Influencer marketing’s next stage depends more on organizational transformation than technological advancement, according to findings from the “2025 State of Influencer Marketing” report released by Maverick Mindshare.
The report, based on insights from the Niimbus Influencer Innovation Summit held in Chicago this spring, reveals that the most pressing challenges hampering influencer marketing effectiveness are internal organizational issues rather than external market forces.
“The insights we uncovered at Niimbus reveal a consistent theme: the most pressing challenges facing brands today are fundamentally organizational, fundamentally human,” Casey Benedict, founder of Maverick Mindshare, tells Net Influencer. “Our discussions with 25 industry leaders highlighted that success hinges not on adopting the latest AI tools, but on transforming internal processes and mindsets.”
Compensation Transparency Remains Elusive
The report identifies three critical organizational tensions that brands must navigate, with compensation practices emerging as a key challenge. Despite brands expressing a desire for predictability in influencer rates, many hesitate to commit to standardized, transparent compensation frameworks.
“While brands claim to crave predictability in influencer rates and negotiations, they hesitate to commit to standardized, transparent compensation frameworks, fearing it might alienate desired influencer partners,” Casey notes. “Instead, they remain frustrated at rates that are all over the map, while maintaining the expectation that influencers will give a clear rationale behind their pricing.”
The summit’s findings suggest that brands must take leadership in driving pricing standardization rather than waiting for the market to self-regulate. The report outlines three distinct value propositions that factor into influencer compensation:
Content Creation Value: Asset development and creative execution
Credibility Impact: Niche authority and audience trust
Channel Effectiveness: Reach and engagement metrics
“Variations in rates remain a reality of the industry,” Casey explains. “Mapping brand goals to specific outcomes transforms those variations into strategic decisions rather than byproducts of an unpredictable process.”
The report also indicates that transparent rate discussions strengthen long-term partnerships. “Summit data shows that transparent rate discussions, including direct budget communications, strengthen long-term partnerships more effectively than ambiguous negotiations. This, in turn, lowers the cost of working with influencers now and in the future,” Casey states.
Risk Aversion Stifles Innovation
The second key challenge identified is an organizational structure that prioritizes risk mitigation over innovation. The report indicates that excessive risk aversion directly correlates with diminished brand relevance.
“Influencer marketing teams are often operating within traditional corporate structures that prioritize risk mitigation over innovation, despite claims to the contrary,” Casey explains. “This isn’t a technology problem – it’s a leadership challenge that requires reimagining how organizations balance innovation with safety.”
This cautious approach has consequences. “Brand teams find themselves caught in endless justification cycles, interpreting data to satisfy traditional ears, and having dead-end discussions while competitors capture market share,” says Casey.
The result is what she calls “a paralysis of innovation, where potentially valuable opportunities remain unexplored due to excessive approval requirements and decision-making processes that favor safety over strategy.”
The report recommends implementing a “speed-to-market” assessment framework that balances brand-specific risk evaluation with opportunity costs, including specific thresholds for rapid-response decisions.
Measurement Alignment Challenges
The third significant barrier identified is the evolution of measurement practices. While influencer marketing measurement capabilities have advanced considerably, organizations continue to struggle with implementation and standardization.
Casey explains, “Organizations need to develop reporting frameworks that can capture campaign-specific nuances and also translate success into universally understood metrics across the organization. This demands an intimate understanding of the distinct strategic goals of each campaign in order to marry that specific data and reporting to broader marketing and organizational mandates.”
She emphasizes that successful influencer programs begin by establishing internal consensus. “When teams invest time upfront to align stakeholders on priority metrics, they report deeper mutual trust, higher satisfaction with campaign outcomes, and improved ability to secure future program investment.”
Summit participants validated that successful programs implement customized benchmarks based on specific campaign objectives—whether brand awareness, content creation, or conversion—while acknowledging that different types of influencer partnerships serve different strategic purposes.
Human Cost of Poor Risk Management
A notable factor the report analyzed is the human impact of inadequate risk management practices. The report finds that marketing teams working in corporate cultures resistant to innovation in influencer strategies report higher burnout rates, leading to increased turnover risk and loss of institutional knowledge.
“Marketing teams whose corporate cultures are allergic to innovation around influencer strategies indicate higher burnout rates, leading to increased risk of turnover and loss of institutional knowledge,” the report states. “The strain of balancing internal risk aversion against the demand for innovation creates an unsustainable work environment, ultimately compromising both team performance and program outcomes.”
To address this, the report suggests that influencer marketers repackage ambitious goals into a series of incremental advancements to bridge the current risk-reward perception gap. It also recommends enlisting internal mentors who advocate for innovation to help navigate organizational politics.
Community as Strategic Resource
Casey reveals that one surprising insight emerged from the summit: the value of professional community. Executives expressed that the opportunity to connect and collaborate in real time with peers offered a powerful antidote to feeling isolated in their challenges.
