“Oikos is a brand known for strength,” Bethea said. “So, this absolutely made sense for this brand.”

Flinn welcomes the rise of non-celebrity influencers, and Linqia helps Danone keep track of under-the-radar creators so they can move quickly. When there’s a cultural moment to be capitalized on, they already know who the right creators are to respond. 

“You have to move very fast,” Flinn said.

An evolution in sampling

Digital creator marketing is also changing how sampling is done, and Danone is already thinking ahead. Flinn remembered that they used to do a “sampling tour” at a brick-and-mortar location, but now they make it content.

In several “person on the street”-style videos, influencers ask random people about several Danone products. It’s charming and fun, and Flinn sees this as gamifying sampling by creating a human connection, rather than traditional sampling methods.

Even Bendes of Linqia chimed in, saying there’s been a high level of engagement with those styles of content: “It just looks different, feels different, stops the scroll.”

“Why not bring efficiency to everything we do,” Flinn said, agreeing. “And it’s authentic because it’s out there in real life, not just produced behind the camera.”

It’s clear Danone is changing with the times, staying ahead of the curve to bring world-class marketing to its family of brands. But it comes down to a simple idea, according to Bethea.

“It goes back to understanding the role of social and influencers in your overarching marketing strategy, because everything is playing a specific role,” Bethea said.