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As influencer marketing in India grows in complexity and scale, brands are increasingly relying on intelligence platforms to bring structure, speed, and accountability to their campaigns. What was once a celebrity-led endorsement format has now evolved into a multi-layered creator space where anywhere from 20 to 100 influencers may be activated in a single campaign.
In this context, data-led planning is no longer optional but essential. Platforms like Qoruz, KlugKlug, Winkl, CreatorIQ, and Tagger are fast becoming core partners to both brands and agencies, not only for influencer discovery but for real-time performance tracking, ROI optimisation, and fraud detection.
From Johnson & Johnson and Flipkart to Bajaj Auto and Zee Media, more than 50 brands and agencies including MSL India, Interactive Avenues, and Omnicom Media Group are now using platforms like Qoruz to inform and manage their influencer spends. Creator management agencies are also joining in, using such platforms to track the effectiveness of talent-led campaigns and profiles.
Data Powers Smarter Campaigns
Shalini Kumar, Head – Consumer Experience at Kenvue, noted that intelligence platforms are critical in managing the complexity of today’s influencer campaigns.
“The shift from brand-led communication to creator-led marketing is unmistakable. Earlier, working with a few celebrities meant we already knew who they were and what they brought to the table. But now, with 20 to 100 influencers involved in a single campaign, it's critical to evaluate fit, authenticity, and relevance from among millions of potential creators. That’s where the intelligence platform becomes invaluable—it streamlines discovery and brings structure to what would otherwise be chaos,” she said.
“More importantly, it helps us track campaign performance in real-time, from impressions and engagement to ROI, CPM, and even individual influencer impact, allowing us to optimise on the go,” she stated.
2.5X Efficiency Gains
Praanesh Bhuvaneswar, Co-Founder and CEO of Qoruz, revealed that brands using their platform have seen up to 2.5X improvements in spending efficiency for repeat campaigns. “Efficiency isn’t just about cost; it’s also about speed and precision. Campaign planning time drops by 40–50%. Engagement relevance increases by 30–35%. And importantly, wasteful spends on misaligned creators drop sharply. It’s like switching from a compass to GPS. You still get there, but a lot faster and with fewer wrong turns,” he said.
According to Bhuvaneswar, brands that go beyond basic metrics are seeing better returns. “An intelligence platform helps brands move from one-off activations to structured growth strategies. It supports funnel planning, media-mix formulation, performance prediction, and understanding what’s working and why. Without it, you’re essentially running media on an Excel sheet,” he stated.
“The platform tracks detailed metrics beyond likes and views. Brands now measure share of voice, trend capture, true reach, audience quality, conversion lift, and cost per action,” he added.
Agencies Embrace Intelligence to Improve ROI
Kejal Teckchandani, EVP – Influencer and Video at FCB Kinnect, said intelligence platforms are now embedded across all stages of campaign execution. “At big agencies, intelligence platforms are embedded into every phase of our influencer campaigns—from discovery and reverse-mapping to real-time performance monitoring. Compared to manual scouting, we’re now identifying the right creators nearly 100% faster, with better audience relevance, past performance data, and engagement predictability,” she said.
“This data-led approach has significantly improved ROI, content relevance, and operational efficiency, helping us deliver measurable brand impact every time,” she added.
The cost of an integrated intelligence platform for influencer marketing in India varies significantly based on features, scale, and specific user requirements. Platforms like CreatorIQ can cost around ?30 lakh per year. Others, such as Grin, which focus on ecommerce integration, offer multiple pricing tiers tailored to different business needs. For companies looking to develop a custom platform, the investment can range anywhere from ?33 lakh and ?1.65 crore, depending on complexity and functionality.
Making Intelligence Work for Smaller Brands
Vaibhav Gupta, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer at KlugKlug, said that even brands with limited budgets can benefit from intelligence platforms. “For regional or emerging brands without access to advanced tools, the focus should be on building meaningful partnerships with micro- and nano-influencers, encouraging user-generated content, and using simple ROI metrics to ensure authenticity and measurable impact—even on lean budgets,” he advised.
He also flagged transparency and trust as key areas of concern with the rise of AI-generated content. “Labeling AI-generated posts, applying robust fraud detection to weed out bots or fake followers, and maintaining human oversight in creative direction are no longer optional,” he stated.
From Data to Execution: Bridging the Gap
Rohit Sakunia, Founder and Director of ArtE Mediatech, claimed that the industry’s challenge is not data availability but the gap between insight and execution. “The fundamental challenge in our industry today isn't a lack of data. The issue is that there is a large gap between insight and execution. You could use standalone intelligence platforms. They provide powerful analytics. But the problem is that their value diminishes if the data isn't immediately translated into strategy,” he said.
He added, “This isn’t a platform versus agency problem. It’s more an integrated approach issue. The best brands are now solving for this integration. I know some who are either building skilled in-house teams to connect platform data with strategy, or are seeking evolved agency partners like ours where technology and execution are already fused.”
Sakunia also warned against over-reliance on AI. “AI tools are useful but they cannot replace cultural instinct. While reach is something platforms over-index on, most of the brands we work with, we focus on relevance. Because this is one marketing area where brands can now chase and get relevance,” he said.
He explained, “We don’t just look and match for categories. It’s more about matching context with conversation. From here we move to tracking real sentiment and not just surface-level engagement spikes. We see and figure if a certain creator is just seen or is trusted too.”
On AI-generated content, he stated, “I feel brands know where the human ends. And to me we are still very far from usage of AI-generated content in an exclusive manner. I feel this also because we still have regional content to play its part in a large manner. Regional voices still remain the most underleveraged moat in India.”
Tools of Choice
Sakunia shared some of the most preferred platforms used by brands. “Affable, CreatorIQ, Tagger globally, Winkl, One Impression etc. If you have tighter budgets, my suggestion would be Cloutflow, Influsoft etc. We sometimes also suggest brands to use YouTube/Instagram search with local language filters,” he said.
He concluded, “Focus more on marketing 101, which is knowing your audience and that of the audience of the creator and matching both. Bother less about fancy dashboards.”
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