There are plenty of examples of successful beauty influencer programs and an ever growing number of beauty creators coming onto the scene, but the fashion industry continues to lag behind.
According to recent data from Traackr’s Fashion State of Influence report, the amount of creators posting fashion content has decreased year-over-year:
- US creator content mentioning fashion terms decreased by 15%
- UK creator content mentioning fashion terms decreased by 18%
- FR creator content mentioning fashion terms decreased by 20%
That being said, consumer interest has not decreased, specifically when it comes to video. Video views on creator fashion content increased year-over-year by 30% in the US, 17% in the UK, and 41% in France.
It’s clear that while influencer marketing has become a critical strategy for the fashion industry, many brands (and creators) are still trying to figure out how to maximize ROI. Below, we delve into insights from the successful influencer programs of Nike, Adidas, and SHEIN.
Influencer Program Analysis: Leading Fashion Brands
According to our recent Fashion State of Influence report, Nike, Adidas, and SHEIN rank among the top 10 in terms of Brand Vitality Score (VIT)—a metric that evaluates brand visibility, engagement, and trust through creator content.
Nike’s Influencer Program
Nike had the most impressive influencer programs in the US with a total VIT score of 792K, earning it the #1 spot on the US Fashion Leaderboard.
During the first eight months of 2024, there were a few factors that contributed to Nike’s influencer program success:
- Diverse creator content strategy. Much of the top content for Nike that came from creators was organic, and spanned different topics. Creators mentioned Nike in anything from sneaker content, to fitness content, to lifestyle/fashion content, and more.
- Strong social platform focus on Instagram, while growing TikTok. Instagram is central to Nike’s influencer strategy, contributing 71% of its total VIT. However, the brand also has a strong TikTok presence, which earned 21% of its total VIT — a higher portion than the average seen across the fashion market.
- Bold campaigns with athlete creators. Nike launched it’s #WinningIsntForEveryone campaign during the Olympics in July 2024. The campaign had a more polarizing and competitive tone which might have been a deliberate shift in strategy in order to combat the narrowing of their market share lead against competitors. To bolster the campaign, Nike had many of their athletes post social media content including short video clips from Lebron James, Victor Wembanyama, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- Celebrity partnerships. Megan Thee Stallion also generated a huge amount of impressions for Nike, posting 21 times across her social accounts to drive awareness for her special collaboration collection with Nike that was released in February 2024.
Nike’s Influencer Program Stats (January – August 2024):
- Overall UK Rank (VIT): #1
- Most Impactful Social Media Platform: Instagram
- Most Impactful Creator Tier: Macro (250K+ followers)
Adidas’ Influencer Program
In the UK, Adidas earned the #1 spot on the Fashion Leaderboard, with a total VIT score of 257K.
Some of the elements that helped Adidas see so much influencer program success include:
- Athlete ambassadors. Adidas Football’s ambassador relationships with Jude Bellingham and David Beckham were incredibly impactful for Adidas’ brand awareness. Jude and David mentioned Adidas in a combined 20 posts, earning over 74K VIT and 50M engagements.
- Prioritization of sneaker content. Sneaker content was key to the brand’s success. While much of the top-performing sneaker content featured rare or custom sneakers from sneaker collectors and enthusiasts, there were also plenty of athletes and fashion creators who mentioned Adidas shoes in unboxings, OOTD, and lifestyle content.
- Optimization of organic content. Outside of their key high-profile ambassador relationships, Adidas was not reliant on sponsored campaigns. In fact, most of its top VIT-earning posts were organic mentions.
Adidas’ Influencer Program Stats (January – August 2024):
- Overall US Rank (VIT): #1
- Most Impactful Social Media Platform: Instagram
- Most Impactful Creator Tier: VIP (5M+ followers)
Tip: Curious to see how social media trends can contribute to a brand’s success? Discover how Adidas sneakers became a trend in fashion influencer marketing.
SHEIN’s Influencer Program
SHEIN has rapidly emerged as a heavyweight player in the fast fashion space over the last few years, and its influencer strategy has played an essential role in its success. In the first eight months of 2024, the brand managed to earn the #1 spot on the FR Fashion Leaderboard, with a total VIT score of 118K (+10% year-over-year).
Some pillars to SHEIN’s influencer program success:
- Emphasis on mid and micro tier creators. Mid (50K+ followers) and macro tier creators (250K+ followers) earned 59% of SHEIN’s total VIT. Some of the best performing creators included Carla Moreau, Cecile Duval, nawakkk, Monia, and Selin Elma.
- Tapping into the whitespace on TikTok. TikTok earned 52% of SHEIN’s total VIT. To compare, the general fashion brand marketing only saw 17% of VIT coming from TikTok.
- Investment in sponsored content. SHEIN invested heavily in sponsored content, with 56% of its VIT coming from paid content. In 2024, they partnered with over 1000 FR creators on paid posts, more than 3x any other brand (YSL is second with 329 creators making paid content).
- Creator content in fashion and beyond. Some of the content themes that were the most successful for SHEIN included shopping hauls, try-ons, and unboxing videos along with couples content, and content from moms featuring outfit looks of them and their kids.
SHEIN’s Influencer Program Stats (January – August 2024):
- Overall FR Rank (VIT): #1
- Most Impactful Social Media Platform: TikTok
- Most Impactful Creator Tier: Macro (250K+ followers)
These insights into Nike, Adidas, and SHEIN’s influencer programs highlight effective strategies that brands can adopt to enhance their own influencer marketing efforts. For a deeper dive into brand insights, top influencers, and emerging trends, get the full State of Influence report.
