IdeasLabs sees Thailand’s Influencer Marketing industry entering a major transition — moving beyond reach, views, and follower count toward a new era driven by “Deep Influencers”: creators with specific expertise, genuine interests, and the ability to create content that connects deeply with their audiences.

As the digital economy continues to grow, Influencer Marketing remains one of the key tools brands use to communicate with consumers. However, the industry is now facing structural challenges, including changing algorithms on foreign platforms, intensifying competition among creators, and rising hidden costs for both brands and creators. As a result, marketing success can no longer be measured by visibility alone.

For creators, platform algorithms have created pressure to produce content more frequently, more quickly, and in line with each platform’s conditions, while income per content piece does not always grow at the same pace. For brands, costs go beyond influencer fees and advertising budgets. They also include additional promotion budgets, commissions, platform fees, and other expenses required to drive visibility and sales. This has pushed brands to seek more efficient and precise Influencer Marketing strategies that can deliver real business outcomes.

In response to this shift, IdeasLabs has observed that many brands are moving away from selecting influencers based solely on large follower counts. Instead, they are increasingly choosing creators who truly understand products, have real user experience, and can communicate credibly with specific target audiences. This is especially true for Nano and Micro Influencers, who are becoming a key force within Thailand’s creator ecosystem, particularly in lifestyle, fashion and beauty, FMCG, technology, and lifestyle product categories.

Today, IdeasLabs works with a network of more than 20,000 active KOLs and creators, supported by a database of over 200,000 influencer and creator profiles, as well as a system capable of searching more than 1 million influencer accounts across multiple categories. Among these, Deep Influencers are gaining increasing attention from brands, with a brand hiring rate of up to 43% compared with the overall pool.

To support the growth of Thailand’s Creator Economy, IdeasLabs has developed Kolaxy, a platform designed as a universe for KOLs and influencers. Powered by AI and Big Data Analytics, Kolaxy analyzes key insights such as audience interests, content characteristics, consumer behavior, and brand-creator fit. This enables brands to identify the most suitable influencers more accurately, reduce unnecessary workflow costs, and improve the effectiveness of marketing outcomes.

In addition, IdeasLabs also supports creator development through its SD Team, opening opportunities for everyday consumers — such as office workers, students, or people with real product experience — to create review content in the form of User Generated Content (UGC). This approach allows brands to access more authentic, natural, and credible reviews, while also creating new income opportunities for small creators and individuals who want to enter the content industry.

IdeasLabs believes the future of Influencer Marketing will no longer be driven by views alone. Instead, it will be shaped by community, specialized expertise, and content credibility. If Thailand can build an ecosystem that supports sustainable creator growth, investment in this industry can continue circulating within the Thai economy while creating new careers and opportunities for many people.

IdeasLabs’ goal is therefore not limited to being a marketing agency, but to build the infrastructure of Thailand’s Creator Economy — connecting brands, creators, technology, and data to help drive sustainable long-term growth for the Influencer Marketing industry.