Wild deodorant pays influencers up to £1m per Instagram campaign
Wild, a refillable natural deodorant brand acquired by Unilever, spends up to £1m on celebrity influencer campaigns. Co-founder Charlie Bowes-Lyon calls influencer marketing the company's 'secret sauce'. High-profile ambassadors include tennis star Emma Raducanu (£1m), TV personalities Stacey Solomon and Molly-Mae Hague (hundreds of thousands each). Wild employs a dedicated team of over 20 and has an annual influencer budget of nearly £10m, which may double next year. Bowes-Lyon emphasizes authenticity: influencers must genuinely use the product. For example, Hague had used Wild's body wash before being approached. Campaigns range from £100,000 for a one-off post to millions for top-tier talent. Raducanu's partnership included full-day shoots in New York and creating her own scent. The ASA found 74% of participants identified conventional ads versus 54% for influencer ads. Bowes-Lyon notes that targeted campaigns with discount codes produce short-term sales spikes. Marketing experts like Hannah Campbell (One Twelve Agency) and Katy Howell (Rethink Social) highlight the sophistication of influencer economics, with top creators operating as media businesses.
Key facts
- Wild co-founder Charlie Bowes-Lyon calls influencer marketing the company's 'secret sauce'.
- Wild was bought by Unilever last year.
- Emma Raducanu was paid £1m to be Wild's brand ambassador.
- Stacey Solomon and Molly-Mae Hague were paid hundreds of thousands each.
- Wild's yearly influencer marketing budget is just under £10m.
- Wild employs a team of more than 20 dedicated to influencer marketing.
- 74% of participants identified conventional ads as adverts, versus 54% for influencer ads (ASA research).
- Molly-Mae Hague used Wild's body wash in a video before the brand approached her.
Entities
Artists
- Molly-Mae Hague
- Stacey Solomon
- Emma Raducanu
Institutions
- Wild
- Unilever
- One Twelve Agency
- Rethink Social
- ASA
Locations
- New York
- United States