For years, Influencer Marketing in Australia has carried two competing reputations: fast-growing and commercially powerful, yet unpredictable and difficult to govern. Patrick Whitnall wants to retire both narratives.

“When we launched in 2019, we would hear that this industry is the ‘Wild West,’” says Patrick. “And I still hear that from brands today sometimes.” A second phrase has recently been added to it: “Creators or Influencer Marketing is easy.”

Patrick, Managing Director of the Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO), believes both characterizations miss the point. The upcoming AiMCO Summit, taking place on February 26 in a 700-seat Sydney theater, is designed to challenge that perception.

“Being a creator isn’t easy,” he says. “But influencer or creator marketing is, if you apply the thinking, the best practices that they will hear on stage.”

For Patrick, the Summit is more than a one-day industry gathering. It is an alignment mechanism, a way to formalize creator-led marketing as a disciplined, brand-ready channel within Australia’s broader marketing ecosystem.

From Industry Body to Industry Standard-Setter

AiMCO launched in 2019 as a not-for-profit industry body focused on establishing governance and best practices for Influencer Marketing in Australia. It introduced one of the first Influencer Marketing codes of practice, aligning agencies, brands, and creators on disclosure, vetting, and compliance standards.

Today, AiMCO’s membership spans individual creators, agencies, technology platforms, and some of Australia’s largest brands. The organization has produced best-practice resources on gifting, child and family influencers, and therapeutic goods compliance. It has developed an accreditation program for members and maintains engagement with regulators.

Patrick, who was appointed Managing Director in 2023 after serving in earlier leadership roles, sees the Summit as the next stage in that maturation process.

“I really think we could do something during the day here to not just celebrate the work that we do every year for the awards,” he explains, “but how do we bring some of the brightest and inspiring voices across brands and agencies and creators up on stage to really think about where this industry could be going?”

The Summit runs during the day, followed by AiMCO’s annual awards ceremony in the evening.

Why Brands Are Reassessing Creator Marketing

One of the central tensions Patrick observes is how brands are structurally positioning creator marketing.

“A lot of the conversations that I’m having with brands are, they are seeing that this thing is growing and they kind of go, ‘Well, how do we incorporate it into our marketing team?’” he says.

Historically, influencer programs often sat within PR or corporate communications. Increasingly, Patrick says, brands are shifting creator marketing into core marketing teams, integrating it into campaign strategy earlier rather than treating it as an add-on.

That shift raises new questions: governance, ROI measurement, compliance risk, and creative standards.

“How do we ensure and help through risk mitigation and governance? How do we help educate them and how do we help show them what great work looks like?” Patrick asks.

The Summit’s programming reflects those priorities. Topics include AI’s impact on content creation, ROI frameworks, research into platform algorithms, brand case studies, and creator-led keynotes. Each speaker has less than half an hour, a deliberate decision to keep discussions focused and practical.

“People have no more than 20 minutes to talk, so we’re packing a lot in,” Patrick says.

Creators as Media Publishers and CEOs

At the same time, Patrick argues that brands’ growing interest in structure must be matched by creators’ own professional development.

“What it feels like in this market right now is that creators are becoming, in their own right, media publishers,” he says. “They are growing an audience, they are connecting with their community.”

That transformation brings responsibility. When brands partner with traditional broadcasters, Patrick notes, there are legal teams, compliance departments, and formalized checks in place. Many creators operate with far leaner infrastructure.

“Marketers and brands want to ensure that there’s confidence when working with someone who’s probably doing a lot of it at home in their own production facilities,” he explains.

Professionalization, in Patrick’s view, is not about limiting creativity. It’s about equipping creators to function as business leaders.

“How do we make sure that they are effectively what they are becoming – the CEO of their own business?” he says.

The Summit includes representation from AiMCO’s Creator Advisory Council and creators who now sit on AiMCO’s board, representing a governance shift that Patrick describes as “a big moment” for the organization. He believes that their presence signals that the industry’s standards are increasingly being shaped with creators, not simply imposed upon them.

A Market-Specific Challenge

Australia’s Creator Economy faces structural realities that differ from larger markets. Monetization tools such as TikTok Shop or formalized creator funds are less developed locally, placing a heavier reliance on brand partnerships.

“Diversification of revenue is going to be so important globally,” Patrick says. “Certainly in this market, brand partnerships are still a big moment.”

According to him, that dynamic heightens the need for best practice on both sides of the equation. For brands, creator marketing must demonstrate commercial discipline. For creators, sustainable growth often depends on understanding contracts, compliance, and long-term brand relationships.

The Summit’s value proposition, Patrick argues, lies in making those expectations visible and shared.

Representation as Structural Priority

Among the sessions Patrick highlights is Tourism Australia’s discussion of disability representation through its “Shift 20 Initiative.”

“When a big brand like that takes that position, it then has a trickle-down effect to the rest of the industry,” he says.

For Patrick, representation is not a peripheral issue, but part of the broader professionalization process. As creators become cultural and commercial drivers, expectations around responsibility and inclusion increase.

The Summit will also feature international perspectives, including insights from former VidCon executive Jim Louderback, offering a global lens on creator market trends.

“We’re really lucky to have him,” Patrick says. “To have his experience and to share what he’s seeing every day in other markets.”

The Return of the In-Person Industry

The Summit has drawn strong interest, with over 50 speaker submissions and projected attendance exceeding 500 people, according to Patrick. He sees that demand as part of a broader shift.

“There is a demand for people to want to do things in real life,” he says.

For creators in particular, the appeal of in-person events runs deeper than networking. “A creator’s job can be a very isolating, lonely role,” Patrick explains. “They do a lot of their stuff at home, working in isolation.”

Live events create opportunities for peer exchange, shared learning, and collective identity, elements that support both mental sustainability and commercial collaboration.

Defining Success

As both host and emcee, Patrick will spend the day guiding discussions before transitioning into the awards ceremony that evening. Success, he notes, will not be measured solely by attendance numbers.

“If we flip those phrases,” he says, referring again to the “Wild West” and “easy” narratives, “that being a creator isn’t easy, but Influencer Marketing is when you apply best practice – and it is like the Wild West, but only when it comes to ideas and creativity.”

Ultimately, he wants attendees to leave with clarity about standards, about opportunity, and about AiMCO’s role in shaping the market’s trajectory.

“I want to come away from it where people see the commitment that AiMCO has to talent and ideas in this industry,” he says.

For Patrick, the Summit represents a marker in the industry’s transition from experimentation to institutionalization, from isolated campaigns to integrated strategy.

As he concludes, “If we take on board everything that’s said at the summit and be inspired at the awards with the great work, imagine where we could go together in the future.”