MUMBAI, Jan. 9 -- Since its launch in 2022, KlugKlug, the AI-powered data intelligence company for India's influencer marketing business, has multiplied its clients to 300-plus brands across electronics, FMCG, e-commerce, beauty and lifestyle segments. The company, which offers audience intelligence on millions of influencer profiles on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, is eyeing expansion in India, Southeast Asia (with forays in Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines), and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The fortunes of KlugKlug have risen with the exponential growth of influencer marketing in India estimated at Rs.3,600 crore in 2024 with 25% growth in 2025, said a WPP Media and Kantar report. But KlugKlug co-founder and CEO Kalyan Kumar said the industry is massively undervalued. India's influencer marketing spends have crossed Rs.10,000 crore, far higher than the oft-quoted Rs. 3,000-4,000 crore, shows KlugKlug analysis. "This is because only 25% of the spends flow through visible, agency-led channels and the rest happen directly between brands and creators," Kumar said. Besides, even multinational giants have turned to influencers. In its social-first marketing approach, HUL has increased its influencer marketing budget by 40%, spending the money on 12,000 content creators for 50 of its brands in 15 categories. KlugKlug's big headline for 2025 was the industry's higher spends, while Pulp Strategy's Ambika Sharma said creators became "performance infrastructure" and not just "awareness". Yet, several brands struggled with poor engagement and tired content, Kumar said. Sharma agreed content fatigue was real. "So raw proof formats (like first person demos, unfiltered testimonials), UGC-style edits (mimicking use-generated content like handheld shots, ambient sound), and creator-led demos outperformed polished films because audiences trust evidence over aesthetics. It feels less like advertising and more like lived experience," Sharma said. Siddharth Kelkar, MD, India and MENA at AnyMind Group, saw 2025 as the coming-of-age for influencer marketing. "The industry moved towards prioritizing engagement, content quality, and relevance over sheer follower counts, reflecting a deeper focus on genuine audience connection rather than surface-level reach," Kelkar said. AnyMind Group operates AnyTag which helps marketers identify the right influencers and manages campaigns from start to finish, which include activation, tracking and attribution. "Brands increasingly prefer sustained collaborations over one-off posts. Audiences respond better to creators who build an ongoing narrative, rather than fleeting campaign bursts," Kelkar said. 2026 will consolidate and professionalize the industry. "Expect fewer, stronger creators and fewer, stronger platforms. More always-on creator pods, more commerce-linked partnerships, and more outcome-based pricing," said Pulp Strategy's Sharma. Spends will split between a small set of brand-defining creators and large, targeted micro-creator networks, while the undifferentiated middle tier will face pressure, said Kelkar. "From 2026 onwards, influencer marketing in India will shift from scale-driven to efficiency-led growth. Measurement will mature and success judged through real impact on business. This will favour players who can integrate creator activity with commerce, retail media, and performance marketing systems," Kelkar said. Indian brands are becoming increasingly sophisticated, questioning follower quality, relevance, and real business impact, said KlugKlug's Kumar. "The focus has shifted to audience authenticity, demographic relevance, gender split, geographic accuracy, interest affinity, and long-term engagement behaviour. Brands want to know not just who the influencer is, but who their audience is," he said. Companies like KlugKlug address such needs by analysing follower behaviour, detecting fake or human-managed bot activity, and mapping relevance. It plans to further strengthen its intelligence layer with more predictive insights. The industry, however, falls short on compliance. In its half-yearly complaints report for 2025, The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) revealed an increase in the number of influencers failing to disclose paid collaborations - 76% versus 69% the previous year. The lack of rules isn't the problem. "Regulatory bodies have set the right intent, but disclosures are still treated as a formatting checkbox rather than a trust obligation," said Kalyan Kumar. As the industry scales, stakeholders must have tools that make compliance default, he said. "This is especially important across the long tail of creators, where most consumer risk exists. It is encouraging to see the government stepping in as influencer marketing becomes a meaningful economic ecosystem," Kumar added....