Influence 3.0: Content Creators Redefining the Relationship with Luxury

As of January 2025, the comedian Khabane Lame, based in Italy, was the most-followed content creator on TikTok (1.5 billion users, Statista 2024), with 162.4 million followers. On Instagram (2 billion users), the record for the most followers held by a single influencer across all platforms is still owned by footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, with 648 million followers, followed by Kylie Jenner with 394 million. Yet, in the world of desirability, micro-influencers are gaining ground, becoming more central to brand strategies than ever before. Their approach to engaging users, more original and creative, leads to higher engagement levels. And luxury brands are all for it.

Power struggles and influence games have now shifted to platforms such as Meta, YouTube, and TikTok. Each social network, now considered a media outlet, serves as a vector for information and opinion, even influencing stock markets. This has become a significant challenge for companies, so much so that, on January 14, the Swiss Federal Media Commission (COFEM) warned about the power of social media. “Online platforms such as social networks and search engines now significantly shape part of public discourse and information exchange… They wield power over public opinion and significantly influence discourse through their algorithms.”

Today, influence isn’t just about capturing seconds of attention; it’s about the quality of engagement with one’s communities. Authenticity and the meaning behind digital messages are paramount in corporate communication strategies, with Instagram being the preferred platform, receiving 44.5% of spending (Le Monde). In this context, nano (1,000-10,000 followers), micro (10,000-100,000 followers), and macro influencers (100,000-500,000 followers) boast the highest engagement rates (from 2.15% for a macro-influencer to 5.6% for a nano). Brands clearly favor these creators. By comparison, superstars or celebrities with over 3 million followers perform much less: on HypeAuditor, a platform that measures influencer power, Cristiano Ronaldo shows only a 0.58% engagement rate.

Over recent years, influencer marketing has undergone a major transformation, growing from an emerging market worth $1.7 billion in 2017 to a global industry valued at $24 billion in 2024 (Geyser, 2024b). Influencer marketing has become a cornerstone of the rapidly growing creator economy

But what does it mean to have influence today? No major event is planned without the presence of influencers. Targeting diverse communities based on interests, geographic locations, income, gender, and numbers, brands rely on immediate success thanks to the viral nature of their content. Product launches, concerts, fashion shows, philanthropic operations, art exhibitions, or new gastronomic experiences, superstars and nano-influencers are present at every event and promotion. They travel in groups, share the same VIP area, and even share a bit of their influence power.

Among these influencers, two creators, Morgan Mesple (93,000 followers) and The Gstaad Guy (1.1 million followers), are frequently invited by luxury brands to join influencer cohorts. Savvy businessmen, they expertly manage their image, generating numerous side businesses.

"The system of influence has always existed, it’s just that its access has changed,” explains Morgan Mesple, a Swiss designer and entrepreneur based in Zurich. "More than influence, I prefer to talk about image. My income is split between image, music and my entrepreneurial activities. (Editor's note, we will not receive any answer to the question about his earnings). What interests me most is being able to connect these worlds and create synergies." Over time, he has distanced himself from the classical influencer business. “People no longer care about simple product placement posts. I'm not interested in being treated as one.” Today, brands are engaged and involved in the other creative worlds I owns, such as IWC Schaffhausen, with whom I collaborate in the filed of music with our company RESONICA. Brands collaborate with influencers who have a unique world, a creative and highly personal lifestyle that brings authenticity and depth to their message."

Experienced in management after studying finance at the prestigious Swiss university HEC St. Gallen, Morgan Mesple also owns the streetwear fashion brand NOLOGO Studio, based in Zurich, the music production label 2M, and the event agency RESONICA. He continues: "RESONICA is both a music label and a festival, active in French-speaking Switzerland, German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. Several EPs and a 2M album are currently in production and will be released soon on RESONICA Records. The label's first compilation, RESONICA (RSNC01), was released on 7 December."

The engagement he generates from his communities is significant. “NOLOGO Studio, the fashion brand I cofounded, is a typical social brand, meaning it’s a community intrinsically linked to a brand. A NOcafé is in the works. However, I don’t mix the communities of my three ventures, that have to remain indipendent.”

These 3.0 influencers, skilled in sensing the market, identifying the right product at the right time, and executing the marketing strategies that allow them to multiply entry points to their content, have created distinct enough images to stand out and grow their businesses.

