But when it comes to creator strategy, Morning Brew has historically been ahead of the curve. Axel Springer acquired the startup in October 2020 for $75 million largely because it appealed to younger audiences, a feat it accomplished in part through its early embrace of influencers.
Nearly from its inception, Morning Brew paired a distributed approach to editorial—building around franchises, each with newsletters, podcasts, and video, rather than a singular website—with a cinematic universe of social media creators.
These creators were given an expansive remit to create seemingly whatever kind of content they wanted, so long as it tied tangentially back to the world of business. Several of these ambassadors, including Dan Toomey and Macy Gilliam, have become bona fide stars in their own right, and their virality has lent a halo effect and heightened brand awareness to their employer.
Now, Morning Brew is once again seizing on an emergent trend.
The rise of the B2B creator
In recent years, a new cohort of creator—the B2B influencer—has emerged, thanks largely to platforms like LinkedIn.
These creators often tout their expertise in specific professional disciplines to capture attention in the nebulous world of thought leadership. Folks like Lenny Rachitsky, Colin and Samir, and Link in Bio’s Rachel Karten have helped pioneer the field, and the publisher Workweek has built a network based on the same premise.
For B2B marketers, these creators serve a function similar to that of their consumer counterparts: they review products, create compelling content, and help their brand partners win business.
The field has grown rapidly. According to a 2024 survey from TopRank Marketing, 81% of B2B marketers now have dedicated influencer marketing budgets. 53% said their budgets were growing, and 9% said they planned to introduce such programs in 2025.
For Morning Brew, just as the publisher was quick to incorporate creators into its consumer-facing brands, it now wants to do the same for its business-facing portfolio, which includes franchises like HR Brew, Revenue Brew, IT Brew, and Marketing Brew.
The qualifications for these creators, though, are somewhat different from standard influencers, according to eMarketer analyst Emmy Liederman.
In an April 2025 report from eMarketer surveying the top criteria for working with B2B creators, marketers ranked authenticity and credibility first (58%), ahead of industry relevance (49%), subject matter expertise (47%), and audience engagement (45%).
What matters most in the world of B2B influencing, then, is not audience size, notoriety, or even market-commanding expertise. Instead, what resonates is a sense of legitimacy, something that actual practitioners have in spades.
“In typical influencer marketing, engagement is at the top,” Liederman said. “With B2B marketing, what moves the needle is showing that you have authority.”
