The scent of freshly brewed espresso mingled with the crisp Boston air as influencers throughout town woke as much as a single, irresistible problem: make the world crave Hood’s Baileys Espresso Creamers. Within the fall of 2020, an unassuming native marketing campaign changed into a advertising and marketing masterclass. Boston’s greatest life-style and meals creators, armed with nothing however a digital camera and a bottle of creamer, crafted viral morning rituals that had audiences hooked.
Town’s espresso tradition turned the backdrop for a strategic influencer blitz—one which took a well-recognized product and turned it into vital luxurious.
This wasn’t luck. It was the work of Boston’s top influencer marketing minds, the CEOs and strategists who perceive methods to form narratives, spark developments, and make manufacturers unforgettable. In an trade the place consideration is the foreign money and affect is the asset, these executives aren’t simply working businesses—they’re redefining trendy advertising and marketing.
Prime 8 CEOs of Influencer Advertising Corporations in Boston
Behind each viral marketing campaign and model breakthrough, there’s a visionary on the helm—somebody who understands the ability of affect and the science of storytelling. In Boston, a metropolis recognized for its innovation and enterprise acumen, these CEOs of prime advertising and marketing corporations are main the cost, reworking manufacturers by way of strategic influencer partnerships, data-driven insights, and cutting-edge digital campaigns.
1. Rousseau Aurelien
Rousseau Aurelien is redefining what it means to construct a model within the digital age. At Brandsonify, he leads an company that seamlessly integrates AI-driven branding, influencer marketing, and digital strategy, serving to companies minimize by way of the noise with precision and affect.
His capability to merge cutting-edge expertise with human creativity units his method aside. By leveraging AI, blockchain, and data-driven advertising and marketing, Aurelien has positioned Brandsonify as a forward-thinking drive within the trade. Collaborations with Neutrogena, Visine, and Johnson & Johnson/Kenvue manufacturers showcase his expertise for crafting influencer campaigns that don’t simply interact audiences however drive outcomes.
Past advertising and marketing, his entrepreneurial portfolio consists of ventures like Gazelle.com, FoundersWay, and AiNDREA, proving his experience in scaling companies and pushing industries ahead. His strategic management as Chief Technique Officer at LogixHealth additional underscores his capability to leverage digital transformation for enterprise development.
Aurelien’s ardour for innovation extends past revenue. He’s actively exploring AI, blockchain, and Web3 purposes to create significant change. In a subject the place adaptability is vital, he isn’t simply anticipating the following huge development—he’s creating it.
2. Peter Finn
Peter Finn isn’t simply main a advertising and marketing agency—he’s shaping a world legacy in PR, digital advertising and marketing, and influencer technique. At FINN Partners, he has expanded the company from a boutique firm right into a worldwide powerhouse, making it one of many fastest-growing unbiased businesses within the trade.
Underneath his route, FINN Companions has skyrocketed to 18 places of work, 700+ workers, and a number of Company of the Yr accolades. His strategic method to influencer advertising and marketing—powered by an in-house Influencer Intelligence Group—ensures manufacturers obtain data-driven, high-impact campaigns that foster actual viewers engagement.
The company’s presence in Boston gained additional momentum with the acquisition of Small Military, a creative agency famend for model storytelling and digital technique. This transfer solidified FINN Companions’ capability to craft genuine, high-performing influencer collaborations throughout industries like tech, healthcare, training, and the humanities.
Past advertising and marketing, Finn stays deeply concerned within the artistic world, serving as Co-Founder and Chairman of the Catskill Mountain Basis. His management philosophy blends enterprise acumen with cultural affect, making certain that FINN Companions isn’t simply rising—it’s influencing the way forward for advertising and marketing itself.
3. Nick Riotto
Nick Riotto is within the enterprise of engineering digital success. At 829 Studios, he helped form an award-winning advertising and marketing company that mixes performance-driven influencer campaigns, branding, and digital technique, setting a brand new customary for results-oriented advertising and marketing.
