Are influencers becoming the new sponsorship brokers?

Darshan Shah, Founder of Scarters, a brand known for everyday travel products saw influencers stepping into roles once owned by agencies. “Lifestyle creators hosting pop-ups or curated festivals often brought in beverage, apparel, and tech sponsors together—something previously managed by event agencies. Indian creators like Komal Pandey or Masoom Minawala curated fashion or lifestyle showcases where multiple brands partnered simultaneously because of their personal networks and influence.”

Tiara Dhody, Founder of Mumbai-based luxury jewellery brand Treasures by Tiara, added her perspective from the global stage: “They shifted from being promoters to being curators. When I worked with Poet Lab at London Fashion Week, their gentlewoman silhouettes were the perfect counterpart to our jewellery. Through our mutual influencer and media circles, the partnership didn’t just spotlight us—it created a ripple effect, drawing in other brands and press. That was the real power of influencers then: they didn’t just tell one story, they assembled entire narratives.”

The global events industry is projected to soar to $2.5 trillion by 2035, growing at a CAGR of 6.8% between 2024 and 2035, according to AMR report.

Also read: Instagram introduces Skip Rate: New metric to make brand-creator conversations tougher?

Also read:How finfluencers are changing India’s money conversations

Shifting Budgets, Stronger Engagement

Event sponsorship budgets were increasingly restructured around creators. “Budgets shifted because influencers didn’t just pitch visibility, they promised engagement,” said Khan. “If a yoga creator said, ‘my community will actually turn up and post about it,’ brands were willing to reallocate spends from a traditional sponsorship deck into that collaboration.”

Shah explained how this redirection worked in practice: “Instead of large spends on booths, stage sponsorships, or ATL media, brands allocated funds directly to creators who curated experiences and guaranteed reach via content. The influencer’s storytelling extended visibility beyond physical attendees.”

Dhody saw an even deeper shift: “They weren’t just influencing budgets, they were rewriting them. The question used to be: How many people will see us? Now it was: How many people will believe us? I would rather have collaborated with one creator who embodied our philosophy of self-expression than sponsored a massive event that felt impersonal. The budgets moved from reach to resonance, and resonance was what built real value.”

The ROI Advantage

ROI became a key driver for influencer-led sponsorships. “A brand spent less to come in through an influencer’s network but gained weeks of digital content on top of the live presence,” said Khan.

Shah pointed out the role of smaller creators: “Micro and nano influencers thrived on engagement and trust. If they unlocked a premium sponsor—say, a fintech brand backing a community-run design meetup—the brand benefitted from hyper-targeted conversions at a fraction of the cost of mass media-driven sponsorships.”

Dhody highlighted the luxury perspective: “Micro and nano influencers thrived in close-knit communities where trust was everything. When they brought in a big sponsor, that sponsor stepped into a circle of trust rather than a cold audience. For us, that meant customer acquisition costs dropped sharply because people were already warm and willing to engage. In luxury especially, the warmest introductions were the ones that grew into long-term relationships.”

Content, Community, Credibility

Khan called influencer-led sponsorships “content, community, and credibility” stacked together—a combination too valuable to ignore.

Shah broke down how brands assessed the upside: extended reach, audience relevance, and cost efficiency. “For example, a D2C skincare brand might have preferred funding a creator’s wellness retreat versus sponsoring a large lifestyle expo with diluted audiences.”

Dhody agreed but stressed credibility: “Traditional sponsorships bought visibility; influencer collaborations built connection. The old model measured footfall and impressions—numbers that didn’t always translate into sales. With influencers, we tracked engagement, traffic, conversions, even repeat purchases through codes. But the deeper value was when someone said, ‘I saw it through her, and I trust it.’ That trust carried forward long after the event ended.”

Cutting Costs, Saving Time

Efficiency was another appeal for brands. “If a creator could directly plug a brand into an event, you cut out multiple layers of coordination and fees. That was money saved and time saved,” said Khan.

Shah noted how many creators functioned as “one-stop shops”, handling venue, curation, promotion, and integration, reducing the need for agencies. Dhody added that for agile luxury brands, this agility was crucial: “Working directly with an influencer removed extra layers of agencies and large event teams, which reduced costs. The logistics were lighter too—the event naturally became part of the influencer’s content. That freedom let me put more of the budget back into creativity and collaboration, where the impact was strongest.”

Beyond Impressions: Building Lifetime Value

Unlike traditional sponsorships that faded with the event, influencer-led collaborations created lasting bonds. “A fan discovering a brand at their favourite creator’s event wasn’t a fleeting impression—it was a memory that fuelled repeat purchases and word of mouth,” said Khan.

Shah noted how brands started to measure LTV from such partnerships. “A premium coffee brand sponsoring a creator’s home-barista workshop could measure repeat subscription purchases among attendees—going beyond just event-day impressions.”

Dhody called this the most important metric: “A one-off impression was gone in a day, but a high-value customer stayed with you for years. By partnering with influencers whose audiences aligned with our ethos, we attracted customers who returned, collected, and advocated for us. The goal wasn’t just to get attention—it was to build advocates who carried the brand forward.”

A New Revenue Stream for Creators

This evolution also rewrote creator earnings. “Some creators were smart enough to charge their fee for presence and take a cut of sponsorship they brought in. They weren’t just talent anymore—they were partners driving real revenue into events,” said Khan.