Celebrity influencers paid up to £1m to advertise deodorant on Instagram

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, How much do influencers get paid to endorse products? By Yasmin Rufo Published 1 hour ago The #ad posts on your feed may look relaxed, personal and spontaneous but behind many of them is a carefully planned campaign, a detailed contract and, in some cases, a seven-figure fee. For Charlie Bowes-Lyon, the co-founder of Wild, a refillable natural deodorant, influencer marketing has been a huge part of the company's success and he calls it his "secret sauce". Wild, which was bought by Unilever last year, uses high-profile names including Stacey Solomon, Emma Raducanu and Molly-Mae Hague to promote its products on Instagram. Bowes-Lyon says the brand has spent millions on its partnership with Raducanu and hundreds of thousands on campaigns with Solomon and Hague. People buy from people Hannah Campbell, founder of influencer marketing agency One Twelve Agency, says brands are using influencers over traditional adverts because "they do actually influence". "They have built audiences and communities that trust them, and the old adage 'people buy from people' is true. "Consumers, especially younger audiences, aren't engaging with traditional media but they do follow and engage with their favourite influencers daily." Influencer marketing is now such a big part of Wild's business that it employs a team of more than 20 solely dedicated to working on this. The company's yearly influencer marketing budget is just under £10m, "but next year that may double as we look for larger brand ambassadors", says Bowes-Lyon. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Raducanu was paid £1m to be Wild's current brand ambassador How much the company spends on influencer marketing "can vary from £100,000 through to millions if you want a top-tier celebrity", says Bowes-Lyon. He says a lot of it also depends on the depth of the campaign as "if you want them to do a one-off post you wouldn't pay too much but typically what they and you want is to develop is a bit more of a relationship". British tennis player Emma Raducanu is Wild's current brand ambassador and has been working with the brand for the past year. "We've done tons with her like full day shoots in New York, lots of posts and stories on Instagram and she even came in to create her own deodorant scent," says Bowes-Lyon. "These celebrities aren't strapped for cash so it's not really about the money for them, it's more about whether the brand is a right fit," he says. "When I tell people influencers make £2,000 for a single post, they are shocked, never mind the fact some are making £50,000 for one post." Can an advert ever feel genuine? Image source, Getty Images / PA Media Image caption, Molly-Mae Hague and Stacey Solomon have both promoted Wild deodorant Katy Howell, director at marketing agency Rethink Social, says paid ads "don't necessarily corrupt a recommendation but it changes the context in whic