Does Influencer Gifting Still Work in the Algorithm Age?

The algorithms have shifted, too. Reach increasingly comes from those who don’t follow a creator at all: follower growth is down, while non-follower views are up, as social strategist Rachel Karten notes in her newsletter, “Link in Bio”. “I hear from brands all the time that follower count doesn’t correlate with engagement, clicks or purchases,” Karten says.

If gifting is no longer the promised publicity — and sales — boost it once was, how should brands evolve their seeding strategies?

The shifting tiers — and fees — of product placement

Unlike gifting, a paid placement is a contract: a brand pays a stylist to put a specific piece on a client. These deals are nothing new, but over the past three to five years, they’ve spread well beyond a select few brands, says one PR agency founder who brokers them, speaking anonymously. What’s changed is the pay-off. Brands can now repurpose the image and link it directly to their shops, and the shots they prefer are the ones that look unplanned, like an airport outfit or a coffee run, the founder says.

“Brands 100% want a photo of a celebrity papped wearing their outfit more than an editorial shot, because it feels like the celebrity chose to wear it, even if they didn’t,” they add. In an era where consumers are hyper-aware of brand deals, this approach offers at least an air of authenticity — even if, behind the scenes, the brand PRs are the ones coordinating with the paps.

An average A-list placement costs $25,000 to $30,000, rising to north of $50,000 for a top name — and that’s often for a single piece, such as a necklace, or a pair of shoes or sunglasses, which the stylist works into an outfit. The fee usually goes to the stylist rather than the celebrity, though one stylist, speaking anonymously, says she splits the fee with her client. Payment only happens once a piece is worn and documented. “You still cannot ultimately control if they’re going to wear it,” says the agency founder. “At the last minute, the celebrity could be like, ‘Nah, I’m not wearing that.’” If a piece doesn’t work for the look or the event, no money changes hands.