The best influencer marketing campaigns tie a creator to a number the brand can count. Five stand out with published results: Dunkin' and Charli D'Amelio for app downloads, e.l.f. for user videos, CeraVe for earned impressions, Dole Wiggles for measured sales lift, and Vaseline Verified for e-commerce sales. Results below are as reported by the brands, agencies and awards bodies cited.
Last updated: November 7, 2026. Figures come from company statements and awards entries, not independent audits. Every source is listed at the end of this guide.
In this guide
- Which influencer marketing campaigns have published results?
- What did Dunkin' and Charli D'Amelio's "The Charli" achieve?
- How did e.l.f. turn #EyesLipsFace into millions of videos?
- How did CeraVe turn influencers into 32 billion impressions?
- What did Dole Wiggles show about measured sales lift?
- What did Vaseline Verified prove about creator commerce?
- What do the best influencer campaigns have in common?
- How can brands copy these influencer campaigns?
- How should brands measure influencer campaign results?
- Frequently asked questions
- Where do the results in this guide come from?
Which influencer marketing campaigns have published results?
Five influencer marketing campaigns have published, attributable results: Dunkin' with Charli D'Amelio, e.l.f. Cosmetics' #EyesLipsFace, CeraVe's "Michael CeraVe", Dole Wiggles Fruit Juice Gels and Vaseline Verified.
| Campaign | How creators were used | Reported result |
|---|---|---|
| Dunkin' and Charli D'Amelio (2020) | One creator's coffee order became a menu item | 57% more app downloads on launch day |
| e.l.f. #EyesLipsFace (2019) | Original song and hashtag challenge seeded with TikTok influencers | 1.6 billion views in just over a week |
| CeraVe "Michael CeraVe" (2024) | More than 400 influencers spread a staged rumor | 32 billion earned impressions against a 1 billion goal |
| Dole Wiggles (back-to-school) | Micro-influencer content tested against control stores | 37% sales lift at Walmart |
| Vaseline Verified (2025) | Creators earned a badge for lab-tested hacks | 43% e-commerce sales growth in a month |
The right model depends on the goal. Dunkin' fits app installs, e.l.f. fits participation, CeraVe fits reach, Dole Wiggles fits retail sales and Vaseline fits e-commerce.
What did Dunkin' and Charli D'Amelio's "The Charli" achieve?
Dunkin' turned Charli D'Amelio's TikTok coffee order into a named menu item in early September 2020 and reported a 57% jump in app downloads on launch day compared with its prior 90-day average.
The Charli is a cold brew with whole milk and three pumps of caramel swirl. D'Amelio had 88.5 million TikTok followers at the time, according to Tubefilter's report on the launch. BBDO New York produced content with her team, according to LBB Online.
Drayton Martin, Dunkin's vice president of brand stewardship, gave the sales figures to TMZ, as reported by Tubefilter. Cold brew sales rose 20% on the first day and 45% on the second, and Dunkin' sold hundreds of thousands of The Charli in its first five days. LBB Online reported that the app also set a record for daily active users.
Why it works: The creator's existing habit became the product, so Dunkin' did not have to teach fans a new behavior. Dunkin' also reported two kinds of results, drink sales and app activity, which gave the team numbers beyond impressions. Dunkin' supplied these figures itself.
How did e.l.f. turn #EyesLipsFace into millions of videos?
e.l.f. Cosmetics turned #EyesLipsFace into one of the most-watched hashtag challenges on TikTok by commissioning an original song and inviting fans to make videos, reaching 1.6 billion views in just over a week, according to AdExchanger.
The brand launched the challenge in October 2019 as the first beauty brand to run a brand advertising campaign and hashtag challenge on TikTok, according to its Shorty Awards entry. Before the launch, #elfcosmetics already had about 3 million organic views on the platform. The agency Duncan Channon says it curated the TikTok influencers who helped start the challenge.
The totals grew over time. An earlier Shorty Awards entry reported about 4.4 billion views on the hashtag, plus 31 million views of the brand's campaign videos and 548,000 new website users within 90 days. A later entry reported 5 million user-generated videos and 7 billion views. The numbers differ because they were measured at different dates.
Why it works: The song gave fans something to copy, so participation carried the campaign more than any single influencer's reach did.
How did CeraVe turn influencers into 32 billion impressions?
CeraVe turned a staged rumor that actor Michael Cera created the brand into 32 billion earned impressions, according to the Cannes Lions entry from agency Ogilvy PR, against a goal of 1 billion.
The campaign ran for four weeks before CeraVe's first Super Bowl commercial in February 2024. MediaPost reported that more than 400 influencers weighed in on the "conspiracy" during that period. The entry says the conversation reached 15.4 billion impressions before the commercial aired.
The entry also reports more than 2,000 articles against a goal of 50, the number one share of voice during the game, and 2.4 times the engagements of all other health and beauty brands combined. A separate L'Oréal USA entry reports 1.44 billion paid impressions, a 9% lift in aided brand awareness and the most moisturizers CeraVe has sold in a single week.
Totals vary by source. WARC's 2025 awards write-up cites 30 billion earned impressions, so the reported range is 30 to 32 billion. eMarketer also reported that Cannes Lions drew criticism for giving its top prize to a campaign built around a traditional celebrity rather than creator-made work.
