She danced by the streets of Detroit, and in that second, turned an informal stroll right into a viral motion. In 2024, as town pulsed with vitality, Amber Lewis—one among Detroit’s most influential voices—hit report on a video that will reshape how cities market themselves.
As a part of the Go to Detroit marketing campaign, “When We Move, You Move,” Lewis wove town’s tradition, music, and group right into a seamless narrative, proving {that a} well-placed influencer may be as highly effective as any billboard or business. The outcome? A surge in tourism curiosity, skyrocketing engagement, and a masterclass in how influencer marketing isn’t nearly promoting a product—it’s about promoting a narrative.
Behind each viral marketing campaign is a strategic thoughts, and Detroit’s influencer marketing agencies are run by among the sharpest CEOs within the enterprise. These company leaders don’t simply spot developments—they create them. Listed below are the visionaries defining Detroit’s digital panorama, one marketing campaign at a time.
High 9 CEOs of Influencer Advertising Corporations in Detroit
Behind each profitable influencer marketing campaign is a strategist who sees past the developments—a CEO who understands the artwork of digital persuasion and the science of viewers engagement. Detroit’s high influencer advertising and marketing companies are led by visionaries who don’t simply comply with the playbook; they rewrite it, crafting campaigns that flip manufacturers into cultural conversations.
1. Joel Beckett
If influencer advertising and marketing had a playbook, Joel Beckett would have written a couple of chapters. A former educator turned advertising and marketing visionary, Beckett brings a instructor’s perception and a strategist’s precision to the trade—serving to manufacturers navigate the ever-evolving world of influencer partnerships with authenticity and measurable affect.
Because the founding father of The Outloud Group, Beckett has spent over a decade redefining how manufacturers join with audiences. His company isn’t nearly placing merchandise within the arms of creators—it’s about crafting campaigns that resonate. With a shopper roster that includes 23andMe, Casper, Greenback Shave Membership, and Warby Parker, The Outloud Group has cemented itself as a pacesetter in influencer advertising and marketing throughout platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts.
However Beckett’s actual magic? Understanding individuals. He champions the concept influencer advertising and marketing isn’t nearly attain—it’s about relationships. His philosophy is straightforward: discover creators who really align with a model’s values and let authenticity drive engagement.
Past enterprise, Beckett is shaping the trade’s future. Underneath his management, The Outloud Group commissioned a first-of-its-kind research on Black+ creator representation in model offers, sparking essential conversations about variety and inclusivity in influencer advertising and marketing.
2. Benjamin B. Kaplan
If there is a formulation for making concepts go viral, Benjamin Kaplan has cracked the code. A Harvard-trained economist, best-selling creator, and media powerhouse, Kaplan has constructed an empire on data-driven storytelling—serving to manufacturers break by the noise with precision and affect.
Since founding PR Hacker, Kaplan has reworked the company right into a public relations giant, leveraging A/B testing, analytics, and fast market analysis to craft viral campaigns that resonate. His progressive method shortly caught fireplace, main him to launch TOP, a worldwide company community spanning 20+ international locations and 35 advertising and marketing disciplines.
However Kaplan isn’t simply behind the scenes—he’s been entrance and middle in over 5,000 TV and radio interviews, showing on Oprah, Good Morning America, CNN, and The BBC. His capability to form narratives and spark conversations has made him a sought-after media professional, trusted by manufacturers like Citibank, Dr. Pepper, and Uncover Card.
On the coronary heart of his success is his obsession with testing, optimizing, and performing—a strategy that fuels each marketing campaign he touches. Whether or not he’s serving to startups craft the right pitch or advising Fortune 500 manufacturers on influencer strategy, Kaplan is redefining what it means to “hack” PR.
3. Peter Finn
Because the CEO and founding accomplice of FINN Partners, Peter Finn has reworked the agency right into a global influencer powerhouse, redefining built-in advertising and marketing, influencer technique, and model storytelling alongside the best way.
Since launching in 2011, FINN Companions has skyrocketed to over 1,300 staff throughout 34 workplaces, delivering game-changing campaigns in tech, healthcare, journey, training, and past. However what units Finn aside? His perception that collaboration fuels innovation—a philosophy embedded in each marketing campaign his company touches.
