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Who are 'influencers' influencing? (Marketers.) - Marketing Professor Ramanathan Vythilingam
Episode 10513th July 2026 • Looking Outside • Jo Lepore
00:00:00 00:43:11

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Influencer marketing is not a paradigm shift. At best it’s an over-inflated investment (in the billions), at worst it’s serving up false credibility to audiences, masked as ‘trust’. And yet, it’s all that seemed to be on the agenda at Cannes this year, and is being heavily weighted in the marketing media mix by marketers that should know better. Is marketing through influencers, or content creators, a waste of money then? Ramanathan Vythilingam says no - if it’s intentionally used. Ram has been researching the effectiveness of influencer campaigns, following two decades behind the scenes at Unilever. He says the name of the game now is to get savvy and more protective of brand assets and marketing dollars, especially in this marketing era of abundance and clutter.

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Looking Outside is a podcast exploring fresh perspectives of familiar topics. Hosted by its creator, futurist and strategist, Jo Lepore. New episodes every month. Never the same topic.

All views are that of the host and guests and don’t necessarily reflect those of their employers. Copyright 2026. Theme song by Azteca X.

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