Storytelling, strategy & stars that form the influence equation

The evolving nature of influence in today's content-saturated environment was discussed by a panel of marketing leaders at the e4m Pitch CMO Summit Mumbai 2025. The discussion centred on how brands are strategically leveraging different types of influencers to connect with diverse consumer segments while maintaining authenticity.

The panellists included Kunal Sharma, Head of Marketing & Business head - Modern Trade and E-commerce at KRBL Limited; Manas Mohan, CDDO - Laqshya Media & CEO - Digitalabs at Laqshya Media Group; Nidhi Rastogi, Marketing Director at Uniqlo India; Shwetha Iyer, SVP and Head of Marketing at Kissht; Tushar Malhotra, Director - Sales and Marketing at Bisleri International; and Zoher Kapuswala, Chief Marketing Officer at Ferrero Rocher India. The session was chaired by Esha Nagar, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of The Pegboard.

The discussion opened with Nagar addressing the changing nature of influence in today's cluttered information landscape. "What does influence—or being an influencer—really mean when information is abundant, cluttered, and trust is rare? If I were to sum it up with a quote from ‘Influence’, ‘it's not about manipulation but about understanding what drives the user’." With that, she invited all the panellists to share what ‘influence’ means to them.

Sharma responded by emphasising the need for consistency in influencer marketing. "At the core, brands aim to make a meaningful difference—whether by getting consumers to buy from us or simply consider us. The fundamentals of influence remain unchanged, no matter the time. What's crucial is consistency in the choice of influencers, whether celebrities or social media personalities, ensuring they align with the brand's ethos."

The other key component, he mentioned, is content. Content remains king, and how influencers carry a brand’s message ultimately determines its impact.

Mohan highlighted the role of media in shaping influencers. "Media created influencers, and as media evolved, so did the types of influencers. With social media, where the velocity is more frantic, you have an explosion of influencers. Earlier, when the pace was slower, there were fewer."

He also highlighted the distinction between brand ambassadors and influencers, emphasizing that influencers play a crucial role in a brand’s lifecycle. From a business standpoint, he noted, “If I don’t make money from influencers, I don’t know where else to—media alone doesn’t allow it anymore.”

Speaking about influence in fashion, Rastogi stated that it has always been deeply personal. "Fashion has always been influenced by those around us—our mothers, siblings, friends. When it comes to brand influence, it's about choosing the right voices to shape perception. In fashion, influence is organic. You see someone—your friend, your colleague—you like what they're wearing, you ask about it."

She pointed out that influence isn’t always larger-than-life but embedded in everyday decisions. “Even today, people send WhatsApp messages from stores, asking, ‘Should I buy this?’ That’s influence,” she said, adding that as a life wear brand, they leverage authentic customer voices as the true voice of influence.

Adding to the conversation, Iyer defined influence in financial services as demystifying money. Money is one of life's biggest stressors—people lose sleep over it. For Iyer, an influencer is someone who simplifies money matters, helping people see they don't need to lose sleep over financial concerns. “We use influencers mainly for education—building awareness about managing credit and loans, and removing the fear that money has to be a source of stress.”

Malhotra described influence as storytelling, emphasizing the role of brand ambassadors and influencers in shaping consumer conversations. “A marketer’s job is to tell stories,” he said, citing Deepika Padukone for hydration campaigns, Shahid Kapoor for ISL, and Mary Kom for the Calcutta Marathon.

“Each influencer helps shape specific conversations with consumers, adding virality and impact. Influencer marketing allows us to engage audiences in real-time, and that’s critical—especially for Gen Z, who are digitally native and consume content instantly,” he said.

Kapuswala noted how influencer marketing aligns with evolving media consumption. "Marketing's primary job is to change behavior, and influencers are crucial for that. We've shifted from interruptive advertising—30-second TV spots—to content that seamlessly integrates with consumer experiences. For Gen Z, who spend two hours daily on social media, content must be social-first, moment-driven, and entertaining."

He highlighted how brands need to have multiple faces in this day and age, stating “With Nutella, Ranveer Singh is our primary face, but for seasonal campaigns, we collaborate with chefs like Vikas Khanna to establish credibility. Influencers help brands break through the clutter and connect with the right audiences at the right time.”

Nagar then shifted the conversation to the importance of influencers, micro-influencers, and user-generated content, asking whether brands need brand ambassadors, celebrities, or influencers.

"Brand ambassadors are a quick way to build top-of-mind awareness," said Kapuswala. "They create strong memory associations. But budgets are tight, business is demanding, and quick turnarounds are essential—so brand ambassadors remain relevant."