With regards to influencer advertising and marketing, FINN Companions takes a data-driven meets human-first method. Its Influencer Intelligence Crew works intently with high creators to craft experiential activations, social content material, and branded partnerships that don’t simply generate likes—they drive ROI.
Underneath Finn’s management, the company has earned accolades like Best PR Agency to Work For in North America and Best Mid-Sized Agency of the Year. However past the trophies, his mission stays clear: to construct an company the place expertise thrives, creativity thrives, and types genuinely join with their audiences.
4. Benjamin B. Kaplan
Benjamin Kaplan has already been featured on our checklist. What if we instructed you he is the CEO of one other Seattle-based social media company? That will be none aside from TOP Agency. Kaplan’s affect expands past digital and social media advertising and marketing. In 2017, he launched Nationwide Immediately, a media platform that turns obscure holidays (Nationwide Espresso Day, anybody?) into viral advertising and marketing alternatives.
Then, in 2019, he took the reins at TOP Company, a community of specialised companies delivering full-service advertising and marketing options throughout influencer advertising and marketing, PR, content material creation, and digital promoting.
We can’t dwell an excessive amount of on his achievements – what it’s essential know is that Kaplan is obsessive about testing, optimizing, and performing—a strategy that fuels each social marketing campaign. Whether or not he’s internet hosting the “TOP CMO” podcast to uncover trade insights or engineering influencer activations that drive actual ROI, his method is each scientific and artistic.
With an unparalleled capability to make manufacturers go viral, Kaplan is not only main the influencer advertising and marketing area—he’s redefining it.
5. Anthony Donnarumma
Since stepping in as CEO of 24 Seven in 2021, Donnarumma has pushed record-breaking development, overseeing the company’s largest gross margin in 2022 and securing his spot on the Staffing Trade Analysts’ Staffing 100 list a number of occasions. However his journey with the corporate began lengthy earlier than that—having served as COO for over a decade, he’s performed a key position in scaling the company into a worldwide powerhouse.
With a presence in Detroit and past, 24 Seven makes a speciality of connecting manufacturers with elite advertising and marketing, digital, and influencer expertise—whether or not for contract gigs, full-time hires, or embedded groups that act as an extension of in-house advertising and marketing departments. Donnarumma has been instrumental in increasing the company’s influencer advertising and marketing capabilities, serving to manufacturers develop data-driven influencer methods that prioritize genuine partnerships, engagement, and measurable ROI.
His management philosophy? Adapt, innovate, and keep forward of workforce developments—a mindset that has positioned 24 Seven because the go-to company for firms navigating the fast-changing panorama of digital advertising and marketing and influencer collaborations.
6. Cory Doucette
Cory Doucette has over a decade of expertise in digital technique and efficiency advertising and marketing – two areas essential in trendy advertising and marketing. His expertise on this sector propelled him to discovered The Growth Shark – a powerhouse company serving to manufacturers mix storytelling with high-performance advertising and marketing.
Based in Detroit, The Development Shark is greater than only a advertising and marketing agency—it’s a purpose-driven company that companions with e-commerce, health, and beverage manufacturers to amplify their affect. Specializing in all issues social and digital associated, Doucette and his crew craft cross-platform campaigns that don’t simply drive clicks, however create lasting connections.
His monitor report speaks for itself. Earlier than launching The Development Shark, Doucette spearheaded digital and model technique for Bulldog On-line Yoga, serving to develop its person base by 1,421% year-over-year whereas securing high-profile media placements in USA Immediately, Males’s Well being, and The Oprah Journal. He’s additionally led celebrity-backed influencer campaigns, leveraging partnerships with massive names like Gwyneth Paltrow.
Past enterprise, Doucette is dedicated to utilizing advertising and marketing as a pressure for good—partnering with initiatives like Justice for Beniteau to assist environmental justice efforts. His management isn’t nearly development; it’s about affect.
7. Joshua Gershonowicz
Joshua Gershonowicz helps rebuild Detroit’s advertising and marketing panorama, one daring concept at a time. Because the CEO and co-founder of Rebuild, he’s spent over a decade turning the company into an professional in model technique, digital advertising and marketing, and influencer-driven campaigns.
