Being hard to influence is now more aspirational than being an influencer, according to a new report from TBWA’s cultural intelligence unit Backslash, as growing skepticism about online popularity challenges brands’ reliance on mass reach.
The Becoming Uninfluenced report found that 62% of respondents said being hard to influence was more aspirational than being an influencer. It also found that 75% assumed viral content was engineered by brands or boosted by fake engagement.
Of those surveyed, 42% said their first assumption about viral content was that a brand had engineered it, while 33% suspected bots or fake engagement. Only 25% believed content had gone viral because people genuinely liked it.
The report describes this growing concern about the influence of algorithms and engineered popularity on personal preferences as “taste paranoia”. It found that specific taste ranked above a large following as a marker of an interesting person, while respondents ranked a distinct point of view or unique taste first when assessing a brand’s cultural relevance and mass popularity last.
“Influence isn’t disappearing. People still want recommendations and discovery. What they’re rejecting is influence that feels imposed on them,” said Cecelia Girr, head of strategy at Backslash.
For brands, the findings point to a shift from mass exposure towards what the report calls “concentrated credibility”, built on affinity, participation, physical presence and trust.
“The assumption we need to disrupt is that more reach automatically means more influence,” said Jen Costello, global chief strategy officer at TBWA\Worldwide, adding that brands needed a distinct point of view rather than relying on visibility alone.
The report’s findings come as the Gulf’s creator economy expands while public trust in influencers faces challenges. The GCC creator economy grew 75% in two years, from about 150,000 influencers in 2023 to around 263,000 in 2025, according to data from Qoruz cited by TBWA\RAAD.
A 2025 survey of 1,025 UAE residents, reported by Gulf News, found that 21% identified influencers as the profession with the worst reputation, ahead of telemarketers and credit card issuers.
“A report that argues mass influence is losing its power shouldn’t launch like mass influence,” said Catherine Bannister, chief strategy officer at TBWA\RAAD. She said brands would need to earn trust rather than focus only on attention.
Ahead of the report’s global launch, TBWA\RAAD held a private preview in Dubai on October 14. The event included a blind coffee tasting in which guests sampled three coffees made from the same Ethiopian beans using different brewing methods, demonstrating how context can shape perceptions.
Discussions at the event highlighted a shift towards creators with specialist expertise and smaller communities built around shared interests, including women’s networks, running, music and film.
Astha Sirpaul, head of strategy at TBWA\RAAD, said brands had an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to such communities without trying to take them over.
The report draws on cultural analysis, expert interviews and a proprietary survey of more than 700 respondents across the United States and Britain.