However, he added that if you want to drive different narratives you need to align with the context of the funnel.

Mohan shared the media perspective. "Media brands grew on the people they featured. Discovery Channel had F16 pilots, SR-71 test pilots—spawning sub-channels like Wings. Jane Goodall made National Geographic what it became. The real discussion is whether brand ambassadors—paid, unpaid, internal, or external—are best for the brand."

If a non-media brand creates its own content platform and features its own experts, that could be a good influencer strategy. He said that brands need to question if the budget works better for internal influencers or external ones. “Take the Škoda Deccan Beats example—top South Indian singers endorsed the brand not by talking about cars, but by sharing their experience traveling in them for six hours a day. That was enough. And they told consumers to listen to their music while driving. That’s how influence dovetails with brand storytelling,” he exemplified.

When asked about the importance of ambassadors versus influencers in fashion, Rastogi explained, "Both play a role. It depends on the business goal. Ambassadors help with TOM and spontaneous recall—quick awareness and brand recognition. They offer reach, credibility, and trust, which influencers sometimes lack. But when you move down the funnel to consideration and relevance, that's where influencers come in."

Nagar then steered the discussion to data-driven influencer strategy, asking Sharma about the role of data in influencer selection.

"We can't live without both—data and pop culture," said Sharma. "Strategically, we rely heavily on data. For instance, rice is a staple across India, but Basmati is consumed differently in different regions. Research helps us decode these differences."

Consumer insights revealed shifting Basmati rice consumption patterns, prompting localized influencer strategies. “In metros, people who had moved from smaller towns started using Basmati for dishes like lemon rice and coconut rice, so we activated local chefs,” he explained.

Turning to FinTech, Nagar posed a question to Iyer about navigating regulatory challenges in influencer marketing.

"FinTech is under intense scrutiny, especially in the last two to three years," Iyer shared. "When we launched Kishht, there were no influencer guidelines. But in the last 18 months, RBI regulations have tightened—finance influencers now need SEBI certification and other approvals."

She explained that while finance influencers remain part of their strategy, the brand has expanded its approach by tapping into influencers from other categories. As part of their strategy, wedding planners discussed budgeting, travel influencers shared financial planning tips for trips, and home decor influencers highlighted renovation costs—making financial conversations more relatable and engaging.

On performance marketing and influencer-driven campaigns, Malhotra shared, "A celebrity endorser brings consistency across mediums. If Deepika Padukone is our brand ambassador, her face is on packaging, trade outlets, and dealer boards throughout the year. But influencers amplify the brand narrative."

Nagar then shifted the focus to influencer-driven communities, emphasizing that influencers and their audiences are deeply connected. She noted that marketing discussions often revolve around "building a tribe," whether for niche interests like curly hair care or plant-based protein. The challenge, she pointed out, lies in identifying the right communities and engaging them with authentic content and asked the panellists about their strategies regarding the same.

Krishnan highlighted the role of MarTech. With smart usage of MarTech, one can measure the depth, breadth, and seriousness of a community. It helps marketers decide which horse to ride. “The real opportunity, however, lies in using Community X to talk about Product Y—this is where disruption happens. Finding the right permutation and combination to communicate effectively is almost a mathematical solution,” Krishnan discussed.

Discussing influencer-driven communities, Rastogi explained Uniqlo's product-driven approach. "We follow a philosophy called LifeWear—products that improve life, regardless of age. Instead of targeting a specific community, we focus on solving real-life problems."

Kapuswala emphasised that strong brands organically build communities giving the example of World Nutella Day. “It started in the U.S. by an influencer, Sarah Rosso, and has grown into a global movement. Even before our association with Ranveer Singh, he would celebrate it independently because he genuinely loved Nutella."

On the alignment between brand ambassadors and brand ethos, Iyer shared a recent example. "We onboarded Sachin Tendulkar as our brand ambassador because we needed someone with a pervasive persona across generations. While we target a younger audience, research showed that if we wanted to stand for trust, Sachin was the ideal choice."

Malhotra underscored the role of moment marketing. He shared how in South India, movie stars command immense fandom—almost like a religious phenomenon. “We leveraged this by tying up with blockbuster films, releasing limited-edition packs featuring stars like Rajinikanth and Vijay Sethupathi."

Building on this, Sharma shared a creative approach. "Staples is a low-involvement category, so we needed an exciting way to reveal our new packaging. We treated it like a movie launch with the campaign 'Fattega poster, niklega star.' We used influencers, genre-specific marketing, and even had Rajeev Masand review our new packs like a movie debut."