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The entire concept of an Influencer is just a front for product placement. The difference nowadays is that people are actively looking for the commercials and ignoring the movie.

Product placement is everywhere. Next time you watch a movie or show, look for the clothing brands, computer brands, car brands, wine brands, etc. everywhere.

And think about sponsorships. From soccer to nascar, sports is covered with branding.

That's not subliminal, you're describing sponsorships (i.e. manufactured social proof).

"Subliminal" and "sponsorship" are totally orthogonal. One refers to the presentation, the other the business arrangement.

This seems factually incorrect. It's hard to find consistent historical numbers but what I can find implies pretty steady double digit growth over the last decade or two.

If you have good sources that say otherwise, I'd love to see them.