When creators stop being a media buy, everything about the strategy changes. 90% of Gen Z say social media content shapes what they buy, but 68% lose trust when creators promote too many products. The old influencer playbook is cracking, and the brands cracking the new one first are building a decade-long head start against the competition.
James Nord has a long view on this. As Founder and CEO of Fohr, the company he launched in 2013 as one of the first influencer marketing firms in the U.S., Nord has managed over $250 million in campaigns across 350,000 creators. When he talks, the industry listens.
Before “influencer” was even a word
The origin story of Fohr starts with a Tumblr account and an invitation from Puma to document a yacht race in Abu Dhabi. Sitting there shooting the event, Nord had a realization that would define the next decade of his career.
There was no traditional advertising channel Puma could have used to tell that story to his audience. None. Brands were going to need people like him — and the data and analytics to put real money behind it. Fohr was built to fill that gap.
Not a media channel. A cultural translator.
The distinction Nord draws here isn’t semantic. Traditional media interrupts. Creator content enters a conversation — one that is increasingly driving tastes and buying behavior across every category.
“We make a point to not interrupt the best parts of the internet,” Nord says. “We try and become part of it.” A toothpaste brand sliding authentically into a cultural moment? That’s something a banner ad simply cannot replicate.
Authenticity is table stakes
For years, authenticity was the goal. Nord is calling time on that. Honesty and genuine affection for a brand still matter — but they’re no longer enough to move anything.
“Just holding up a product and saying I really love this, even if you really do — it’s often not enough anymore,” he says. The new bar is unexpected: a beauty brand tapping a male athlete, a fashion label working with non-fashion creators. Category-crossing that sparks genuine surprise — and surprise, Nord notes, is still the most reliable way to be remembered.
The map is bigger than anyone admits
Fohr’s Almanac of Influence report found something brands keep underestimating: geography is now a better predictor of buying behavior than age. The internet isn’t a monolith — it’s an incomprehensibly vast map of subcultures and interest communities no marketer can navigate on intuition alone.
This is where indie agencies and regional brands have a real advantage. That food blogger in Atlanta appeals mostly an Atlanta audience. Once a creator hits around 100,000 followers, geographic spread starts to mirror the national population — and hyper-local targeting is gone. Smaller creators, Nord says, are a “target-rich environment” for brands activating locally.
The ambassador playbook
The future of creator marketing is ambassadorship — long-term relationships replacing transactional one-off deals. Fohr’s work with Dick’s Sporting Goods makes the case. The Dick’s Varsity Team recently drew over 10,000 applicants for 60 spots. Creators get a year-long contract, mentorship and access to a community that includes professional and Olympic athletes.
The result? Content that vastly outperforms anything Dick’s was doing before — because these creators aren’t just completing a job, they’re genuinely passionate. The Sephora Squad told the same story: after four years, Sephora was getting two to three times the social coverage of Ulta, which spent years on its back foot trying to catch up. Time and sweat equity, Nord says, can’t simply be purchased.
The prediction he’d bet his reputation on
Pay for performance and outcomes is coming. The idea of paying creators based on follower count alone will “seem ridiculous in a few years time,” Nord says — and the brands and agencies building toward that model now are the ones that will own the next decade.
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
