The 14 most innovative influencer marketers of 2026NEWS | 08 October 2026Creators can hype up a brand or ruin its week in a single social media post.
For marketers, figuring out how to tap into that influence is a balancing act. It requires experimentation, choosing the right influencer partners, handing over enough creative control, and reacting quickly when lightning strikes and your brand's name is suddenly all over the internet.
Business Insider's 2026 list of the most innovative influencer marketers inside brands highlights the executives figuring out how to make their companies look good on social media. This year's 14 marketers were nominated by peers and other industry insiders who shared dozens of examples of how the marketers are working smartly with creators or making original content for social.
Some, like PepsiCo's Charlie Crideford and Walmart's Sarah Henry, work with curated networks of influencers who make content or help advise on their social strategies. Others, like the National Football League's Ian Trombetta, work with large teams of in-house producers to make original content tailored to social feeds.
Breaking through the noise means finding new audiences in different corners of the internet. Footwear brand Rothy's turned to Substack, for instance, to hire tastemaker writers who could help drive attention to its shoes.
"We don't really care about follower count necessarily," Rothy's vice president Anna Doré said. "We really look for great partners and creators who have pull in their own circles, and that can be anyone these days."
Our roster of innovative creator marketers faces challenges. Though the creator economy is booming, engagement is harder than ever to come by as social feeds become more saturated and algorithms surface content selectively to different users.
"The creative bar is going up in order for us to drive that organic reach and engagement," the NFL's Trombetta said. "No one can predict exactly where the algorithms are going to go one day to the next."
Here are Business Insider's 2026 most innovative influencer marketers, listed in alphabetical order by last name.Author: Sydney Bradley. Lucia Moses. Lara O'Reilly. Dan Whateley. Source