The road stretched down the block. Automobiles slowed to a crawl. Social media feeds flooded with movies of excited Houstonians racing by the doorways. A rooster joint had simply gone viral. However this wasn’t simply one other fast-food opening—it was a masterclass in influencer marketing.
Layne’s Chicken Fingers, a Texas-born model with a cult following, wasn’t banking on million-dollar advert campaigns or celeb endorsements. As a substitute, they tapped into native Houston influencers—food bloggers, TikTok creators, and Instagram personalities with a loyal, engaged viewers. These weren’t simply influencers; they had been trusted voices in the neighborhood, and their followers had been hungry for his or her suggestions.
By the point the doorways swung open, Layne’s wasn’t simply one other new restaurant—it was a must-visit expertise. The technique? Authenticity, group, and sensible influencer partnerships. The minds behind these campaigns are reshaping Houston’s digital advertising and marketing scene, and on the helm are visionary CEOs who perceive the facility of affect higher than anybody.
So who’re the masterminds main the cost? Listed below are the highest 8 CEOs of influencer marketing agencies in Houston—the folks redefining how manufacturers join with audiences.
High 8 CEOs of Influencer Advertising Firms in Houston
The Bay Space isn’t only a hub for tech—it’s a powerhouse for digital advertising and marketing innovation. These CEOs are main high influencer advertising and marketing businesses in San Francisco, reworking how manufacturers join with audiences in 2024.
1. Karen De Amat
Karen De Amat is redefining what it means to dominate the influencer advertising and marketing sport in Houston. Because the Founder and CEO of Social Behavior, Karen has constructed a workforce of strategists, creatives, and digital masterminds who know how one can flip social media right into a revenue-driving machine.
Her journey from solopreneur to business chief began in 2014 with a grassroots strategy—one which shortly gained traction because of her sharp advertising and marketing instincts and deep understanding of client conduct. At the moment, Social Habits stands as a go-to company for manufacturers seeking to harness the facility of influencer advertising and marketing with a strategy-first mindset.
Past operating a top-tier agency, Karen’s affect extends to public talking, the place she shares her experience on social media trends and model progress. She’s been featured on FOX26’s The Isiah Issue and has taken the stage on the Feed the Soul Basis, solidifying her standing as a thought leader in digital advertising and marketing.
Her enterprise acumen isn’t simply restricted to social media—she additionally co-founded Brew Chew Treats, an eco-friendly canine deal with model, proving that her entrepreneurial mindset is aware of no bounds. And when she’s not steering a number of ventures, she’s giving again, actively supporting Houston’s group by charitable initiatives.
With a background in finance, luxurious advertising and marketing, and company oil & gasoline, Karen brings a uncommon mixture of analytical considering and artistic technique to the influencer advertising and marketing panorama.
2. Gretchen Brice & Karen Lombardo Henry
Gretchen Brice and Karen Lombardo Henry are the facility duo behind The PR Boutique, a full-service public relations firm that has been shaping the Houston, Austin, and San Antonio media landscapes for practically 20 years. With a laser-focused strategy to PR, influencer advertising and marketing, and model storytelling, they’ve constructed an company that blends strategic considering with deep-rooted business experience.
Karen, the driving pressure behind The PR Boutique’s Houston workplace, brings over 30 years of expertise and a consumer roster that reads like a who’s who of top-tier manufacturers—Amazon, Chipotle, DryBar, and SoulCycle, simply to call just a few. Her experience spans luxurious manufacturers, actual property, hospitality, and disaster communications, making her a trusted title for each rising and established companies seeking to make an affect.
In the meantime, Gretchen leads the Austin and San Antonio workplaces, specializing in personalized PR methods that mix media relations, social media, and influencer programming. Her skill to craft compelling model narratives has earned her collaborations with business giants like Complete Meals Market, Marriott Lodges, Lamborghini, and UnitedHealthcare.