Rebuild is greater than only a advertising and marketing agency—it’s a Detroit-rooted motion. The company arrange store within the Milwaukee Junction neighborhood, investing within the metropolis’s revival whereas creating jobs and delivering high-impact Gen Z marketing strategies for manufacturers throughout industries.
Underneath Gershonowicz’s management, Rebuild has turn into a go-to company for manufacturers seeking to matter extra, specializing in every thing from search engine optimisation and media planning to influencer collaborations that drive actual engagement. His imaginative and prescient? Marrying creativity with information to construct campaigns that don’t simply get seen—they create lasting connections.
His method has earned Rebuild trade recognition, and in January 2025, the company was acquired by Hart, a full-service brand transformation firm. Whereas this marks an thrilling growth, Gershonowicz stays dedicated to Detroit’s development and Rebuild’s unique mission.
With a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Companies certification, a Corp! Magazine Economic Bright Spot Award, and a spot on The Detroit Jewish News’ 36 Under 36 checklist, Gershonowicz isn’t only a chief in advertising and marketing—he’s a visionary shaping the way forward for Detroit’s artistic economic system.
8. Pete Donato
For over 40 years, Pete Donato has been on the forefront of Detroit’s advertising and marketing scene, proving that staying forward of trade developments is simply as necessary as creativity itself. This expertise was instrumental in launching one among Detroit’s most well-known results-driven marketing firms – PGN Agency.
PGN Company, based mostly in Royal Oak, makes a speciality of branding, net growth, social media administration, search engine optimisation, and influencer advertising and marketing. With a eager eye for user-generated content (UGC) and influencer collaborations, Donato’s company helps manufacturers set up genuine connections that drive engagement and loyalty. Acknowledged as one among Detroit’s top influencer marketing agencies, PGN has labored throughout industries like well being and sweetness, leisure, tech, journey, and meals & beverage.
However what really units Donato aside is his relentless dedication to innovation. Since founding PGN in 1981, he has navigated a long time of technological shifts, guaranteeing the company stays on the chopping fringe of digital advertising and marketing. Whether or not it’s by social campaigns, experiential activations, or influencer partnerships, PGN’s work persistently elevates model visibility whereas delivering actual outcomes.
9. Thomas Sanchez
The driving pressure behind Social Driver, Thomas Sanchez has constructed the company right into a national powerhouse, serving to companies and nonprofits flip social media, content material, and influencer partnerships into highly effective engagement instruments.
His method goes past conventional advertising and marketing—Social Driver doesn’t simply launch campaigns, it crafts narratives that spark dialog and encourage motion. Honda, Goal, and the American Hospital Affiliation are just some of the manufacturers that belief his crew to remodel complicated messaging into compelling digital experiences.
Influencer advertising and marketing is a key pillar of his technique. By specializing in credibility and values-driven storytelling, he ensures that manufacturers don’t simply acquire publicity however foster actual connections with their audiences.
Past advertising and marketing, Sanchez is a number one voice in tech variety and social affect. Acknowledged by HuffPost and Financial Times for his advocacy, he has additionally been named one among Washington’s top minority business leaders and serves as Board Chair of The Trevor Project, championing LGBTQ+ youth initiatives.
With an unwavering perception that “the longer term is shiny, all progress is social, and the drivers make historical past,” Thomas Sanchez is setting new requirements for digital affect—one marketing campaign at a time.
Detroit’s CEOs Redefining Influencer Advertising—And What’s Subsequent
The facility behind Detroit’s digital evolution isn’t simply within the campaigns—it’s within the visionaries main them. These CEOs aren’t solely driving the success of influencer advertising and marketing companies however are shaping the way forward for model storytelling, viewers engagement, and digital technique.
From full-service companies engineering viral campaigns to boutique companies crafting hyper-personalized influencer activations, these leaders are setting new trade requirements. As influencer advertising and marketing continues to evolve, their progressive approaches show one factor: in Detroit, advertising and marketing isn’t only a service—it’s a motion. And these CEOs are the architects of its subsequent chapter.