Such is the case with The Gstaad Guy (Editor's note: who does not wish to reveal his real name), a Swiss influencer with over 1.1 million followers who boasts a 6.35% engagement rate on HypeAuditor. Now based in London, this tech expert, who worked at Apple for several years, has created the image of a caricatured luxury icon, parodying the super-rich and their habits. His character, Constance, is a pastiche of the elegant gentleman, always appropriate from St. Moritz to New York, and perfectly mastering the codes of high society. By keeping a distance from his own image, The Gstaad Guy is able to enter the world of luxury, mingle with the powerful, sign contracts with them, without truly revealing himself. Recognized as one of their own despite the caricature, Constance, his comedic character, has the privilege of sharing a few truths.

He describes his community as made up of ultra-rich individuals: “They recognize themselves in my character of Constance, who could be seen as the Louis de Funès of influence. They love laughing and learning with me through my Instagram videos. Constance is a taste and style tester. He says what’s good or bad, what’s chic and what isn’t. Of course, I talk about products, destinations, experiences, just like journalists would, but with a comedic tone, which makes it more digestible. People came to my content for the laughs, and now they also come to learn.”

Yet despite the caricature and exaggerated grimaces, The Gstaad Guy has clearly struck the right tone to speak to the wealthiest. Is it a matter of mastering the secret codes of luxury? When asked if he comes from this world himself, he admits: “To be completely honest, I was exposed to these codes as a child. I always saw my father and grandfather dressed in Loro Piana, explaining the craftsmanship, the attention to detail. My private environment allowed me to integrate 50% of the codes my character expresses. The rest, I learned by myself later. I’m a big fan of luxury because it pushes the standards of quality and innovation to the maximum.”

Today, The Gstaad Guy has exclusive contracts with prestigious brands such as Loro Piana, Audemars Piguet, and Aqua Di Parma. He adds: “Brands like working with me for my way of expressing myself, my love of play. Giving a product description isn’t interesting or engaging. My way of playing comedy and storytelling adds spice to the story. I enjoy feeding my community with knowledge, teaching them something—this is the purpose of my videos. I don’t aim to increase my follower count; I want to grow the interest of those who already follow me. With Audemars Piguet for instance, I’m not looking to engage with new communities that don’t know the brand, because if they follow me, then they already appreciate it. Instead, I aim to showcase material or innovation from a different perspective. To sum it up, I’m not a giant billboard on a highway, but an intimate event."

From the luxury watch brand's side, Audemars Piguet aligns with the creator's spirit. A spokesperson responds: “The Gstaad Guy was already interested in the brand before we formalized our collaboration over a year ago. Like us, he is serious and knowledgeable about watchmaking but doesn’t take himself too seriously. His audience, mostly Gen Z but not only, particularly appreciates his quirky tone and unique universe.”

What Responsibility Does This Influence Carry for the Content Creator? “This carries a significant responsibility,” continues The Gstaad Guy. “The algorithm favors videos or posts that are watched for a long time. This creates interest and respect for the content I produce. Consequently, there’s an ability to influence behavior, eventually leading to purchase decisions. What I say and how I say it has consequences and weight.”

Is the feeling of omnipotence or schizophrenia inevitable? “It’s quite easy for me to detach from my characters because they’re a caricature. Content creators who show the reality of their lives are more exposed and can suffer more. Showing one’s private life may seem authentic, but it’s a danger. Fiction exists in all forms of media—literature, cinema, TV shows—except for social media, which is madness. Fiction is much more interesting because it allows you to say a lot more while maintaining intimacy; this should be a growing category, but it’s not the case today.”

The revenue from his partnerships (which he won’t disclose) has also led him to create other ventures, including a rosé wine called Palais Constance, which he has successfully placed in top gastronomic venues across Europe, and a jewelry brand called Poubel, featuring "charm" pendants in the form of the luxury caricatures he mocks in his videos. Many of his Instagram followers wear or consume his wine.

Whether nano or mega influencers, those who manage to stay at the forefront have succeeded in creating an original, creative language perceived as authentic. Their business acumen, now a central element, is also foundational to influence in 2025. Their products, known only to insiders, become coveted items and codes of luxury. It’s no coincidence that the homepage of Palais Constance rosé reads in large letters: “Those who know, just know”, and on the page of the watch brand IWC, when it mentions its partnership with Morgan Mesple, it also says: ‘If You Know, You Know’…