Is Influencer Marketing Still Effective in 2026? — What 5,685 Collaborations Reveal
Key Takeaways
- · 최근 3개월 유튜브 협업 5,685건, 참여 브랜드 2,241개 — 시장은 위축되지 않았습니다
- · 구독자 10만~50만 크리에이터가 전체 협업의 46.8%를 차지하며, 미드티어 중심 재편이 뚜렷합니다
- · 식음료 업종 협업 평균 조회수 37.7만 회로 전 업종 1위를 기록했습니다
- · 스픽(확산형 63명)·DB손해보험(전속형 1명)·아정당(하이브리드) 등 전략 양극화가 진행 중입니다
Is Influencer Marketing Still Effective in 2026?
Naver search trends show a 42% drop in "influencer marketing" interest. Is it really over? Actual YouTube collaboration data tells a different story.
"Influencer marketing is dead" is a claim you hear frequently in the Korean marketing industry. Naver DataLab shows a 42% decline in search interest over the past 60 days, and questions like "Is influencer marketing effective?" keep appearing on Naver Knowledge iN, a popular Q&A platform.
But tracking YouTube collaborations on the Dhesy platform over the past 3 months paints a different picture. After removing package deal duplicates and counting only unique collaborations, there were 5,685 brand-creator partnerships. 2,241 brands and 1,761 creators participated. The market hasn't shrunk — the term "influencer marketing" has simply become so routine that people stopped searching for it.
Global market size supports this. According to Fortune Business Insights, the influencer marketing platform market is projected at $27.54 billion in 2026, with an annual growth rate of 15.9%.
Where the Money Flows — and Where It Doesn't
Which industries are most actively collaborating with YouTube creators? Here's the breakdown from the past 3 months.
Collaborations by Industry (Last 3 Months)
Beauty leads with 1,014 collaborations. With 344 brands working with 474 creators, that's an average of 1.4 creators per brand. The creator pool is broad and pricing is relatively distributed, making it a low-barrier sector.
Food & Beverage stands out for a different reason. While collaboration count is 730 (second place), the average views per video at 377,000 is the highest across all sectors — 15% above the Dhesy platform average of 328,000 views per brand. The data confirms that mukbang (eating shows) and cooking content pairs naturally with brand sponsorships.
Tech ranks at 474 collaborations with 254,000 average views, showing a solid performance balance. Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics lead this sector with 42 and 38 creators respectively.
Why Food & Beverage Tops the Views Chart
There is no simple correlation between collaboration volume and views per video. Beauty ranks first in total collaborations but averages just 214,000 views — only 57% of Food & Beverage's 377,000. The gap comes down to content format.
Food & Beverage sponsorships ride on formats viewers already consume daily: mukbang, cooking shows, convenience store haul reviews. The viewing intent is "entertainment," not "watching an ad," so drop-off rates stay low and viewers don't resist clicking even when a brand name appears in the title. This structural advantage is why 390 brands are active in this category.
Beauty collaborations, by contrast, lean on dedicated formats like product reviews and haul videos. Viewers know it's sponsored before they click. This can mean higher conversion among the interested, but the reach ceiling is lower than food content.
Gaming (449 collaborations, 141,000 average views) shows yet another pattern. Gaming sponsorships are overwhelmingly tied to new title launches, creating short bursts of activity. With 80 brands deploying 229 creators — an average of 2.9 creators per brand — this sector runs a sprint-style spread strategy.
Mega vs Micro — Where Are Brands Betting?
Subscriber tier distribution reveals where the market's center of gravity sits.
Collaborations by Subscriber Tier
| Subscriber Tier | Collaborations | Share | Avg Views |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1M+ | 976 | 17.2% | 631K |
| 500K–1M | 1,197 | 21.1% | 230K |
| 100K–500K | 2,661 | 46.8% | 151K |
| 10K–100K | 837 | 14.7% | 75K |
Nearly half (46.8%) of all collaborations occur in the 100K–500K subscriber range. 883 creators worked with 1,303 brands. The "mega for awareness, micro for conversion" dual-track strategy mentioned in BAT Crew's 2026 trend report is confirmed by the data.
That said, mega creators (1M+) average 631K views per video — over 4x the mid-tier — making them still effective for brand awareness campaigns. 585 brands collaborated with creators in this tier.
According to Shopify's micro-influencer analysis, 47% of marketers reported the best results from smaller creator partnerships, and Dhesy data points in the same direction.
Brands with the Most Creator Partnerships
Looking at individual brands, the strategic differences become clearer.
| Brand | Industry | Creators | Videos | Avg Views |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speak | Education | 63 | 80 | 205K |
| Ajeongdang | Lifestyle | 62 | 141 | 424K |
| Temu | Retail | 57 | 58 | 90K |
| Modooc | Healthcare | 43 | 49 | 468K |
| Samsung Electronics | Tech | 42 | 63 | 219K |
Speak employed a classic spread strategy, partnering with 63 creators for 1–2 videos each. For an English education app, broad exposure across diverse genres matters. Its 205K average views falls below the Dhesy platform average of 328K, but the 63-creator reach is the strategic payoff.
