Influencer Marketing Council AiMCO Signs Lion, Reckitt, Mars

Three big advertisers sign up

In late August, the Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) added three large consumer marketers to its membership: brewer and drinks group Lion, health and hygiene company Reckitt, and Mars Snacking, the confectionery arm of Mars.12 AiMCO called them some of the most significant brand signings it has made.2 Industry coverage reported the news with little variation, and the trade outlets that carried it all used the same announcement.127

The three companies own some of the best-known brands in Australian supermarkets and bottle shops. Lion's portfolio covers beer, ready-to-drink products and spirits, including Hahn, XXXX, Tooheys, Stone & Wood, Four Pillars Gin, Guinness and Heineken.2 Reckitt makes Finish, Nurofen, Gaviscon, Vanish, Dettol, Strepsils and Durex.2 Mars Snacking sells M&M'S, Snickers, Maltesers, Skittles and Starburst, and covers chocolate, gum, cereals and snacks in Australia.1

Membership announcements are usually routine trade news. This one is worth more attention because of what it says about where Australian advertising money is going. Large packaged-goods companies have historically spent heavily on television, outdoor and search. When three of them join a creator-economy body, it suggests influencer work is moving out of the experimental part of the marketing budget.

What the brands said, and what it shows

Each company described its interest a little differently, and the differences show how big advertisers are organising their creator spending.

Lion's cultural collaborations leader, Andie Tickner, said talent had become an increasingly important way for the company's brands to connect with consumers. She said membership would bring rigour and a best-practice framework to an in-house centre of excellence Lion is building.1 That points to a team that sets standards across the portfolio, not campaign-by-campaign buying through agencies.

Reckitt's ANZ marketing director, Florence Paoli, called influencer marketing a strategic channel for the company's health and hygiene brands. She linked the decision to "responsible" influencer marketing and to new creator partnerships.1 Mars Snacking's brand PR and social influence lead, Lauren Lecordier, said the company is pursuing earned-first campaigns and wants to share insights with other brands and agencies.1

The Mars wording is the most revealing for anyone tracking budgets. "Earned-first" is public relations language, and it matches a pattern in new industry data. Creator marketing in Australia is still often paid for from PR and communications budgets, not from a dedicated line item. That makes it harder to measure, and probably harder to defend when budgets are reviewed.

AiMCO managing director Patrick Whitnall said the signings show influencer marketing is no longer a niche or emerging channel and has become an increasingly important part of the marketing mix.2

How big Australian influencer spend is

Estimates of the market's size differ, which is common for a channel that standard ad-spend reports have trouble tracking. Figures from the Meltwater and We Are Social Digital 2026 report, as reported by Mumbrella, put Australian influencer spend at A$830 million over the previous 12 months. That is up 13.5% year on year and on course to pass A$1 billion in 2026.1114 The same data puts influencer advertising at about 3.8% of Australian digital ad spend and ranks it as the second-fastest-growing digital category after online retail.11

Another estimate, from influencer agency Innflux, puts projected 2026 spend at just over $810 million, with growth closer to 19%. The two sources disagree on the exact size and pace. They agree that the market is close to A$1 billion and growing faster than most of the media industry. Globally, creator-economy advertising was estimated at about US$37 billion in 2025, growing roughly four times faster than total media, according to IAB figures cited in one local analysis.14

The measurement problem is not new. In a submission to the ACCC several years ago, AiMCO said there were no figures showing how much online ad spend went to social platforms, and that IAB reporting did not separate social as its own category.17 The industry has been estimating its own size for years, and the variation in today's numbers reflects that.

The budget problem

The strongest context for the new members came about a week later. AiMCO and the Marketing Association of Australia released their first State of Creator Marketing Australia 2026 report.16 It found 84% of surveyed organisations already invest in creator marketing and 77% plan to increase that investment over the next two years. None expect to cut it.16

The report also found that only about a quarter of organisations have a dedicated creator budget. Most of the money comes from brand budgets (63%) or PR and communications budgets (39%).16 Mi-3's coverage led with this gap between widespread investment and a lack of dedicated funding.7

This is where the Lion, Reckitt and Mars announcement fits. All three spoke about structure: a centre of excellence, best-practice frameworks, responsible partnerships. That suggests large advertisers are trying to turn scattered creator activity into an organised discipline with its own governance. Lion's in-house hub in particular looks like the step that comes before a creator budget becomes its own line item.

The report also suggests why big brands want an industry body involved. Creator marketing is mostly used for brand building (80%) and cultural relevance (76%), while performance and sales measures rank fifth at 51%.16 Nearly all organisations rely on platform analytics (92%), and many use reports supplied by the creators themselves (58%).16 Both are convenient, but they are self-reported and limited to each platform's own data. Shared measurement standards were the top request of industry bodies (64%), and seven in ten respondents said a recognised certification framework would significantly increase market confidence.16 Whitnall said AiMCO will relaunch its metrics and measurement committee and repeat the study every year.16

It is worth noting how the sample was built. The survey covered 92 organisations recruited from the two bodies' own memberships.16 It describes the attitudes of committed participants, not the whole market, and probably overstates enthusiasm.

Why regulated categories matter

The mix of new members matters as much as their size. Alcohol, over-the-counter medicines, sexual health products and confectionery all attract scrutiny when marketed through social feeds. In those categories, a poorly disclosed or badly targeted creator post is a reputational and regulatory risk.

AiMCO was set up by the Audited Media Association of Australia and oversees an Influencer Marketing Code of Practice. The code covers brands, agencies, platforms, talent managers and creators.13 It deals with disclosure, influencer vetting, brand safety and contract terms. Creators are expected to label posts as ads when they are paid, earn commission through codes or affiliate links, or receive free products or trips.11 The council has also issued guidance on giveaways and on working with child and family influencers.10

The new survey shows why these frameworks appeal to large advertisers. Almost three in ten organisations reported brand safety problems, and 42% either were still drafting a formal creator policy or had none.16 For a brewer or a pharmaceutical brand, joining a code-backed body offers some protection. In this reading, Reckitt's emphasis on "responsible" influencer marketing is a practical concern for the company, not just wording.1

How spending patterns are changing

Other brands are making bigger moves. Hair care brand Mermade moved half of its social ad spend into paid creator partnerships over nine months after seeing gains of about 20% in return on ad spend and click-through rates. Smaller and direct-to-consumer brands tend to move first, and large consumer-goods companies usually follow once internal teams and governance are in place. The Lion, Reckitt and Mars signings look like that second phase starting.

Costs give big advertisers options. Local benchmarks put nano-creator posts at a few hundred dollars and celebrity posts at tens of thousands or more. Video and paid-usage rights add premiums on top. Long-term ambassador deals have reportedly overtaken one-off posts among brands spending more than $25,000 a year. Companies with portfolios of the size Lion, Reckitt and Mars run can spread that spending across many brands, which makes shared internal standards more valuable.

The council's growth also explains the timing. AiMCO passed 100 members in 2024 and 120 in early 2025, and has said it is aiming for record membership in 2026.8918 Until now, most of its new members were agencies, talent managers and platforms. Adding three major advertisers gives buyers more of a voice in setting standards.

What comes next

The immediate milestones are AiMCO's 2026 Awards and its 2027 Summit, which will be held at Sydney's Roundhouse on 25 February with more than 500 creators, brands and agency staff expected.13

The bigger question is whether this support turns into the measurement standards the industry keeps asking for. Spending has grown without a common way to measure results. The signal from these three signings is that the next stage of growth will depend on certification, consistent metrics and dedicated budgets, more than on enthusiasm. Big advertisers have joined the council, and they will expect results they can measure.