What makes The PR Boutique stand out? Their strategy is boutique by design—that means each consumer will get hands-on consideration from seasoned specialists, not simply junior staffers. They don’t simply safe media placements; they combine manufacturers into the cultural and digital dialog, guaranteeing visibility the place it issues most.
With a multi-generational workforce that mixes recent concepts with seasoned experience, Karen and Gretchen have constructed The PR Boutique into one in every of Texas’ most influential businesses.
3. Jason Pampell
Jason Pampell, the founder and CEO of HireInfluence, has been on the forefront of influencer advertising and marketing since 2011, lengthy earlier than the time period turned a buzzword. His company has since developed into an award-winning powerhouse, incomes recognition as Advert World Masters’ 2022 Advertising Company of the 12 months.
With a workforce of over 25 specialists, Jason has constructed HireInfluence right into a full-service agency that blends technique, creativity, and cutting-edge influencer activations. From expertise sourcing to experiential campaigns and strategic content material amplification, his company delivers high-impact collaborations for a number of the world’s most prestigious manufacturers.
However Jason isn’t nearly execution—he’s a thought chief shaping the way forward for digital advertising and marketing. As a member of the Forbes Company Council, he shares insights on content material advertising and marketing, influencer trends, and the evolution of brand name storytelling within the digital age.
Past HireInfluence, Jason’s entrepreneurial mindset extends to his work with seventeenth Avenue, a music promotion agency that helps rising artists within the people, nation, and Americana scenes. Whether or not he’s crafting influencer campaigns for Fortune 500 manufacturers or amplifying new voices within the music business, Jason is at all times forward of the curve.
4. Megan Silianoff
Megan Silianoff leads a Houston-based agency that blends PR, social media, branding, and influencer advertising and marketing into one powerhouse technique. Suppose Mad Males, however with a contemporary, no-nonsense edge. The company in query? Mad Meg Creative Services.
Megan’s strategy to influencer advertising and marketing is rooted in entrepreneurship—she and her workforce assume like enterprise house owners as a result of they’re. Meaning each influencer marketing campaign isn’t nearly aesthetics; it’s about affect. Whether or not it’s social media administration, net design, search engine marketing, or influencer collaborations, Mad Meg delivers methods that transfer the needle, not simply the algorithm.
Earlier than launching Mad Meg in 2015, Megan honed her advertising and marketing experience as VP of Advertising for PopUp Retailers, a platform that connects manufacturers with retail areas. However her path wasn’t all boardrooms and branding—at 28, she was identified with stage 3 ovarian most cancers, a life-altering second that led her to start out a weblog documenting her journey. That have formed her storytelling expertise, making her a pure at crafting compelling model narratives that resonate with audiences.
Past operating a top-tier company, Megan is a sought-after speaker, sharing insights on mastering model presence and social media strategy. She’s additionally a pressure on Instagram (@megansilianoff), the place she offers followers an unfiltered take a look at her skilled and private life.
5. Hannah Swiggard
Hannah Swiggard began in editorial vogue at PaperCity Journal, the place she developed an intuition for storytelling and trend-spotting. By 2016, she pivoted into digital advertising and marketing, launching Swiggard Creative in 2018 to assist manufacturers navigate an more and more advanced digital panorama. At the moment, her company works throughout industries like luxurious actual property, hospitality, e-commerce, and retail, delivering campaigns that mix technique with high-impact creativity.
Hannah’s experience extends past operating campaigns—she’s an business chief shaping Houston’s influencer advertising and marketing scene. In January 2025, she co-founded Digital Haus, an company devoted to managing and amplifying native influencers, bridging the hole between manufacturers and top-tier content material creators.
Her strategy? Seamless integration of brand name id with digital technique. Whether or not she’s overseeing a photoshoot, curating influencer partnerships, or launching a seasonal marketing campaign, Hannah ensures each undertaking aligns with a model’s core message whereas driving measurable engagement.
6. Ted Raad
Ted Raad runs an company that grows as quick because the business it operates in. Because the founder, and now CEO, of Trend Companies, Ted has redefined influencer administration with a concentrate on transparency, authenticity, and constructing actual relationships between manufacturers and creators.
