Follow this: A crowd-sourced list of the best marketing influencers

So, who should marketers be following for inspiration – beyond the obvious list of established grandees like Les Binet and Rory Sutherland? From the best practitioners of influencer marketing to parodists and consultants, we crowd-sourced a must-follow list from The Drum Network.

Ella Howatson, account executive, No Brainer: Sophie Miller

“Sophie Miller, the force behind the Instagram account @prettylittlemarketer, is my favorite marketing influencer. As an educator, coach, and consultant, she’s dedicated to simplifying social media and fostering a community for marketers, freelancers, and founders. Specializing in social media marketing, Sophie has gained a loyal following of over 73,000 by curating monthly roundups, offering invaluable tips, sharing guides, hosting events, and showcasing successful social media campaigns. The posts are eye-catching and straightforward, making learning a breeze. Her more recent posts include ‘What you need to know about 2024’s biggest social media trends,’ ‘How to create a multiple-platform strategy,’ and ‘How to use attraction points to stand out on social’.

Claire Shalbrack, US managing director, Dept: Rob Mayhew

“The marketing and advertising industry has its own language and customs which make it unique (and hilarious). I love Robert Mayhew’s style of poking at universal truths of our industry, which reminds us all that we aren’t saving lives here. Helping marketers laugh at ourselves helps us keep our feet firmly on the ground.”

Louise Buckley, senior planner, Don’t be Shy: Julian Cole

“Julian Cole runs Planning Dirty Academy, and has consulted on strategy for the likes of Apple, Facebook, Disney and Uber. The short- and long-form videos on his YouTube channel offer straight-talking, actionable guidance, not only on planning and strategizing, but also on the delicacies of agency office politics and client relationships. Cole’s insights are valuable for hesitant beginners and hardened veterans alike. His ideas can occasionally be against-the-grain, but (unlike some marketing influencers) he doesn’t do that exhausting thing of being aggressively counterintuitive just to get clicks (‘Everyone is doing X, but they should be doing Y!’) He just demystifies processes, debunks commonly-held myths, and brings an informed, calm, clear-eyed perspective.”

Mark Bellamy, strategy director, Kairos Group: Mark Pollard

“Pollard is an ex-agency planner who is probably the biggest voice in the creative strategy landscape. He’s a must-follow as he’s got a pretty single-minded goal of bringing the best and most interesting marketing strategies to his community of thousands of strategists and unpicking them for everyone to learn from. Making it simple, but also challenging the norms of agency ways wherever possible.”

Saha Saif, senior account director, Designwerk: Katie Maguire

“Maguire, aka themumlife_styled, has it figured out. Her content and social persona are relatable yet aspirational for the mums who want to maintain a lifestyle beyond their kids. She knows her audience and curates her content to celebrate high fashion alongside high street pieces, mindful to show her influence across budgets. Using a consistent soft treatment across her reels and posts, she romanticizes her fashion influences, and tempts us all with a relaxed, no-pressure vibe which almost makes you forget you’re being sold to. As an ambassador for brands, she clearly makes her living through these collaborations, but her approach is delicate enough and comes across as honest – it’s the key to the trust that leads me to click through and buy.”

Andrew Ager, creative strategy director, 2Heads: Dorothy Di Stefano

“Di Stefano is an artist, creative and innovator with a finger on the pulse of what captures people’s attention and holds it. She views the world through the lens of art- and technology-infused experiences, and how one can craft a powerful emotional connection between brands and consumers by adopting a more artistic approach. She founded Molten Immersive Art, a nexus connecting global artists with brands to craft meaningful experiences and campaigns. By zeroing in on how art and creativity can be harnessed to drive awareness, challenge perception and ‘talkability’, she provokes brand owners and marketers to think differently when it comes to creating experientially-led marketing campaigns that resonate and tap into the cultural zeitgeist.”

Jess Myers, business director, The Fifth: Lucy Williams

“Interior creators on Instagram are my (not so) guilty pleasure. An influencer whose work bears on the work of marketeers? Lucy Willaims stands out among those who have had the most impact on what and how I consume. When I renovated my kitchen in 2022, I drooled over beautiful interiors, consistently turning to Williams’ account for guidance, practical advice, recommendations, and creative inspiration from a tastemaker who I trusted and whose content always stayed authentic to herself. Williams acted as a perfect marketing tool for the brands she worked with. When I found myself purchasing products for my home which I hadn’t known existed but had actually needed, I realized I’d been truly influenced. And I still use them all to this day.”

Lara MacAlpine, senior talent partnerships manager, Amplify: Ellie Delphine

“Parisian Ellie Delphine is an influencer and stylist whose grid content focuses mostly on fashion and beauty. However, in her stories, she will often provide commentary on and have open discourse with her audience about recent fashion marketing campaigns, pop-culture conversations, and other cultural occurrences. This can include anything from marketing mishaps to topics relating to diversity and inclusion in fashion or even just the fallout from a celebrity scandal. She also usually opens the floor to her followers for discussion and will repost interesting hot takes from her DMs, adding to this notion of open discourse. Also, given Ellie’s following are both largely anglophone and francophone, she will always share the copy in her stories in both French and English, ensuring that as many of her followers as possible have access and can contribute to the conversation.”