Study On The Top 20 Celebrity Influencers

The numbers and statistics are in, and we have the info to share from a study by celebrityintelligence.com on the top celebrity endorsers and influencers during 2016.

Number of Brand Contracts

The top three influencers as measured by number of contracts with various brands are Hailey Baldwin, Kendall Jenner, and Iris Apfel, with fashion endorsements on social media being the top of the list when it comes to branding. Those fashion names include UGG, Marc Jacobs, and Tommy Hilfiger.

Other top influencers by number of contracts include Stephen Curry, Ashley Graham, Gigi and Bella Hadid (sisters), and Emily Ratajkowski. From the loss category, Ryan Lochte lost the greatest number of endorsements in 2016 following his Olympic wild night on the town.

Top 10

1. Hailey Baldwin. Name and family connections help, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s rumored to be dating Justin Bieber, but she obviously has more than that to offer as she gained endorsements and campaigns from UGG, H&M, GUESS, Triangl, Tommy Hilfiger, and more. ModelCo, her new makeup line launched in 2016. She has 942K Twitter followers and 381K on Facebook.
2. Vogue Williams. Williams is a television personality and Irish model, and during 2016 she became brand ambassador for Lookagain.co.uk, Sun Kiss Tan, and the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board. Additionally, she was an ambassador for the Investec Derby and Cheltenham’s Ladies Day. She has 74K followers on Twitter, 20K on Facebook, and 136K on Instagram.
3. Kendall Jenner. While her sister Kylie is killing it in the beauty industry with her lip kits, Kendall, with her height and slender frame, has taken the fashion industry by storm. She picked up several brand endorsements in 2016 including Hailey and Vogue, FENDI, Mango, and La Perla. She also teamed up to launch wireless headphones with Will.I.Am’s i.Am+ and was the face of Magnum’s campaign. On Twitter, she has 20.7 million followers, 15.3M on Facebook, and 71.7M on Instagram.
4. Iris Apfel. Apfel proves that age is not a limit on social media and branding. In her 90s she is still hailed for her unique style, earning endorsements in 2016 from Tane, Happy Socks, Wisewear, and Macy’s. She was named as brand ambassador for Citroen as well. Her followers on Facebook number 71K and Instagram 456K.
5. Karlie Kloss. The top model worked with brands including Beats by Dre, Adidas, and Kurt Geiger. Swarovski appointed her as a brand ambassador as well. She has 2.3m Twitter fans, 1.8M on Facebook, and 6M on Instagram.
6. Gigi Hadid. Gigi picked up her first clothing collection with Tommy Hilfiger in 2016, as well as working campaigns with Reebok, Max Mara, and Evian. Her personal life took off as well as she began a romance with Zayn Malik after he ended his engagement with Perrie Edwards in 2015. She has 3.75M Twitter followers, 3.89M on Facebook, and 27.7M on Instagram.
7. Bella Hadid. Bella runs a close second to her sister, but she became brand ambassador for Dior and was featured in campaigns with Givenchy, JW Anderson, and Marc Jacobs. Nike added her as their new face, though not without some discussion about a model being the face of an athletic company. Bella has 645k Twitter followers and 9.3M on Instagram.
8. Stephen Curry. Both the first man and first athlete on the top 10 list, MVP Curry made deals with Brita, Active Dreamers, and Chase in 2016. He also started his own emoji line in 2016. He has 7.91M followers on Twitter, 6.97M on Facebook, and 14.3M on Instagram.
9. Emily Ratajkowski. She’s another one with mainly fashion endorsements during 2016, including Marc Jacobs, Express, and Amore + Sorvete. Emily also worked with Charlotte Tilbury as they created lipstick to aid Women for Women International. In politics, she offered her voice to Bernie Sanders in his Presidential campaign. On Twitter she has 940K followers, 5.73M on Facebook, and 10.3M on Instagram.
10. Ashley Graham. Graham launched a clothing line in 2016 with Dressbarn. She is well-known as a proponent of healthy body image. Her endorsements in 2016 included Lindex, Forever 21, and H&M. 2016 also showed her as the proud model for her own Barbie doll. She has 172K Twitter followers, 1.8M on Facebook, and 2.9M on Instagram.

Top 11-20

Rounding out the Top 20 were:

Leading influencer marketing agencies include 5WPR & Talent Resources.