Is the talent-first approach to influencer marketing flawed? As brands increasingly demand measurable results from creator partnerships, the traditional model of agencies pushing their limited roster of influencers into campaigns regardless of strategic fit faces growing scrutiny.

According to recent industry research, 32% of brand marketers worldwide cite “measuring creator performance” as their top roadblock to program success. C-suite executives now hold influencer marketing to the same standards as performance media; brands need partners who can deliver clear, measurable outcomes rather than just impressive follower counts.

In this context, Belgian agency Efluenz has developed an alternative approach that prioritizes brand objectives over creator availability.

Founded in 2017 and backed by Belgian media conglomerate Rossel, Efluenz has become a 20-person operation serving brands across Europe. The agency’s foundation rests on an inversion of the standard influencer marketing model: instead of representing a fixed set of creators and placing them with brands, Efluenz starts with the brand’s specific needs and finds the most suitable creators for each unique campaign.

“We are working for the client with every influencer in the world, not the opposite,” explains Julien Latinis, CEO of Efluenz. “This is the big difference between all design [influencer or talent] agencies and Efluenz. They are talent agencies that work with 20 influencers, representing them and trying to get them in every campaign. We are doing exactly the opposite.” 

This client-centric approach allows Efluenz to work across virtually all sectors, from banking and insurance to retail and tourism, serving European brands that need targeted creator partnerships aligned with specific marketing objectives.

A Combined Technical and Personal Approach

Efluenz combines technological tools with personal relationship-building to identify and secure the ideal creators for each campaign. “We have an internal tool that we are using,” Julien says. “The first step is determining what the need of the client is. What kind of people do they want to target? We put it into the tool, and we are looking for influencers with the most people in their audience that match the target people.”

This initial technological screening process is complemented by what Julien considers the more crucial component: human judgment and relationship development. “The second part is the human part. And it’s the most important thing for us,” he says. Account managers engage directly with potential creators to assess fit, discuss creative concepts, and build collaborative relationships that enhance the final content.

The process becomes a three-way collaboration between agency, brand, and creator. “They will talk with influencers. They will explain about the project. They will say, ‘Here is the creative concept that we imagine for the brand and for the product, for the event. What do you think? Do you have another idea?'” This collaborative approach aims to ensure that the content satisfies brand objectives without sacrificing the creator’s true voice.

Measuring What Matters

Rather than relying on vanity metrics and applying identical KPIs across all campaigns, Efluenz aligns measurement strategies with specific client business objectives from the outset.

“One reporting for client A and client B will be completely different because we are deciding the KPI with the client at the beginning of the campaign,” Julien says. “For example, we’re doing an event. The most important KPI for the client is how many tickets they sell.” For brand awareness campaigns, views and engagement might take precedence, while e-commerce initiatives focus on conversions and sales.

This targeted approach to measurement has yielded satisfying results for clients, says Julien. “In terms of client retention, 85% of them have worked with us again after the first campaign.”

The retention rate, he adds, is possible due to Efluenz’s end-to-end approach, which handles everything from initial strategy through content development to final analysis. As Julien explains, “Everything about contracts is all between Efluenz and the influencer. It’s also important for us all because we have different laws in every country for influencers.”

Creating New Opportunities and Building Trust

The client-first methodology has enabled Efluenz to work with markets traditionally resistant to influencer marketing. When faced with skepticism about whether certain industries can effectively leverage creator partnerships, Julien’s team views it as an opportunity to develop new ideas.

“Sometimes you have people in marketing who say, ‘Influencer marketing is not for us. We cannot find an idea. It’s not possible, for example, for a bank or insurance [company] to find a good way to talk about it through influencer marketing,’” he says. “It’s a big challenge for us, and we like it. To that, we say, ‘Okay, give us like three days and we’ll go back with the perfect example, with a new idea, the creative concept to put your service in the hands of an influencer.'”

This problem-solving mindset has allowed Efluenz to expand into diverse sectors that might otherwise remain untapped. The agency now works across banking, insurance, education, fashion, beauty, consumer goods, human resources (particularly on LinkedIn), retail, telecom, tourism, and more. As Julien notes with a touch of humor, “The only limit is the budget.”

For CMOs and marketing leaders considering creator partnerships, Julien emphasizes that success hinges on establishing trust between brands and their influencer marketing partners. “It’s a question of trust when working together, and it will be the key to success.” He contrasts this trust-based approach with what he sees as misguided decision-making based on personal observation rather than strategic analysis.

“A typical answer from a marketing director would be, ‘I saw what my children were watching on their phone last night. I want to work with this influencer,'” Julien observes. “No, it doesn’t work like that. It’s not the good target people, it’s not the good type of content.” Instead, he advocates for evidence-based strategy development guided by professional expertise.

Diversification and Expansion

Another crucial insight Julien offers brands is the importance of strategic diversification across creator types and platforms. “Working with only one influencer with millions of followers is not the best solution,” he explains. “You have to go on different channels with different influencers, different types of content, but with the same values of influencer and in terms of value for the mark they have to be a match.”

Julien emphasizes that this diversification strategy has proven effective across the various European markets Efluenz serves. With existing operations in Belgium and France, the agency has plans for further expansion, targeting countries like Switzerland and Italy, where they’ve already conducted successful campaigns. “Switzerland is a country with a lot of possibilities; we have to be there,” Julien says. “We already made a campaign in Italy with Italian content creators. I know that we have to be there.”

His expansion strategy follows a logical geographic progression: “Basically, take Belgium on the map and take a look all around. I want to go there. And I will be. Efluenz will be.”

European Creator Economy

Julien perceives influencer marketing as still in its early stages in Europe, with significant growth potential ahead. “It’s just the beginning, because finally people understand it, believe in it, and consider it a real profession with real results.”

This growing recognition has fundamentally altered how brands structure their marketing strategies. “In the past, they had a marketing plan in general and, in addition, they had an influencer plan. That was like three years ago. It was really two things different,” Julien explains. “For now, it’s really different. In the general marketing plan, you must have an influencer.”

This shift from treating creator partnerships as experimental add-ons to integrating them into core marketing strategy signals the industry’s growth. Julien is also working to advance industry standards through his involvement in the Influencer Marketing Alliance in Belgium, where he serves as a committee member. The alliance is developing certification programs and best practices to professionalize the sector further, including creating the first industry-wide certification for content creators.

“We create a certificate for the influencer or content creator to have all the rules, all the advice,” Julien explains. “It will be the certification in Belgium, the first period altogether, and it is really important to advise the content creator, but also educate everyone.”

Adapting to Platform Changes

As he considers the future of creator partnerships, Julien anticipates social media to keep evolving. “A new channel, a new platform will appear for sure. It’s too long for now. We are waiting.” He observes that the industry is overdue for a new platform to emerge and capture younger audiences, which would create fresh opportunities for both creators and brands.

Despite this constant change, Julien remains confident in Efluenz’s client-first model. His passion for the industry sustains his optimism about the company’s trajectory. “If you want to do it just for the money, don’t do it,” he advises. “I have a lot of patience for this economy because I believe in it. I’m 100% sure about the possibility in the future.”

This belief in the fundamental value of strategic creator partnerships drives Efluenz’s approach to the market. “When you have a team to manage, when you have clients to talk with, if you are not passionate about what you are doing, the people will feel it,” Julien concludes.

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