Since 2007, his company has advanced right into a top-tier built-in agency, working with Hilton Resorts, Stanley Black & Decker, and REI to construct data-driven methods that flip engagement into measurable income development. The company’s speedy growth has earned it spots on the Inc. 5000 record, Boston Enterprise Journal’s Quick 50, and Adweek’s 100 Quickest-Rising Digital Businesses—a testomony to Riotto’s give attention to scalability and innovation.
His management isn’t nearly numbers. 829 Studios has cultivated a Nice Place to Work™-certified tradition, attracting prime advertising and marketing expertise whereas additionally being acknowledged as one in all Boston’s most dog-friendly workplaces.
Though Riotto transitioned to a board-level function in 2023, his strategic imaginative and prescient continues to form the company’s future.
4. Robbin Mangano
Robbin Mangano has constructed extra than simply an company—she’s created a motion in model storytelling. At Wave Collective, she pioneered an influencer marketing firm that seamlessly integrates PR, social media, and inventive technique, serving to manufacturers craft narratives that really resonate.
Since launching the company in 2016, she has executed high-impact influencer campaigns for manufacturers like Primark USA, Shake Shack, and B.Good, making certain that each partnership interprets into actual viewers engagement and enterprise affect. Her method goes past transactional influencer offers—it’s about fostering real brand-influencer relationships that drive long-term development.
In April 2024, Mangano stepped into an advisory function, passing the management to Reagan Byrne, Brooke Patterson, and Christina Valle, a crew devoted to upholding the company’s artistic excellence. However stepping again doesn’t imply stepping away—she stays an influential drive within the trade, co-managing Kevin Love’s advertising and marketing technique and main The Golden Cod, her New England-inspired attire and jewellery model.
From securing nationwide media protection to successful the Bell Ringer Benefit Awards, Mangano’s strategic method and inventive execution have left an simple mark on the influencer advertising and marketing house.
5. Benjamin B. Kaplan
Benjamin B. Kaplan, the CEO of TOP Agency, has a blueprint for virality, and it’s reshaping how manufacturers join with audiences. By a world community of specialised advertising and marketing corporations, he has constructed an operation that turns influencer advertising and marketing right into a science—one which fuses storytelling, knowledge, and strategic execution for optimum affect.
His method is fast-moving and deeply analytical, designed to uncover mid-tier creators with untapped potential. Whereas others chase superstar endorsements, Kaplan’s technique focuses on engagement and authenticity, making certain model messages don’t simply attain audiences—they stick. Each marketing campaign follows a rigorous course of, from influencer choice to content material creation and real-time efficiency monitoring.
Kaplan’s affect stretches far past company partitions. A media veteran and advertising and marketing innovator, he has been featured on 1000’s of TV and radio reveals, served as a spokesperson for world manufacturers, and contributed to among the world’s main publications. His capability to decode cultural developments and apply them to advertising and marketing methods offers his firm an unmatched edge in influencer campaigns.
Working in over 20 nations, his work is proving that sensible advertising and marketing isn’t nearly visibility—it’s about constructing lasting affect.
6. Chris Lewis
Chris Lewis has spent almost three many years shaping the way forward for model storytelling, reworking TEAM LEWIS right into a global marketing powerhouse. What began as an unbiased company in 1995 has since grown right into a community spanning 26 places of work worldwide, together with a full-service hub in Boston.
His management has positioned TEAM LEWIS on the forefront of influencer advertising and marketing, digital technique, and public relations, mixing branding, search engine optimization, and social media to craft campaigns that really feel each data-driven and creatively compelling. The company’s influencer advertising and marketing division prioritizes strategic activation, pairing manufacturers with creators who align with their message and amplifying engagement by way of multi-channel distribution.
Past company life, Lewis is a thought leader and writer, recognized for books like Too Quick to Assume and The Management Lab, which dissect creativity, management, and trendy work tradition. His affect extends to philanthropy as effectively—his TEAM LEWIS Basis has supported over 1,000 world causes, reinforcing his perception in utilizing enterprise as a drive for good.
