Influencer marketing: Asset or liability?

Tami Ruschin

The Nedbank IMC sat down with Tami Ruschin, founder and director at Style ID Africa, a bespoke influencer agency and Nedbank IMC partner, to get her industry insights on this tricky but critical marketing channel.

1. What makes influencer marketing valuable?

Influencer marketing can be an incredibly powerful brand-building tool for a number of reasons. For one, consumers today trust people more than ads. Influencers - especially those with authentic followings - offer brands a direct line to credibility and relatability.

It also enables brands to target niche communities with hyper-personalized messaging at scale, thanks to the vast array of creators across every interest area who have a deep understanding of their audiences and can drive high engagement rates. Partnering with the right influencers gives brands a way to stay culturally relevant and resonant by tapping into real-time conversations and dynamic trends.

2. What about the liabilities?

Influencer marketing can be a double-edged sword - damaging brand reputation and proving costly if not executed carefully.

One of the biggest challenges is the prevalence of vanity metrics and fake influence, where follower counts can be artificially inflated and engagement can be faked. Without proper vetting, brands can end up wasting thousands on creators who don't deliver tangible results.

Brand misalignment is another key issue to deal with, where an influencer's content, tone, or values clash with the brand. The disconnect can be jarring and the fall out fast, furious and very public!

Lastly, many influencer campaigns suffer from short-term thinking, focusing on fleeting bursts of awareness without a long-term strategy or real measurement framework, which can jeopardise marketing effectiveness and the all important ROI.

3. How has Style ID Africa responded to these challenges?

As a team that aims to understand both creators and brands, we know that influencer marketing is more than a media buy - it’s a creative process emanating from research, context and cultural intelligence. Brands are strategic partners, not just clients, and creators are collaborators, not just content vending machines.

Style ID Africa uses in-depth follower analysis, audience demographic insights, and engagement quality audits to match brands with creators who genuinely influence their communities. The agency focuses on relationship-led models that create space for deeper storytelling and real advocacy. The goal is to treat content as an asset - not an afterthought - maximising long term ROI across all channels.

4. The verdict on influencer marketing?

As influencer marketing evolves so must the approach. We have learnt over the years that this type of marketing is incredibly powerful when driven by strategy that is precise, purposeful and measurable. Handled carelessly though, it can quickly become a liability.

According to Dale Hefer, CEO of the IMC, "The challenge for marketers will always be how to make this channel more asset and less liability. When done right, it's a game-changer, driving growth and authentic connections with niche audiences. A sentiment echoed in the ‘Marketing is Business®’ mantra of the Nedbank IMC - where finding the right approach to influencer marketing is key to delivering results that matter.

At the conference, on 18 September, Style ID Africa will spearhead this conversation through live podcast interviews with selected speakers and industry leaders. Leroy Marc, host of Style ID Africa’s Business of Influence podcast and acclaimed local radio and TV personality, will lead these insightful discussions.

Attend in-person or online.

Venue – Mosaiek Teatro. 1 Danielle Street, Fairland, 2030.

Early bird phases sold out. In-person tickets priced at R4000 (excl. VAT).

Limited seats available. No allocated seating.

Virtual tickets priced at R950 (excl. VAT).

Book now.

For more information visit: https://imcconference.com/

The annual Nedbank IMC Conference is Africa’s foremost integrated marketing conference. Launched in 2019 it has become Africa’s biggest marketing conference. The Integrated Marketing Collective (IMC) believes that Marketing is Business® and that marketing deserves its place at the boardroom table. This conference has more CMOs, senior marketers and agency leaders attending than any other in Africa and is relevant to anyone in the business of communication.

One day of 15-minute presentations (with some exceptions), the conference is known for its hard-hitting global agenda with no sales pitches.

The Nedbank IMC is presented in association with MASA, in collaboration with the ACA and is endorsed by the IAB. The 2025 theme is ‘Marketing is Business®’.