New brands jump at endorsement deals with influencers, celebrities: study

Of brands in the endorsement space, 29% entered in the last 12 months, according to research from SponsorUnited.

Published Sept. 30, 2024

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Celebrities and influencers continue to attract new endorsement deals as marketers look to such partnerships as a way to drive engagement with target audiences. Over a quarter of brands currently participating in the endorsement landscape entered it for the first time during the last 12 months. However, only 4% of these newcomers entered into multiple endorsement deals, with others choosing just one deal, according to a recent study by SponsorUnited.

Among the newcomer brands, the top category was consumer products, followed by food products and apparel and accessories. Of all the first-time brands, 38% belong to one of these three categories.

The “2024 Celebrities & Influencer Report” from SponsorUnited evaluated over 650 brands and 1,350 deals. The report also evaluated 3,000 celebrity and influencer posts made between Sept. 3, 2023 and Sept. 2, 2024.

The landscape

When looking at the endorsement landscape overall, cosmetics and skincare brands are active participants with 68 endorsement deals for the category, making it the biggest category. The non-athletic apparel and footwear segment comes in a close second, with 62 endorsement deals. L’Oréal and Walmart each had six deals, making them the top brands in the endorsement space. Amazon Prime and Airbnb are close seconds, with five deals each.

While traditional celebrities retain significant clout, influencers are making gains. Of the 918 million followers gained by the top 100 celebrities and influencers over the past 12 months, over 70% of the growth came from influencers. This is due to the increased impact of YouTube, according to the report.

Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson saw his account grow by 182 million followers in the past 12 months. This makes Donaldson the number one influencer in terms of gaining followers. The celebrity with the biggest follower count jump was Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano, with 22 million new followers in the past 12 months.

The influencer look

The most successful influencers and celebrities when it comes to securing brand deals fall between 25 and 44 years old, with this age range accounting for 58% of total deals across the top 100 celebrities and influencers. Gender equity was split fairly equally, with women securing 48% of deals and men securing 52% of deals.

Platform popularity also differs between celebrities and influencers. Sixty-one percent of celebrity followers come from Instagram, compared to just 20% for influencers. Celebrities were also more popular on Facebook (18% vs. 7%) and X (13% vs. 3%). However, influencers dominate video-focused platforms. Thirty-six percent of influencer followers come from TikTok, compared to just 6% for celebrities. YouTube also has a strong influencer presence, with 34% of influencer followers coming from the platform, compared to just 2% for celebrities.