With expertise spanning politics, media, and enterprise technique, Lewis approaches influencer advertising and marketing by way of a uniquely world lens, making certain manufacturers stay culturally related whereas driving measurable affect.
7. Andrew Cross
Because the CEO of Walker Sands, Andrew Cross brings over 14 years of expertise to the corporate, main it to prominence as a top player in B2B marketing and influencer advertising and marketing. His journey at Walker Sands started in 2009 as an entry-level public relations crew member, and his profession trajectory noticed him ascend to numerous management positions, finally turning into the CEO in December 2023.
Earlier than taking the reins as CEO, Andrew served as President, the place he was instrumental in driving company development and overseeing new enterprise methods. His management was pivotal in serving to Walker Sands combine public relations with digital technique, providing purchasers a extra complete method to advertising and marketing. He additionally held the place of Govt Vice President, the place he labored intently on gross sales shows and advertising and marketing methods.
Andrew’s strategic imaginative and prescient extends past his function at Walker Sands. He has been a mentor for Techstars and served as a strategic advisor for Retention.com, serving to growth-stage advertising and marketing expertise corporations refine their market positioning and communications. His work with main manufacturers like American Categorical, DISH Community, and Livestrong.com as a contract author and public relations guide additional underscores his experience in communications and advertising and marketing.
A thought chief within the trade, Andrew ceaselessly speaks at high-profile occasions, together with the American Advertising Affiliation Connex and CNP Expo. He’s additionally actively concerned with PROI, the world’s largest community of unbiased PR agencies.
8. Tara Goodwin
Tara Goodwin’s experience lies within the delicate stability of affect and disaster administration, a talent set that has made Goodwin Consulting one in all Boston’s most revered PR businesses. Since launching the agency in 2001, she has helped corporations, celebrities, and nonprofits refine their narratives, harness influencer advertising and marketing, and navigate the ever-evolving media panorama.
Her company’s method to influencer partnerships goes past engagement metrics, specializing in authenticity, visibility, and affect. Whether or not amplifying nonprofit fundraising efforts or orchestrating high-profile model collaborations, Goodwin ensures that each marketing campaign resonates with its meant viewers.
Along with media relations, she is a trusted disaster administration strategist. By the company’s Disaster Interception division, she works with executives to develop proactive plans and real-time response methods, serving to manufacturers safeguard their reputations in high-stakes moments.
Underneath her management, Goodwin Consulting has secured a number of Stevie Awards for Ladies in Enterprise and has been ranked amongst Boston’s Prime PR Businesses for 5 consecutive years. Personally, she has twice been acknowledged as one of many metropolis’s Prime 10 PR specialists, a testomony to her affect throughout the trade.
Working out of places of work in Boston and Walpole, Goodwin Consulting continues to serve purchasers starting from healthcare leaders to tech startups, making certain that each model it represents tells a narrative value listening to.
The Way forward for Affect: Boston’s CEOs Shaping the Trade
Influencer advertising and marketing isn’t nearly viral moments—it’s about technique, execution, and affect. The CEOs behind Boston’s prime advertising and marketing corporations and branding businesses are extra than simply enterprise leaders; they’re architects of affect, driving campaigns that reshape industries. From AI-powered methods to genuine storytelling, these executives are on the forefront of a continuously evolving digital panorama. As manufacturers proceed to hunt revolutionary methods to attach with audiences, the companies these corporations present will stay vital in defining the way forward for advertising and marketing. In Boston, affect isn’t simply constructed—it’s engineered for lasting success.
Concerning the Creator
Author
Dan Atkins is a famend search engine optimization specialist and digital advertising and marketing guide, acknowledged for enhancing small enterprise visibility on-line. With experience in AdWords, ecommerce, and social media optimization, he has collaborated with quite a few businesses, enhancing B2B lead technology methods. His hands-on consulting expertise empowers him to impart superior insights and revolutionary techniques to his readers.
