What made you write that post about the Moneta campaign and Alice Bendová’s Reels? What was the first thing that struck you about it?
When I heard a podcast mention of the payment Alice received from an unnamed bank, I was struck by the size of the fee, especially considering how little impact the content had, despite clearly not being cheap. In moments like that, I think: “This is exactly why we need to talk about what makes sense to pay for influencer marketing and what we’re actually paying for.” I couldn’t let it go, so I calculated how much Moneta likely lost in media value. And I am not even mentioning the apparent lack of a basic confidentiality agreement.
Do you often see brands overpaying influencers? Is it more of an exception, or a common practice?
Honestly? It happens more often than it should. Many brands don’t have clear guidelines for evaluating return on investment. Decisions are often based on gut feeling, personal preferences, or simply because the competition is doing it. And performance metrics? Those tend to be looked at only afterwards, which is exactly the core issue. The advantage of digital marketing is that it allows precise measurement, so I’m genuinely surprised that many brands still don’t make use of that. That’s why we decided to prepare a workshop on campaign evaluation for this year’s Influcon.
In your opinion, how should influencer pricing be determined? Which metrics matter the most?
First and foremost, the brand needs to have a clear strategy and campaign goal. An influencer’s fee should be based on what they’re expected to deliver and what we know they’re capable of delivering. The most important metrics are always the ones aligned with the specific objective. If the goal is to increase brand awareness, then I focus on CPM or CPE. For performance-driven campaigns, it’s mainly about ROI or CPC.
An experienced agency should know the average CPM for the given segment and be able to use that data to set a reasonable price for the influencer that reflects the expected results. In influencer marketing, pricing should be about data and predictability not about follower counts or personal preferences.
In your post, you calculate the price based on CPM — do all brands evaluate this way? What other metrics do they track?
CPM is a good starting point because it allows us to compare different formats and influencers across campaigns in a relatively objective way. It helps quickly assess whether the price makes sense in relation to the expected reach. But not all brands use this approach. Some focus primarily on engagement, others look at conversions or follower growth. I’ve even seen brands evaluate a collaboration purely based on “gut feeling,” which, of course, isn’t sustainable. The key is always to start with the campaign objective and then adapt the metrics, and influencer pricing, accordingly. Whether it’s CPM, CPE, ROI, or CPC, the most important thing is to first define what you want to achieve with the campaign. Only then should you select the influencer and set the budget, not the other way around.
How does an influencer’s acting or media background factor into pricing – for example, in the case of Alice Bendová?
It’s clear that a well-known name carries more weight, but it still needs to make sense for the brand and its target audience. If we’re talking about an actress with a long TV career but little resonance with a digitally native audience, I’d seriously reconsider whether the investment aligns with what we can realistically get in return. Name recognition alone isn’t enough, it’s just one of many factors.
Do you think it’s okay that brands are focusing less on engagement rate and more on the “name”?
No, I don’t. I understand that a famous name brings a certain “wow effect,” but if we care about performance, we have to look at the data. Engagement rate is a core indicator of whether an influencer actually has a connection with their audience. Without that, it’s just a billboard with a face and an expensive one at that.
So how do brands approach influencer campaign pricing?
Influencer marketing is still a relatively new channel, and many people try to force it into old frameworks, often without a strategic or experienced approach. That’s a shame, and it’s exactly why I talk about it openly.
Many brands treat influencer marketing like a billboard, simply as paid advertising. Sometimes that works, especially for conversion-driven campaigns where a well-selected influencer can act like a banner and drive sales. But if you’re aiming for long-term brand building, it’s much more effective to involve the influencer in content creation, because that’s where their true value lies.
This mindset also affects how campaigns are priced. Some brands still see influencer marketing as just buying media space, expecting influencers to deliver performance metrics like a display ad. But those who want to build brand awareness need to understand that the process starts with strategy, then moves through creative concepting, and only after that comes influencer selection. That’s why it makes sense that the campaign budget includes the hours of strategists and creative teams — not just the influencer’s fee.
In the discussion, there was also a comment about EMV (earned media value), do you ever use it in your practice?Yes, we use EMV sometimes, mainly as a supporting metric. It shows how much it would cost to achieve a similar media effect in other paid channels. But it’s not a standalone number, it has to be combined with other data to make sense.
What are the most common risks of poor pricing? What can really hurt a brand?Wasted money, reputational risk, frustration that “influencers don’t work”. And yet it’s often just a matter of a bad brief, an underdeveloped strategy, poor selection or exaggerated expectations. When this doesn’t work, brands often throw the whole channel overboard instead of optimising it. That’s why it’s important to choose the right agency that really understands this and can set up a campaign that makes sense and works.
Where do you think pricing in influencer marketing is heading? Into more rationalisation or more chaos?
I believe that pricing is finally moving towards more rationality. Many brands are already starting to measure, evaluate and want to see results, not just high-fives. But we’re still somewhere in the middle. What’s missing is the push for transparency and fairness in the whole ecosystem.
And it was this chaos and ambiguity that spurred the creation of Influcon – a place to talk openly about it all. The topic of pricing will also come up there, for example in one of the workshops that will address campaign evaluation in practice.
One last question: Did you have any feedback from clients or brands after the post was published? Did you hear from Moneta, for example?
(laughs) I haven’t heard from Moneta – yet. But I’ve had a lot of feedback, from colleagues, clients and people in the industry. And that’s good. If it sparks a debate that helps move the whole market towards more fairness and efficiency, then it’s worth it.
As you can see, at WOO we know what we’re talking about. So if you’re looking for a specialist, don’t hesitate to contact us.
