What is a good example of an influencer marketing campaign?

Dunkin' and Charli D'Amelio in 2020 is a clean one. Dunkin' put the creator's real order on its menu as The Charli. A Dunkin' executive told TMZ the launch day brought a 57% jump in app downloads. It worked because the product was already part of her content, so the deal didn't feel invented.

Do influencer campaigns need a celebrity to work?

No. Several of the strongest examples use small creators or customers: Glossier built on fans, Café Royal used 3,000 unpaid nano and micro creators, and Unilever says it works with close to 300,000 influencers. Big names buy reach in one go. Many small creators buy coverage, testing and trust.

Why do some influencer campaign examples have no sales numbers?

Most brands don't publish them. Public case studies usually report views, submissions or engagement, because sales data is commercially sensitive. When a sales figure does appear, it often comes from the brand or its agency, so read it as a best case rather than an audited number.

How can a small brand copy these campaigns?

Copy the mechanic, not the scale. Find creators who already use your product, give them a simple action their audience can repeat, and measure one number you set before launch. A product named after a creator, a seeding round with a feedback loop, or a recurring program all work at small budgets.

Do these campaigns follow disclosure rules?

Any paid or gifted post should. The FTC expects creators to disclose a material connection such as payment or free product, using #ad or the platform's paid partnership label where people will see it. Brands are responsible too, so build disclosure into the brief and check every post.

Influencer marketing campaign examples (and why they worked)

Most "campaign examples" lists repeat stats nobody can trace. This one only includes campaigns with a primary or named source you can click. Where the number comes from the brand or its agency, we say so. Public case studies show views and buzz far more often than sales, and that's a limit worth keeping in mind.

Each example maps to a decision in an influencer marketing strategy: the goal, the creator tier, the payment model, the mechanic. Read them for the decision, not the brand.

Seven influencer campaign examples at a glance

Brand	Mechanic	Creator tier	Source
Chipotle	Branded hashtag challenge	Everyone, seeded by a viral song	Chipotle release, 2019
Dunkin'	Menu item named after a creator	Mega	Dunkin' release, 2020
Glossier	Customers as reps	Nano, customers	Quartz interview, 2016
Sephora	Yearlong paid creator program	Mixed, by application	Sephora release, 2023
Unilever	Thousands of local creators	Nano and micro	CEO remarks, 2025
Aerie	Long-term role models	Celebrity and creator	AEO release, 2020
Café Royal	Unpaid seeding and home tastings	Nano and micro	Agency case study, 2021

Chipotle #GuacDance: give people something to copy

For National Avocado Day 2019, Chipotle ran a TikTok challenge built on a guacamole song by children's musician Dr. Jean that was already going viral. Chipotle's release says #GuacDance drew over 250,000 video submissions and nearly 430 million video starts in its six-day run, and that the day set a record of over 802,000 sides of guac served.

What made it work: the action was easy, and it was tied to a fixed date. The brand borrowed a sound people already loved instead of inventing one. The lesson for smaller brands: a campaign people can copy in 15 seconds spreads further than one they can only watch.

Dunkin' x Charli D'Amelio: build on a real habit

Charli D'Amelio was already filming herself with Dunkin' cold brew. In September 2020, Dunkin' put her order on the menu nationwide as "The Charli": cold brew with whole milk and three pumps of caramel swirl. A Dunkin' executive told TMZ, as reported by Tubefilter, that launch day brought a 57% jump in daily app downloads and that cold brew sales rose 20% that day and 45% the next.

What made it work: the brand didn't write a story for her. It made the existing one official. These are brand-reported figures from one week, so treat them as a snapshot, not a long-run result.

Glossier: customers first, influencers second

In a 2016 Quartz interview, founder Emily Weiss estimated that 90% of Glossier's revenue came from fans, mostly through word of mouth. Her line: "every single woman being an influencer."

What made it work: product people wanted to show, and a brand that treated ordinary customers as the channel. The 90% is a founder's estimate, not an audited number. The mechanic still holds: start with the people who already love the product.

Sephora Squad: a program, not a one-off

Sephora Squad is a yearlong paid creator program. Sephora's 2023 announcement says that year drew more than 16,000 applications, 43% more than in 2022, and that members get coaching, networking and mentorship as well as pay.

What made it work: a named, recurring program gives creators a reason to apply and gives the brand a pool to pick from. Year-long deals also make the content look less like a one-time ad.

Unilever: one creator per town

At a Barclays fireside chat in March 2025, Unilever CEO Fernando Fernandez said "messages from brands coming from corporations are suspicious messages" and that he wanted one influencer in each of India's 19,000 zip codes. By a J.P. Morgan fireside chat in December 2025, he said Unilever worked with close to 300,000 influencers.

What made it work: coverage. Many small, local creators reach places one star can't. More on that model in brands that work with micro-influencers.

Aerie: long-term role models

Aerie's #AerieREAL program signs public figures as "role models" for longer stretches instead of single posts. In its January 2020 release, American Eagle Outfitters added eight new role models, including Lana Condor and Beanie Feldstein, alongside returning names such as Aly Raisman.

What made it work: the partners stood for the same message as the brand, season after season. Repetition with the same faces builds memory in a way a rotating cast doesn't. The release doesn't give sales results, so read this one for the structure.

Café Royal: unpaid creators, measured in store

For Café Royal in France, agency Territory Influence ran a two-month campaign with 3,000 unpaid nano and micro creators who got product and hosted tastings for friends and family. The agency reports its measurement partner IRI saw a 3.7% uplift in sales volume across 10 retailers.

What made it work: the right list (coffee drinkers who owned a compatible machine) and a real sales measure. It's the agency's own case study, so read it as a best case.

What do the best influencer campaigns have in common?

The creator already fits. Charli drank Dunkin'. Café Royal picked coffee drinkers. Nobody was asked to fake a habit.
One clear action. Dance, order, apply, host a tasting.
A number set in advance. Submissions, app downloads, in-store volume.
Disclosure. Paid and gifted posts need a clear #ad. The FTC's guide for influencers treats free product as a material connection too.

None of these needed a giant budget to copy the mechanic. They needed the right creators and a plan. For the step-by-step version, see the influencer campaign guide, and for TikTok-only cases, TikTok influencer campaign examples. If you want creators shortlisted for a campaign like these, send us a brief with the product, budget and a competitor you admire.