THE HISTORY OF THE INFLUENCER

THE HISTORY OF THE INFLUENCER:

In order to begin my discussion, I felt it necessary to research the history of the influencer. Generally, people see the concept of influencers as being a new, modern concept; however, if we think of influencers as a form of celebrity due to their large cult followings to back this up, the concept seems to date back further. The first celebrities or influencers were typically royals. I would consider them influencers due to the fact that they were not only ‘in power’ in terms of laws and governments, but they also set the standard in terms of fashion and luxury trends. “One of the first widely acknowledged "influencer" collaborations dates back to 1760 when Wedgwood first made a tea set for the wife of King George III.” (Suciu, 2020) After supplying tea sets for royalty, Wedgewood branded themselves as having royal approval, which is something that has stuck with the brand to this day. using the royals as a marketing strategy to brand their products at a luxury market level, allowed Wedgewood to successfully maintain this position as a luxury brand. This shows the impact that an influencer collaboration can have.

Realising that this influencer culture has dated back this far in history is something that allows us to legitimise the idea of social media influencing as a valid practice in terms of a career path.