Believe it or not, influencer marketing's foundations stretch back centuries.
Early examples appear in Rome where gladiators used to endorse products, but the most widely acknowledged "influencer" collaboration dates back to 1760 when Josiah Wedgwood marketed his ceramics as "Queen'sware" after gaining approval from Queen Charlotte.
For years, influencer marketing was a powerful way for brands to reach highly engaged audiences, but evidence is mounting that the strategy may no longer be delivering the impact it once did.
Recent data shows a striking disconnect between influencer activity and consumer behaviour: nearly half of consumers haven't purchased a product based on an influencer recommendation in the past year, and more than half say they mistrust paid endorsements even when they believe the influencer uses the product.
Compounding the issue are high profile campaigns that have had adverse consequences, illustrating how influencer partnerships can undermine brand equity when expectations, execution or alignment fall apart.
One example would be Morphe Cosmetic's long-term relationship with content creator James Charles. Once a key driver of the brand's visibility, that partnership became problematic when widely publicised reputational controversies surrounding the influencer emerged.
Morphe eventually severed ties, but the fallout was deep, and Forma Brands (the owner of Morphe) later had to file for bankruptcy — underscoring the risk of tying a brand's capital too closely to external parties.
Incidents like these reflect broader shifts in how audiences view sponsored messages and consume brand content. Many consumers now view influencer recommendations as synonymous with transactional promotion.
With consumers increasingly savvy about sponsorships and sceptical of inauthentic endorsements, mere reach is no longer a reliable proxy for effectiveness.
For marketers, these developments raise pressing questions: if traditional influencer campaigns no longer reliably drive purchase decisions, what role should influencers play in brand strategy? Is the era of big-name creators giving way to more nuanced forms of social influence, or will entire new paradigms emerge for audience engagement?
These are the questions that the industry will have to answer as 2026 unfolds.
Only time will tell.
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*Image courtesy of Canva
**Information sourced from Forbes, Clutch and Viral Nation