Ogilvy’s ‘Influence Shield’: Empowering And Instilling Confidence In Brands

Last year, the creator economy surged to a staggering £194 billion, and by 2027, it's projected to nearly double, reaching £373 billion (per Goldman Sachs). This explosive growth signals one thing: brands are increasingly leveraging influencer marketing to captivate consumers whose attention is being fiercely competed for.

However, with the rise of this channel comes a new set of challenges - social polarisation, culture wars, and political shifts are fueling volatility on social media, posing significant risks to brand reputation. Enter Ogilvy’s 'Influence Shield', a risk management solution crafted to help brands confidently navigate the ever-evolving, high-stakes world of social media and influencer marketing.

Available globally and immediately to Ogilvy clients, Influence Shield offers an all-encompassing suite of services designed to tackle brand safety head-on.

Spearheaded by Toby Conlon, Ogilvy PR’s global head of crisis and risk, and Rahul Titus, global head of influence, this initiative combines social media expertise with reputation management, all powered by Ogilvy’s proprietary tech for precise, data-driven risk mitigation.

Services include everything from campaign risk assessment and enhanced influencer vetting to 24/7 monitoring and rapid response, ensuring brands are prepared to turn potential risks into opportunities.

Risk is nothing new to businesses, but for Conlon, because influencer marketing has become such a dominant force it represents a “new frontier for brand reputation”. He adds: “Many businesses are finding out the hard way. Influence Shield gives brands the confidence to move forward, which means there’s even greater opportunity and innovation.”

Titus also recognises that influence is no longer a 'nice-to-have' for brands, but rather a business-critical channel. “Influence Shield equips brands with the foresight and agility to navigate risk proactively, turning potential pitfalls into opportunities for greater impact and trust.”

We spoke further with Titus to uncover how the new offering provides armour for brands amid the growing risks in influencer marketing.

What has prompted the need to develop Influence Shield?

Businesses have always been up against risk, so a clear next step was to give the burgeoning influencer economy some guardrails too. Influencer marketing has become an essential lever to growth for brands of any scale, but equally they need to be prepared. We have seen the reputational challenges that emerge when brands are on the backfoot, Influencer Shield aims to empower and instil confidence into brands.

What possible risks does the offering hope to prevent for brands?

Brands have to be able to move proactively in an era of increased political polarisation and ongoing culture wars. They are also increasingly exposed to wider audiences who are quick to call out influencers and anyone associated with them.

Enhanced influencer vetting, being able to jump on livewire issue through 24/7 issues monitoring and a rapid response issuing aims to mitigate this risk.

What factions of Ogilvy will be working under the new solution?

We are bringing our global influence team which is currently 400+ strong – and the most awarded on the planet with our corporate reputation team – this offering truly sits at the intersections of the best of Ogilvy. 

What does the creation of this offering say about the growth of the influence economy?

Influencer marketing is continuing to grow exponentially. It’s now a business-critical investment but with audiences calling for more accountability and transparency in influencer marketing, the stakes are high. A framework like Influencer Shield gives brands peace of mind when it comes to potential risk.

What response have you had from clients who have used the service?

Influence Shield has only just launched, but we have been counselling clients for a long-term on managing reputation – combining our specialisms across influence and corporate reputation. Influence Shield has enabled us to formalise it and the response has been fantastic – we hope this equally encourages clients in the future to see the value of influencer marketing without worrying about any downsides.