Why it works: The influencers spread a joke the audience was invited to be in on, and the Super Bowl commercial paid it off.
What did Dole Wiggles show about measured sales lift?
Dole Wiggles Fruit Juice Gels measured an influencer campaign with a test and control design and reported a 37% sales lift at Walmart.
IZEA ran the back-to-school campaign with the agency Spark Foundry. The team compared Walmart stores served creator content with stores that were not, according to the Shorty Awards entry. The entry says the expected lift benchmark for this type of activation is 2 to 10%, and it was entered in the micro-influencer strategy category.
Why it works: The control stores separate the effect of the creators from everything else that sells juice gels in August. Brands that want to defend an influencer budget to finance teams can copy that design.
What did Vaseline Verified prove about creator commerce?
Vaseline Verified turned viral skincare hacks into a creator program, tested the hacks in a lab and reported 43% e-commerce sales growth within a month.
Ogilvy Singapore created the campaign for Unilever. Vaseline scientists tested trending hacks, and creators whose hacks passed received a Vaseline Verified badge. More than 450 creators were verified, according to MediaCat. Verified creators could also link their hacks to Vaseline products through their own TikTok Shops, according to the campaign's Cannes entry.
The reported results include 63.3 million social interactions with 87% positive sentiment, according to MediaCat. A SABRE Awards case study on WARC reports a 13.9% rise in retail sales value and the 43% rise in e-commerce sales within a month. LBB Online reported that the campaign won the Social and Creator Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2025.
Why it works: Creators received a badge and a way to earn, so the program gave them a reason to keep making Vaseline content after the first post.
What do the best influencer campaigns have in common?
The five campaigns share four traits that can be checked in the sources above.
- They start from a creator behavior or community that already existed, such as a coffee order, TikTok fans of e.l.f. or Vaseline skincare hacks.
- They set a countable goal or baseline before launch, such as CeraVe's 1 billion impression target or Dole Wiggles' 2 to 10% benchmark.
- They give fans or creators one repeatable action, such as a song to dance to or a badge to earn.
- They report results against a comparison point, such as a prior 90-day average or control stores.
Creator content also gives AI search engines pages to cite. The Citation Source Audit, a synthesis of nine third-party datasets, lists YouTube as the only video platform in the top 50 sources cited by AI engines.
How can brands copy these influencer campaigns?
Brands can copy these campaigns by following five steps that each match a result reported above.
- Start with something creators already do, as Dunkin' did with a coffee order.
- Write the goal as a number with a baseline, as CeraVe did with a 1 billion impression target.
- Give people one action to repeat, such as e.l.f.'s song or Vaseline's badge.
- Use control groups when the goal is sales, as Dole Wiggles did with test and control stores.
- Give creators a way to earn, as Vaseline did through TikTok Shops.
How should brands measure influencer campaign results?
Brands should measure influencer campaigns against a baseline set before launch, because impressions, views and sales answer different questions.
Dunkin' compared app downloads with a 90-day average. Dole Wiggles compared stores with and without creator content. CeraVe's 32 billion is a reach figure, so it shows attention, not sales. Awards entries are written to win awards, so treat their numbers as claims from the brand or agency until a second source confirms them.
For category-specific examples, see the best beauty marketing campaigns and the best supplement marketing campaigns. For a TikTok-focused program, see 5W's TikTok marketing agency page. Brands planning a creator program can review influencer marketing services and the social media marketing agency practice.
Frequently asked questions
What is an influencer marketing campaign?
An influencer marketing campaign is a planned program in which a brand works with creators to reach their audiences, usually with a defined goal such as awareness, traffic or sales. The five campaigns above used goals ranging from app downloads to retail sales lift.
Which influencer campaign drove the biggest sales lift?
Among the five campaigns, Vaseline Verified reported the largest sales figure at 43% e-commerce growth within a month, while Dole Wiggles reported a 37% lift at Walmart measured against control stores. The two figures measure different channels, so they are not a like-for-like ranking.
Do influencer campaigns need celebrities?
Influencer campaigns do not need celebrities. Dole Wiggles was entered as a micro-influencer strategy, and Vaseline verified more than 450 creators. LBB Online reported that only 38% of influencer-first campaigns among Cannes Lions 2025 winners used celebrity influencers, down from 74% the year before.
How do brands measure influencer marketing results?
Brands measure influencer marketing results by comparing a campaign period with a baseline, such as a prior average, a control group or a goal set before launch. The campaigns above used a 90-day average, control stores and a stated impression goal.
Where do the results in this guide come from?
- Tubefilter, Dunkin' and Charli D'Amelio launch results, September 23, 2020
- LBB Online, Dunkin' partners with Charli D'Amelio
- AdExchanger, e.l.f. sponsored hashtag views
- Shorty Awards, e.l.f.-ing Amazing entry
- Shorty Awards, e.l.f. Innovation on TikTok entry
- Cannes Lions, Michael CeraVe entry
- MediaPost, CeraVe wins Social and Influencer Grand Prix
- eMarketer, Cannes Lions creator awards in 2025
- Shorty Awards, Dole Wiggles Fruit Juice Gels x IZEA entry
- MediaCat UK, Cannes Lions 2025 Social and Creator winners
- WARC, SABRE Awards case study, Vaseline Verified
- LBB Online, Cannes Lions 2025 and social-first campaigns
