According to Business Insider, Unilever CEO Fernando Fernández announced a massive “influencer-first” strategy in March. The plan was to work with 20 times more influencers than before and boost social media ad spending to 50% of its total budget, up from 30%. By this month, the company was already working with close to 300,000 influencers globally. This move immediately galvanized the marketing industry, leading to price inflation for top creators and a surge in inbound calls from other Fortune 500 brands. A July survey found 62% of marketers plan to increase their influencer budgets in 2026, and U.S. spending on creators is expected to hit $37 billion in 2025. Executives from companies like General Mills, Gap, and Asos have since detailed their own plans to increase influencer investments.
The Unilever Effect
Here’s the thing: when one of the world’s biggest ad spenders makes a move this loud, everyone else has to listen. It’s not just about the money, though that’s huge. It’s about the signal it sends. As former Unilever VP Sarah Mansfield put it, “Where Unilever goes, others follow.” The announcement basically gave every marketing VP at a competing consumer goods company the ammunition they needed to go to their CFO and say, “See? We need to do this too.” So you get this domino effect. A consultant in the article even landed a contract where the client directly cited Unilever as their inspiration. That’s the power of a bellwether.
Winners and Losers
But is this a rising tide lifting all boats? Not exactly. The gold rush is creating a really stark divide. The big winners are the macro-influencers—those with 100,000-plus followers and professional managers. They’re the ones seeing “noticeable lift” in their fees, especially in beauty and personal care. Brands are competing for the same talent, shortening lead times, and paying more. It’s a classic supply-and-demand shock. But on the other end? The landscape is getting crowded. The number of UGC (user-generated content) creators surged 93% in 2024. That oversupply is actually driving down the average spend per collaboration in that sector. So you have this weird, bifurcated market: inflation at the top, deflation at the bottom.
A Maturing Market
What’s fascinating is that this Unilever moment is accelerating the maturation of the whole influencer economy. We’re moving past simple one-off sponsored posts. Now, partnerships include complex usage rights and ads that run across multiple channels like Meta and TikTok. It’s becoming a serious, integrated media channel. And while fees are spiking now, insiders note they’re beginning to stabilize in mature markets like the US and UK. The initial frenzy might cool, but the strategic shift is permanent. As CAA’s Ellen Topley said, Unilever’s move is a “strategic response to a fragmented media landscape.” Traditional ads are losing, and algorithm-driven, creator-led engagement is winning. Unilever just made that bet official for the whole corporate world to see. You can read more about their strategy directly in their interview with JP Morgan.
The Real Takeaway
So what’s the bottom line? Unilever didn’t invent influencer marketing, but they might have just legitimized it as a primary, not a supplementary, channel. The question now is whether other giants will follow the 50% budget allocation or just dabble with a slight increase. The influx of new creators will keep the lower end of the market competitive and cheap for brands, while the top tier becomes a premium, talent-driven arena. Basically, the creator economy just got its corporate seal of approval, and the entire power dynamic between brands and influencers is shifting in real time. It’s a wild time to be a creator with a big following—and a confusing time for everyone just trying to break in.
