The UK leads Europe on belief in influencer marketing. It also leads on the pressure to prove it works. Four in five brands across the UK and Europe now describe influencer marketing as a core growth driver or an important supporting channel, yet fewer than one in ten describe their approach as fully integrated across the marketing mix.
That distance between conviction and operating model is the story of the UK market going into 2027.
These findings come from The Future of Influencer Marketing 2026/2027, Kolsquare’s third annual study of the influencer marketing industry, conducted by B2B International in May and June 2026. Alicia Van der Meer, Field Marketing Team Lead and UK Marketing Manager at Kolsquare, presented the UK findings in a dedicated session. This article summarises what the UK data shows.
UK brands are ahead of the European average on conviction, roster size and ROI measurement, and behind on full integration into the wider marketing mix.
The headline figures for the UK:
38% of UK brands describe influencer marketing as a core growth driver. The European average sits at 31%, with Spain at 35.7% and Germany at 35.4% following the UK.
The more telling figure sits underneath. Only 37% of UK brands treat influencer marketing as a supporting channel, against a European default of 48%. That makes the UK the market least likely to file influencer marketing as a secondary activity.
Across the UK and Europe together, 79% of brands and agencies now call it a core growth driver or an important supporting channel. 18% still see it as tactical or campaign-based, and 3% treat it as experimental.
Conviction tracks with experience. Brands that have been running influencer marketing for nine years or more are the most likely to call it a core growth driver.
This matters for teams building an internal case. The brands most convinced of the channel’s commercial value are not the newest entrants. They are the ones who have had time to build measurement and process around it.
89% of brands and agencies expect influencer marketing spend to increase over the next 12 months. That is up from 75% in 2025 and 54% in 2024.
At enterprise scale the budgets are substantial. Median influencer marketing spend reaches €312,000 at companies with 500 or more employees, and €367,000 at companies with 1,000 employees or more.
Revenue contribution is what makes those budgets defensible. Half of UK brands say influencer marketing drives between 11% and 25% of marketing-driven revenue, which places the channel inside the commercial conversation rather than the awareness one.
44% of UK brands already work with 100 or more influencers, against 37% across Europe. A further 31% plan a significant increase next year, compared with 22% across Europe.
The Europe-wide trend is steep. Brands working with 100 or more creators have nearly doubled in two years, rising from 18% to 37%.
Company size is the real driver. Only 8% of the smallest firms run rosters of that size, against 61% of the largest. The UK and Benelux lead the EU for brands running 100 or more partners annually.
UK teams build more structure around influencer marketing than most European markets. The split across operating models:
That last figure is the significant one. It sits at 30% in both France and Spain, which means UK teams are twice as likely to have tooling underneath the work.
Six in ten UK strategies now sit in established or fully integrated setups. Full integration across the marketing mix, however, remains rare across the UK and Europe alike, at fewer than one in ten.
38.3% of UK marketers rely on campaign ROI as their primary measure, the highest share of any European market. Conversions and lead generation follow at 30.5%, also the highest in Europe.
The UK is not simply spending more than its neighbours. It is asking for more proof.
Confidence in measurement is strongest in Spain and the UK, and weakest in Germany. It is also uneven across the funnel.
UK marketers report the highest confidence in upper-funnel metrics:
Confidence drops sharply on the metrics senior stakeholders care about most:
So the market leads with ROI as its headline KPI while reporting low confidence in measuring conversions. That gap is where most of the UK’s operational work sits over the next year.
Short-form video leads the next wave. 55% of UK brands name it as the biggest opportunity ahead, against 49% across Europe.
Spend intent is stronger still. 93% of UK brands plan to increase influencer marketing budget next year, among the highest shares anywhere in the study.
The direction of travel is consistent: more spend, more structure, more pressure to demonstrate results.
1. Take the benchmark to the board. 38% of UK brands already call influencer marketing a growth driver. If that is not the internal line yet, the next planning cycle is the moment to close the gap.
2. Start attributing revenue by band. Use clear bands of 11% to 25%, 26% to 50% and 50% or more. Half the UK market already reports this way, so it is a recognised standard rather than an invention.
3. Scale process alongside the roster. Six in ten UK strategies are now established or fully integrated. If the creator list grew this year, briefing, vetting, rostering and reporting need to have grown with it.
4. Make ROI the headline KPI. 38.3% of UK marketers already lead with it. A report that still opens with reach alone is reporting behind the market.
The Future of Influencer Marketing 2026/2027 is Kolsquare’s third annual study of the influencer marketing industry. Fieldwork was carried out by B2B International in May and June 2026. The study covers:
The complete UK chapter sits inside The Future of Influencer Marketing 2026/2027, alongside the data for France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Nordics and Benelux.
How many UK brands consider influencer marketing a core growth driver?
38% of UK brands describe influencer marketing as a core growth driver, the highest share of any European market, against a European average of 31%.
How much do UK brands spend on influencer marketing?
89% of brands and agencies expect spend to increase over the next 12 months, up from 75% in 2025. Median influencer marketing spend reaches €312,000 at companies with 500 or more employees and €367,000 at companies with 1,000 or more.
What share of revenue does influencer marketing drive for UK brands?
Half of UK brands say influencer marketing drives between 11% and 25% of marketing-driven revenue.
How many creators do UK brands work with?
44% of UK brands work with 100 or more influencers, against 37% across Europe. A further 31% plan a significant increase next year.
Which KPI do UK marketers use most?
38.3% of UK marketers rely on campaign ROI as their primary measure, the highest share in Europe. Conversions and lead generation follow at 30.5%.
Which influencer marketing metrics are hardest to measure?
Confidence is lowest on conversions and lead generation at around 14%, EMV at 21% and sentiment at 22.5%. It is highest on views at 56% and impressions at 50%.
Do UK brands run influencer marketing in-house or through agencies?
30% fully outsource to an agency, 29% run in-house teams with agency support, and 15% run in-house with no platform support, half the rate seen in France and Spain.
What is the biggest influencer marketing opportunity for UK brands in 2027?
55% of UK brands name short-form video as the biggest opportunity ahead, against 49% across Europe.
Who conducted the 2026/2027 influencer marketing study?
The study was conducted by B2B International for Kolsquare in May and June 2026, surveying 1,123 marketing decision-makers across seven European markets.
Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, offering a data-driven solution that empowers brands to scale their KOL (Key Opinion Leader) marketing strategies through authentic partnerships with top creators.
Kolsquare’s advanced technology helps marketing professionals seamlessly identify the best content creators by filtering their content and audience, while also enabling them to build, manage, and optimize campaigns from start to finish. This includes measuring results and benchmarking performance against competitors.
With a thriving global community of influencer marketing experts, Kolsquare serves hundreds of customers—including Coca-Cola, Netflix, Sony Music, Publicis, Sézane, Sephora, Lush, and Hermès—by leveraging the latest Big Data, AI, and Machine Learning technologies. Our platform taps into an extensive network of KOLs with more than 5,000 followers across 180 countries on Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat.
As a Certified B Corporation, Kolsquare leads the way in promoting Responsible Influence, championing transparency, ethical practices, and meaningful collaborations that inspire positive change.
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