“The most surprising and powerful insight wasn’t about metrics or technology at all; it was about shared human experience,” Casey observes. “When we brought these 25 brand and agency executives together at Niimbus, there was this incredible moment of collective relief when everyone realized they weren’t alone in their challenges.”
Casey highlights the openness at the summit: “Instead of the usual competitive guardedness you see at industry events, these leaders dropped their walls completely. They shared their insights, their failures, and their solutions. There was zero gatekeeping. The transparency was unprecedented and transformative.”
This collaborative environment produced both validation of current practices and inspiration for new approaches. “The result was equal parts validation (‘We are actually doing this right!’) and inspiration (‘I can successfully implement this change, knowing my colleague has already tried this’),” says Casey.
Industry at a Crossroads
The report concludes that the influencer marketing industry stands at a crossroads.
“This revealed something profound about our industry’s future, which brands might not be prepared for: the solutions to our biggest challenges don’t lie in new platforms or AI tools or even in mastering measurement and defining ROI. They lie within ourselves and our willingness to show up powerfully to advocate for our industry,” Casey states.
She adds, “It’s an important reminder that we—the human beings doing this work day in and day out—are the key to evolving our industry. Not the technology, but the people who share a commitment to pushing this industry forward.”
According to the report, brands that thrive will be those that lead with transparency in compensation discussions, replace risk-averse protocols with speed-to-market frameworks that implement safety considerations, and build measurement systems that align with broader business objectives.
“What this means for brands is clear: more than ever, executives need to be empowered to make bold, informed decisions that move their organizations forward, even when it means challenging the status quo,” Casey concludes. “The path to innovation isn’t always comfortable, but the collective wisdom shared at Niimbus proves that when leaders are supported to take strong positions and drive change, the entire industry benefits.”
Maverick Mindshare plans to expand on these insights at its fall Niimbus Summit, scheduled for October 9-10, 2025. At this summit, brand executives and industry veterans will gather to develop transparent compensation frameworks, architect adaptable speed-to-market decision protocols, and design next-generation measurement approaches.
The “2025 State of Influencer Marketing” report is based on collaborative sessions at the Niimbus Influencer Innovation Summit, which took place March 31-April 1, 2025, with participation from executives at brands including Chicago Bulls, Ferrara, HP, White Claw, DUDE Wipes, Darden, and Nom Nom.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Influencer marketing’s next stage depends more on organizational transformation than technological advancement, according to findings from the “2025 State of Influencer Marketing” report released by Maverick Mindshare.
The report, based on insights from the Niimbus Influencer Innovation Summit held in Chicago this spring, reveals that the most pressing challenges hampering influencer marketing effectiveness are internal organizational issues rather than external market forces.
“The insights we uncovered at Niimbus reveal a consistent theme: the most pressing challenges facing brands today are fundamentally organizational, fundamentally human,” Casey Benedict, founder of Maverick Mindshare, tells Net Influencer. “Our discussions with 25 industry leaders highlighted that success hinges not on adopting the latest AI tools, but on transforming internal processes and mindsets.”
Compensation Transparency Remains Elusive
The report identifies three critical organizational tensions that brands must navigate, with compensation practices emerging as a key challenge. Despite brands expressing a desire for predictability in influencer rates, many hesitate to commit to standardized, transparent compensation frameworks.
“While brands claim to crave predictability in influencer rates and negotiations, they hesitate to commit to standardized, transparent compensation frameworks, fearing it might alienate desired influencer partners,” Casey notes. “Instead, they remain frustrated at rates that are all over the map, while maintaining the expectation that influencers will give a clear rationale behind their pricing.”
The summit’s findings suggest that brands must take leadership in driving pricing standardization rather than waiting for the market to self-regulate. The report outlines three distinct value propositions that factor into influencer compensation:
“Variations in rates remain a reality of the industry,” Casey explains. “Mapping brand goals to specific outcomes transforms those variations into strategic decisions rather than byproducts of an unpredictable process.”
The report also indicates that transparent rate discussions strengthen long-term partnerships. “Summit data shows that transparent rate discussions, including direct budget communications, strengthen long-term partnerships more effectively than ambiguous negotiations. This, in turn, lowers the cost of working with influencers now and in the future,” Casey states.
Risk Aversion Stifles Innovation
The second key challenge identified is an organizational structure that prioritizes risk mitigation over innovation. The report indicates that excessive risk aversion directly correlates with diminished brand relevance.
“Influencer marketing teams are often operating within traditional corporate structures that prioritize risk mitigation over innovation, despite claims to the contrary,” Casey explains. “This isn’t a technology problem – it’s a leadership challenge that requires reimagining how organizations balance innovation with safety.”
