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You may have felt a slight shock recently when checking your Ads Manager. Metrics that used to be stable suddenly shifted, and your cost per engagement (CPE) shot up. It’s not a mistake in your setup or a sudden drop in audience interest. It’s simply that Meta Platforms made a major change.

Influencers are no longer just an add on but often the centerpiece of campaigns. Fashion brands deal with speed to market, product logistics, campaign performance and cultural nuances across individual countries. And it is often these invisible factors that determine whether the investment in influencer marketing pays off or not.

Influencer marketing has gone through a period of rapid growth, experimentation and, at times, a certain level of chaos. The year 2026 is likely to bring a slowdown in the best possible sense of the word. Fewer random collaborations, fewer quick wins, and more strategy, data and long-term thinking. Brands are no longer questioning whether influencer marketing works. They are focusing on how to do it well.

According to our Influencer Marketing Report Czechia 2025, 81 % of brands agree that finding the right influencer is the most challenging part of influencer marketing. And it makes sense, because we are working with people, not with a predictable format. Influencer marketing is about communication, aligned expectations, understanding the creator’s true value and managing hundreds of details that shape both performance and brand reputation. That is why this channel can be more complex and demanding than it may appear at first glance.

On October 1, we stood behind the largest influencer marketing conference in Central and Eastern Europe, Influcon. It brought together people who don’t just do marketing but shape it – analysts, brand strategists, creatives, and ethics experts. Our goal was to create a space where data, strategy, and responsibility come together. We want brands, agencies, and creators to fully unlock the potential of this field – something possible only when we rely on facts, understand shifts in content creation, and stay true to fair principles.

In the world of marketing, we plan years ahead. We prepare campaign launches, craft thoughtful strategies, build compelling stories. But then, a moment comes along that no one saw coming: a viral video, a TikTok trend, or… a Coldplay concert.

You spend weeks planning an influencer campaign, refining the brief, approving research, posts, copy. Signed off. Published. Done. Everything’s in place. But for the audience, that’s only the beginning. Sometimes, instead of a wave of likes and support, you get a wave of criticism. Dozens of negative comments appear under the post. Not always fair. And what happens? Nothing. No response. Maybe a few comments get deleted. Maybe someone notices days later. Maybe not at all. Sometimes it’s not even a wave, just one unpleasant comment is enough. This is really the most critical moment.

Pricing in influencer marketing still evokes emotions and yet is one of the key factors in every campaign. A recent discussion on LinkedIn showed how different ideas there are about how much an influencer can ask for and how much a brand should pay. It was kicked off by our CEO Petr Srna’s post about MONETA Money Bank’s campaign with Alice Bendova, where he compared the real cost of an output with what the data shows. The difference? Over CZK 110,000.

Influencer marketing is booming in the Czech Republic, but the legislation meant to regulate it is several steps behind. While the European Union is making efforts to keep up with the times, the result is a set of directives that each country interprets in its own way and the Czech Republic, it seems, isn’t exactly leading the charge. At a panel discussion on marketing legislation hosted by the weekly Marketing & Media featuring, among others, lawyer Petra Dolejšová and our Opportunity Manager Martin Fryč, a number of important, and at times even absurd, points were raised. So what should influencers, agencies, and brands definitely be aware of?

Authenticity used to be what influencer marketing was all about – now it’s a word you hear all the time, but it often gets lost along the way. Why is that, and how can we prevent it? At WOO, we believe the key to successful partnerships is trust and giving influencers the space to be creative. Without that, they risk turning into walking billboards – and followers can tell.

Engagement rate (ER) is one of the key metrics in influencer marketing. Our data shows that the number of followers has an impact on ER – but not always in the way you might expect. We analysed the top 20 influencers in the micro, macro and mega influencer categories for the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary and here are the findings.

Every year, thousands of new influencers are created around the world through reality shows. Many of them were unknown before the competition, but it is thanks to the competition that they have come into the public eye. How suitable are reality show influencers to work with your brand?