It's complex, I suspect that "influencers" are inferior to other kinds of marketing, but the reason isn't obviousness. There is evidence that this works even if

It's complex, I suspect that "influencers" are inferior to other kinds of marketing, but the reason isn't obviousness. There is evidence that this works even if you know exactly what's happening. I know people that plan this sort of campaigns and it works on them, too, when it's done by others. The idea is more to estabilish legitimacy for a brand (even just being -seen- often is useful for this) and create awareness that a product exists more than to directly sell it.