This cautious approach has consequences. “Brand teams find themselves caught in endless justification cycles, interpreting data to satisfy traditional ears, and having dead-end discussions while competitors capture market share,” says Casey.
The result is what she calls “a paralysis of innovation, where potentially valuable opportunities remain unexplored due to excessive approval requirements and decision-making processes that favor safety over strategy.”
The report recommends implementing a “speed-to-market” assessment framework that balances brand-specific risk evaluation with opportunity costs, including specific thresholds for rapid-response decisions.
Measurement Alignment Challenges
The third significant barrier identified is the evolution of measurement practices. While influencer marketing measurement capabilities have advanced considerably, organizations continue to struggle with implementation and standardization.
Casey explains, “Organizations need to develop reporting frameworks that can capture campaign-specific nuances and also translate success into universally understood metrics across the organization. This demands an intimate understanding of the distinct strategic goals of each campaign in order to marry that specific data and reporting to broader marketing and organizational mandates.”
She emphasizes that successful influencer programs begin by establishing internal consensus. “When teams invest time upfront to align stakeholders on priority metrics, they report deeper mutual trust, higher satisfaction with campaign outcomes, and improved ability to secure future program investment.”
Summit participants validated that successful programs implement customized benchmarks based on specific campaign objectives—whether brand awareness, content creation, or conversion—while acknowledging that different types of influencer partnerships serve different strategic purposes.
Human Cost of Poor Risk Management
A notable factor the report analyzed is the human impact of inadequate risk management practices. The report finds that marketing teams working in corporate cultures resistant to innovation in influencer strategies report higher burnout rates, leading to increased turnover risk and loss of institutional knowledge.
“Marketing teams whose corporate cultures are allergic to innovation around influencer strategies indicate higher burnout rates, leading to increased risk of turnover and loss of institutional knowledge,” the report states. “The strain of balancing internal risk aversion against the demand for innovation creates an unsustainable work environment, ultimately compromising both team performance and program outcomes.”
To address this, the report suggests that influencer marketers repackage ambitious goals into a series of incremental advancements to bridge the current risk-reward perception gap. It also recommends enlisting internal mentors who advocate for innovation to help navigate organizational politics.
Community as Strategic Resource
Casey reveals that one surprising insight emerged from the summit: the value of professional community. Executives expressed that the opportunity to connect and collaborate in real time with peers offered a powerful antidote to feeling isolated in their challenges.
“The most surprising and powerful insight wasn’t about metrics or technology at all; it was about shared human experience,” Casey observes. “When we brought these 25 brand and agency executives together at Niimbus, there was this incredible moment of collective relief when everyone realized they weren’t alone in their challenges.”
Casey highlights the openness at the summit: “Instead of the usual competitive guardedness you see at industry events, these leaders dropped their walls completely. They shared their insights, their failures, and their solutions. There was zero gatekeeping. The transparency was unprecedented and transformative.”
This collaborative environment produced both validation of current practices and inspiration for new approaches. “The result was equal parts validation (‘We are actually doing this right!’) and inspiration (‘I can successfully implement this change, knowing my colleague has already tried this’),” says Casey.
Industry at a Crossroads
The report concludes that the influencer marketing industry stands at a crossroads.
“This revealed something profound about our industry’s future, which brands might not be prepared for: the solutions to our biggest challenges don’t lie in new platforms or AI tools or even in mastering measurement and defining ROI. They lie within ourselves and our willingness to show up powerfully to advocate for our industry,” Casey states.
She adds, “It’s an important reminder that we—the human beings doing this work day in and day out—are the key to evolving our industry. Not the technology, but the people who share a commitment to pushing this industry forward.”
According to the report, brands that thrive will be those that lead with transparency in compensation discussions, replace risk-averse protocols with speed-to-market frameworks that implement safety considerations, and build measurement systems that align with broader business objectives.
“What this means for brands is clear: more than ever, executives need to be empowered to make bold, informed decisions that move their organizations forward, even when it means challenging the status quo,” Casey concludes. “The path to innovation isn’t always comfortable, but the collective wisdom shared at Niimbus proves that when leaders are supported to take strong positions and drive change, the entire industry benefits.”
Maverick Mindshare plans to expand on these insights at its fall Niimbus Summit, scheduled for October 9-10, 2025. At this summit, brand executives and industry veterans will gather to develop transparent compensation frameworks, architect adaptable speed-to-market decision protocols, and design next-generation measurement approaches.
The “2025 State of Influencer Marketing” report is based on collaborative sessions at the Niimbus Influencer Innovation Summit, which took place March 31-April 1, 2025, with participation from executives at brands including Chicago Bulls, Ferrara, HP, White Claw, DUDE Wipes, Darden, and Nom Nom.
The full report is available here.
All images are credited to @shelbydubinphotography