On The Business of Fashion’s podcast The Debrief, Diana Pearl talked through how brands and creators are adapting to a more disciplined, more crowded and more AI-saturated market. Her points come down to four rules. Here they are, with what each one means in my work.
1. There is no single KPI anymore
Follower counts used to stand in for reach. Now brands can see which creators actually drive traffic and sales, through platforms such as ShopMy and LTK. Pearl’s conclusion: having more data changed the game, and there is no baseline KPI. It depends on your goal.
So I start every campaign with one goal, and the metrics follow it. A launch is measured on reach and views. Consideration on engagement and saves. Sales on codes and links. The paid round for Sol de Janeiro was a launch, so the report led with 5.97M people reached and $363K in earned media value.
2. Trust is the asset
Pearl is blunt: if a creator does not have their audience’s trust, nothing else matters. What a brand buys is not the size of the following. It is the relationship between the creator and the people who listen.
That changes how I cast. I read comments, not just counts. I look at how a creator has handled past partnerships. And I write briefs that protect the creator’s voice, because that voice is what the brand is paying for.
3. Creators no longer depend on you
Creators are building businesses with several income streams: affiliate links for a steady base, subscriptions, their own platforms. Many are moving their most personal writing to newsletters, where it feels closer. They are less dependent on any one brand deal, and the balance of power has shifted.
For brands, that means a partnership has to be worth the creator’s time and reputation. A fair fee, clear terms on rights, and room to create.
4. Partnerships get longer
The relationship is moving from one-off campaigns to longer collaborations. Brands hire creators not only for their audience but because they create great content and know how to engage people.
My own longest client relationships work this way. Moroccanoil has booked me for UGC campaign after campaign since December 2025, and each one is better than the last because we know each other’s standards.
In short
Measure against your goal. Protect trust. Respect the creator’s business. Build for the long term. That is how I run influencer marketing for brands in the German-speaking market.
Source: “The Debrief: The New Rules for Influencer Marketing”, with Diana Pearl, Sheena Butler-Young and Brian Baskin, The Business of Fashion, 2026.
