that demonstrate the power of influencer partnerships, storytelling, and platform-specific content.

Understanding these campaigns provides companies hiring influencer marketers with practical insights. The right hires can replicate these successes by blending creativity with strategic thinking. 

Let’s explore five standout campaigns, what made them work and how your team can apply these principles:

Our Top 5 Influencer Marketing Campaigns of 2024

Influencer marketing campaigns have proven to be among the most effective ways to engage audiences and achieve meaningful brand connections. By merging creativity, authenticity, and influencer partnerships, 2024 saw groundbreaking examples of this strategy in action. 

According to 36% of brands, influencer-generated content delivers better results compared to traditional branded content, highlighting the importance of impactful influencer campaigns.

With this in mind, below are five standout campaigns that shaped influencer marketing trends for the year, showcasing innovative approaches, impressive influencer marketing ROI, and valuable lessons for influencer marketing jobs.

1. Charlotte Tilbury’s Holiday Campaign

Charlotte Tilbury brought together a mix of personalities for its 2024 holiday campaign. Pop icon Kylie Minogue, comedian and interviewer Amelia Dimoldenberg, and acclaimed actor Richard E. Grant were the faces of this glamorous collaboration. The campaign focused on the brand’s iconic makeup products with a festive twist, leveraging each celebrity's unique appeal to captivate a wide audience.

Why It Worked:

So, why was this campaign so successful? Take a look at their influencer marketing strategy:

• Star Power with Range: The campaign featured an intentional blend of glamour (Minogue), relatability (Dimoldenberg), and sophistication (Grant), ensuring broad demographic appeal.
• Multi-Channel Strategy: Teasers on Instagram, YouTube ads, and interactive Instagram Stories engaged users at multiple touchpoints.
• Aspirational and Approachable: While the campaign emphasised luxury, it incorporated playful elements through Dimoldenberg, making high-end beauty feel accessible.

Key Lessons for Your Influencer Team:

When designing campaigns, consider a mix of influencers with different styles and personalities to maximise audience reach and engagement.

What Your Influencer Team Can Do:

• Partner with talent that represents diverse audience segments.
• Focus on balancing and creating aspirational influencer campaigns with relatable elements.
• Use multimedia content to maintain interest across platforms.

2. Kylie Jenner x Crumbl Cookies

Kylie Jenner’s collaboration with Crumbl Cookies turned indulgence into an exclusive event. The limited-edition cookie flavours, inspired by Kylie’s preferences, were promoted through her Instagram and TikTok posts. Custom packaging and Kylie’s personal touch elevated the campaign’s allure, appealing to both her followers and cookie enthusiasts.

Why it Worked

Why did this collaboration succeed in capturing attention and driving sales? 

• Exclusivity Creates Urgency: Kylie’s influence ensured that the limited-edition cookies created immediate demand. By limiting the product’s availability, Crumbl was able to amplify the feeling of exclusivity, making fans feel they had to act fast.
• Strong Visual Identity: The campaign had a strong visual aesthetic. Everything from packaging to promotional content ensured the visibility and shareability of the campaign. Kylie's involvement helped to increase product status, reinforcing the idea of a premium experience.
• Viral Social Media: For this campaign, social media was a large part of the influencer marketing strategy and was a huge driver of success. The campaign capitalised on the opportunity to prompt millions of Kylie’s followers to share and engage with the brand, while user-generated content contributed to organic marketing.

Lessons Your Influencer Team Can Learn

Here’s what your influencer marketing team can learn from this partnership to elevate future campaigns:

• Create Exclusive Products: Limited edition product releases, especially those tied to influential figures, generate urgency and drive product demand.
• Use Strong Personal Branding: Forming influencer partnerships to elevate brand value boosted Crumbl’s image. Working with an influencer with a strong personal brand can create a sense of luxury and exclusivity.
• Encourage Organic Content: Encouraging your audience to share content related to the campaign is crucial. By promoting organic content, your team can amplify the campaign's reach, which is often much more effective than solely relying on paid media.

3. Gymshark’s Sweat Headband for Textured Hair

Gymshark’s campaign focused on a specific and often overlooked demographic: people with textured hair. The brand launched a sweat headband designed to meet the needs of those with curly and textured hair, tapping into a gap in the fitness accessory market. 

By collaborating with influencers with textured hair, such as Love Island star Whitney Adebeyo and Influencer Abbie Knight, Gymshark created authentic content that resonated deeply with their audience, particularly those who had previously struggled to find workout gear suited to their hair type.

Why it Worked

Curious about the secret to this campaign’s success? It’s all about the influencer marketing strategy:

• Filling a Market Gap: Gymshark successfully identified an unmet need in the fitness industry - sweat headbands designed specifically for textured hair. The product's originality and inclusivity made it highly appealing to a previously underrepresented group.
• Authenticity Through Influencer Partnerships: The influencers genuine experiences with the product helped to elevate the campaign's credibility. By using platforms such as Instagram posts, reels, TikTok and YouTube videos, influencers were able to share how the headband personally made their workouts more comfortable, building trust with their followers. 
• Inclusive Influencer Marketing Strategy: Gymshark’s emphasis on diversity and inclusivity not only resonated with those who had textured hair but also positioned the brand as forward-thinking and socially aware.