Ajeongdang took a hybrid approach — 62 creators but 141 videos. Some creators had package deals for repeated exposure. This strategy paid off with the highest average views at 424K among the top brands.
Modooc produced only 49 videos with 43 creators but achieved 468K average views — the highest in the top 5. In the healthcare sector, partnerships with trusted, specialized channels translate into viewer confidence and longer watch times.
The Package Deal Variable
The gap between video count and actual collaboration count is explained by package deals. When a creator uploads dozens of videos for the same brand within a month, these aren't individual sponsorships — they're long-term contracts with repeated exposure.
Top 5 Package Deals (by Video Count)
DB Insurance and Hanmunchul TV exemplify this. 267 videos featured the brand over 3 months — not individual sponsorships but program-level sponsorship. Financial brands favor these long-term packages because financial products require sustained trust-building through consistent channel exposure.
Samsung Asset Management follows a similar pattern, maintaining long-term partnerships with financial channels like Hankyung Global Market (115 videos) and Butiful (69 videos).
Takeaways for Marketers
Here are practical lessons drawn from 5,685 collaborations, organized by stakeholder.
| Audience | Takeaway | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Advertisers & Marketers | Allocate budget toward mid-tier (100K–500K) creators as the base, adding mega creators for awareness campaigns in a dual-track approach | 46.8% of collaborations in mid-tier; mega creators deliver 4.2x more views |
| Advertisers & Marketers | In categories like F&B where content naturally integrates brands, riding existing formats (mukbang, cooking shows) outperforms dedicated review content | F&B averages 377K views vs Beauty's 214K (76% gap) |
| Creators | The 100K–500K subscriber range is the most active collaboration zone. Building sector expertise within this tier increases partnership opportunities | 883 creators worked with 1,303 brands in this range |
| Creators | Package deals provide more stable income than one-off sponsorships. Ajeongdang's case shows repeated collaborations can also boost average views | Ajeongdang: 62 creators, 141 videos, 424K avg views |
| Agencies | Three strategy archetypes exist: spread (Speak), exclusive (DB Insurance), and hybrid (Ajeongdang). Match the approach to the client's campaign objective | Top 5 brands each used distinctly different patterns |
| Agencies | For trust-dependent sectors like finance and insurance, long-term package contracts deliver stronger ROI. Program sponsorships (DB Insurance–Hanmunchul TV: 267 videos) are worth evaluating | All top financial packages exceeded 100 videos |
So, Is Influencer Marketing Worth It?
Three things are clear from the data.
First, the market hasn't shrunk. 2,241 brands collaborated with YouTube creators over 3 months, regardless of the keyword's declining search volume.
Second, mid-tier (100K–500K) is the core market. 46.8% of all collaborations happen in this range — the sweet spot between cost-efficiency and reach.
Third, strategies are polarizing. Spread strategies like Speak (63 creators, 1 video each), exclusive strategies like DB Insurance (1 creator, 267 videos), and hybrid approaches like Ajeongdang coexist.
"Is influencer marketing effective?" is no longer the right question. What matters is which creator tier, what contract structure, and which industry you operate in.
Key Statistics
- 5,685 YouTube brand collaborations in 3 months (package duplicates removed)
- 2,241 brands and 1,761 creators participated
- 100K–500K subscriber creators account for 46.8% of collaborations
- Food & Beverage leads with 377K average views per collaboration (+15% above platform average of 328K)
- Mega creators (1M+) average 631K views — 4.2x the mid-tier
- Global influencer marketing market: $27.54B, CAGR 15.9%
- Source: Dhesy platform analysis of 3,451 brands and 5,772 creators (Q1 2026)
FAQ
Q. Is the decline in "influencer marketing" searches a sign of market shrinkage?
A. Declining search volume and market shrinkage are different things. Dhesy data shows 2,241 brands actively ran YouTube collaborations in the past 3 months. As influencer marketing becomes a routine marketing tool rather than a novelty, the need to search for it naturally decreases.
Q. Does more subscribers always mean better results?
A. Creators with 1M+ subscribers average 631K views, but account for only 17.2% of collaborations. 46.8% of brands choose creators in the 100K–500K range, where the 151K average views still delivers strong ROI relative to cost.
Q. Why does Food & Beverage perform best on YouTube?
A. Mukbang and cooking content has low viewer dropout rates and naturally integrates brand exposure. F&B collaboration videos average 377K views, significantly outperforming Beauty (214K) and Tech (254K), with 390 brands actively operating in this sector.
Q. Package deals vs single collaborations — which is more effective?
A. It depends on the goal. DB Insurance strengthened brand association through a long-term package with Hanmunchul TV, while Speak secured broad reach with 63 different creators. Ajeongdang combined both strategies — 62 creators and 141 videos — achieving the highest average views at 424K.
Methodology: Based on Dhesy platform data covering 3,600+ brands and 64,000 collaboration videos. Data source: Dhesy platform analysis (Q1 2026) External sources: Fortune Business Insights, BAT 2026 Influencer Marketing Trends, Shopify Micro-Influencer Strategy Last updated: 2026-03-23