At MMA IMPACT India 2025, held on May 7th & 8th in Gurugram, a panel titled “Ethical Influencing: How Responsible Influencer Marketing Drives Long-Term Brand Growth” brought together marketers and a content creator to discuss the evolving nature of influencer marketing and its impact on modern brand-building.
Moderated by Dr. Kushal Sanghvi, Chief Revenue Officer at iCubesWire, the session addressed several important themes—how influencer marketing fits into the marketing mix, budgeting concerns, influencer-brand relationships, the role of tech tools in influencer selection, and the importance of trust in creator partnerships.
Anupam Tripathi, GM – Marketing & Media Head, noted the strategic evolution of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is no more the way it used to be like before, “it comes with a core strategy, it is a part of the media mix in every campaign,” he said. “Authenticity is the key.”
Ganapathy Subramaniam, Chief Marketing Officer at LT Foods, shared how the influencer ecosystem has added value. “The influencer ecosystem has helped us in all positive ways. It’s not 1 versus the other, it’s a very complementary ecosystem used right,” he said. “It bridges the gap between what people wanted, which was word of mouth, and today actually influences us.”
Vidushi Goyal, CMO at Swiss Beauty, highlighted how creators in the beauty space are contributing meaningfully to consumer choices. Where brands’ onboarding beauty creators is true, she said, “but a lot of creators are themselves helping their audience with the right product and right feature.”
Offering the creator’s perspective, Harpreet Suri, influencer and digital content creator, spoke about how trust is built through honesty and consistency. Trust is built in community, she said. “As honest as you are with your audience, they believe in you—and so do the brands.”
The panel also acknowledged the availability of tools that help brands identify suitable influencers. However, all agreed that while tech can assist, building the right partnership ultimately depends on relevance, transparency, and shared values between the influencer and the brand.