Lessons Your Influencer Team Can Learn

Here’s how your team can create campaigns that combine inclusivity and authenticity to maximise influencer marketing ROI:

• Address Market Gaps: Look for areas in your product range where there are potential market gaps. This campaign’s success highlights how targeting niche audiences with specific needs can create strong brand loyalty.
• Be Authentic: Partner with influencers who have a personal connection to the product and who can share real-life experiences with your brand. Genuine authenticity can be more powerful than scripted content.
• Champion Inclusivity: Don’t shy away from influencer campaigns that promote diversity. Consumers appreciate when brands take an active role in inclusivity.

4. Emily Blackwell’s ClearBlue Campaign/Pregnancy Announcement

Emily Blackwell is a prominent influencer and television personality best known for her appearances on the popular British reality show Made in Chelsea. With a significant following on social media, particularly on Instagram, Emily has established herself as a relatable figure, often sharing glimpses into her personal life, fashion, and beauty tips.

With the Instagram post receiving over 100,000 likes, her collaboration with Clearblue for her pregnancy announcement tapped into her authenticity and emotional storytelling. Sharing her journey with her followers allowed her to create a campaign that felt genuine and heartfelt, making it a standout example of influencer marketing. By integrating her personal experience with educational content about pregnancy planning, the campaign resonated with a broad audience, amplifying Clearblue's brand message in an emotionally compelling way.

Why it Worked

According to the 2024 State of Influencer Marketing Benchmark Report, 85% of survey respondents believe influencer marketing is an effective strategy, which has shown an increase from previous years. 

But what sets effective campaigns like these apart? Consider their influencer marketing strategy:

• Emotional Authenticity: Emily’s genuine story fostered a personal connection with audiences, making the campaign relatable and impactful.
• Educational and Inspirational: Combining heartfelt storytelling with valuable information positioned Clearblue as both a trusted product and a supportive resource.
• Natural Brand Fit: The partnership aligned perfectly with Clearblue’s mission, ensuring authenticity and credibility.

What Your Influencer Marketing Team Can Learn

Here’s what your team can learn from this collaboration to create emotionally impactful influencer campaigns:

• Build Emotional Connections: Use personal stories to create campaigns that resonate deeply with audiences.
• Educate While Inspiring: Pair emotional narratives with educational content to deliver value beyond the product.
• Choose Natural Fits: Partner with influencers whose personal stories align with your brand's mission for more impactful results.

5. Blank Street Coffee x Sabrina Carpenter

Blank Street Coffee partnered with pop star Sabrina Carpenter for an exclusive coffee-tasting event, blending experiential marketing with influencer power. The event, which took place at a flagship location, allowed fans to interact with Sabrina while sampling unique coffee blends created for the occasion. Promotional content on Instagram and TikTok highlighted the event’s exclusivity, building anticipation.

Why It Worked

Why did this campaign hit the mark? Take a look below:

• Combining Experience with Influence: The event offered fans a memorable experience, strengthening their emotional connection to the brand.
• Exclusive Appeal: Limited availability and Sabrina’s involvement created a sense of excitement, drawing a crowd and amplifying online engagement.
• Real-Time Social Engagement: Attendees shared photos and videos during the event, extending its reach far beyond the physical location.

Lessons Your Influencer Team Can Learn

Here’s how your team can capitalise on experiential marketing and influencer partnerships for maximum impact:

• Blend Offline and Online Marketing: Hosting live events featuring influencers can create lasting brand memories and spark widespread social media coverage.
• Make the Most of Exclusivity: Use exclusivity and time-sensitive promotions to drive immediate engagement and participation.
• Encourage Real-Time Sharing: Provide opportunities for attendees to share content during events, amplifying the campaign’s organic reach.

To learn more about a specific marketing campaign, discover our spotlight guide - Simone Biles’s Influencer Marketing Campaign Triumphs.

Final Word on the Top 5 Influencer Marketing Campaigns of 2024

Influencer marketing campaigns have demonstrated their power in shaping consumer behaviour and building authentic brand connections. The most impactful campaigns of 2024 showcased unique strategies, from blending exclusivity with star power to addressing overlooked market needs. Brands like Charlotte Tilbury and Gymshark proved how diverse influencer collaborations can resonate with broad audiences while maintaining a genuine connection.

A key takeaway from this year’s influencer campaigns is the value of exclusivity and storytelling. Kylie Jenner’s Crumbl Cookies partnership created a sense of urgency through limited-edition releases, while Emily Blackwell’s heartfelt collaboration with Clearblue emphasised emotional authenticity. These approaches highlight how blending creativity with strategic partnerships can lead to exceptional results.

By studying these campaigns, influencer marketing teams can refine their strategies to include innovative partnerships, diverse storytelling, and unique offerings. Whether aiming for mass appeal or targeting niche markets, these examples provide a blueprint for success.

Looking to Build a Successful Influencer Marketing Team?

At Sphere, we focus on delivering customised digital recruitment services designed to meet the specific demands of businesses across diverse industries. Whether you need contract professionals, permanent employees, or future talent, we recognise that every organisation has its own unique hiring requirements.

With a strong history of success and a dedication to quality, we pride ourselves on matching businesses with the influencer marketing talent needed to fuel growth and innovation. 

Contact us today to learn how our tailored recruitment solutions can connect you with the perfect candidates for your team.