Earlier than launching Pattern, Ted spent years in high-stakes negotiations at Hewlett-Packard, brokering multi-million greenback offers. That company expertise, mixed together with his entrepreneurial mindset, gave him a singular edge in influencer advertising and marketing—he understands each the artistic and enterprise sides of the business.
Beneath his management, Pattern Firms has develop into one of many fastest-growing influencer management firms in the U.S., seamlessly integrating expertise administration, influencer campaigns, and product growth. His philosophy? Prioritize the creators. In contrast to conventional businesses that put income first, Pattern ensures influencers have the help, technique, and model partnerships they should thrive.
Past managing top-tier expertise, Ted is a thought chief in digital advertising and marketing, steadily sharing insights on industry trends by podcasts and media options. He additionally retains it actual—overtly discussing the challenges of balancing entrepreneurship and household life, making him a relatable determine within the enterprise world.
7. Krista McDaniel
Krista McDaniel has constructed an award-winning digital advertising and marketing company that delivers high-impact methods, beautiful visuals, and influencer-driven campaigns that flip engagement into conversions.
Krista’s path to advertising and marketing management wasn’t typical—it was entrepreneurial. Earlier than launching Kreative Media in 2020, she spent a decade operating her personal boutique, KB Kasuals, the place she mastered branding, social media, and buyer engagement firsthand. That hands-on expertise gave her a singular edge in digital advertising and marketing, permitting her to know a model’s wants from the within out.
Her strategy? Deal with each consumer’s enterprise like her personal. Meaning hyper-personalized service, data-driven choices, and a relentless concentrate on delivering ROI. And he or she doesn’t simply cease at enterprise success—by Kreative Kares, she actively offers again, providing advertising and marketing help to native non-profits and group initiatives.
Krista has shortly positioned Kreative Media as one of many high advertising and marketing businesses in The Woodlands, proving that when technique meets creativity, manufacturers don’t simply develop—they thrive.
8. Teja Foster
Teja Foster launched Get Social to drive actual social change. This artistic company does that by specializing in creating actual model partnerships and utilizing social media as a instrument for political consciousness and group empowerment.
Launched in 2020, Get Social was born from a necessity: to offer girls of coloration a stronger voice within the digital house and create campaigns that uplift Black and Brown communities. At the moment, her company is a powerhouse of diverse talent, composed solely of girls of coloration spanning Gen Z to Millennials, providing recent views and revolutionary methods.
Teja’s affect is plain. Beneath her management, Get Social has executed high-profile campaigns for Rock The Vote and She The Individuals, serving to form important conversations throughout the 2020 election. The company additionally performed a key position within the See Us Unite marketing campaign, amplifying voices throughout the AAPI group. Her skill to fuse tradition, activism, and digital technique has made Get Social one of the influential advertising and marketing corporations within the house.
Past her company, Teja is a acknowledged thought chief, featured in publications like Shoutout LA, the place she shares insights on the intersection of social media and activism. She additionally ties political matters to hip-hop tradition, making advanced points extra relatable and fascinating for youthful audiences.
How These CEOs Are Redefining Influencer Advertising in Houston
The rise of influencer advertising and marketing in Houston isn’t nearly viral moments—it’s about technique, authenticity, and management. These CEOs are proving {that a} well-crafted advertising and marketing service from a top-tier agency can rework manufacturers, drive engagement, and form digital conversations.
Whether or not by high-impact PR, social media campaigns, or influencer collaborations, every chief on this checklist is setting a brand new commonplace for the business. As manufacturers look to navigate the evolving digital panorama, these visionary executives are those to look at, shaping the way forward for advertising and marketing one marketing campaign at a time.
Concerning the Writer
Author
Dan Atkins is a famend search engine marketing specialist and digital advertising and marketing marketing consultant, acknowledged for reinforcing 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 ways to his readers.
