In a world where brands run from controversy, Colossal Influence takes the other direction and embraces it. 

Founded in 2016 by Kristian Sturt, the UK-based talent management agency has built its success by representing creators other agencies actively avoid: left-wing political and social commentators and activists who tackle controversial topics head-on.

A bit of context: In the aftermath of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, many brands made public statements and commitments around social justice issues, embracing diversity and denouncing things like hate speech. 

Then came the Bud Light controversy in 2023. The beer brand partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender social media influencer and activist, prompting backlash with calls for boycotts that even had financial ramifications.

Despite political figures openly leveraging influencers during the 2024 U.S. presidential election, most brands still view political creators as toxic to brand safety.

This leaves a growing segment of influential voices unable to monetize their engaged audiences through brand partnerships. Long before these high-profile controversies, however, Kristian recognized an underserved market opportunity. 

Instead of blacklisting political voices, Kristian’s team has developed a system that matches these “untouchable” creators with ethical brands seeking authentic connections to engaged audiences. Their roster of 17 creators, including eight political commentators, consistently delivers results for brands brave enough to take a stand.

Building Strategic Success

The talent agency’s success with controversial creators stems from carefully balancing opportunities with potential risks. While political creators form their primary focus, Kristian maintains diversity in their talent roster. 

“We work with not only social and political commentators but quite a few YouTube commentary channels and gaming creators,” he explains. “I did some due diligence and background checks and think that having a variety gives us stronger bargaining points.”

This strategic approach has transformed how brands view partnerships. “More brands now reach out with specific campaign plans,” Kristian notes. “If they’re a smaller brand just starting out, then they’re always looking to target micro creators, like really engaged, hyper-targeted creators. That’s become more commonplace rather than us having to tell them that’s probably the best route to go down.”

Their collaboration with LELO, a luxury sexual wellness brand, validates the company’s approach. “They continually book several of our creators over long-term campaigns because the results have been great,” Kristian shares. “They have worked with one of our larger creators, Tara Mooknee, for three or four years now and have had several campaigns throughout each year.”

Platform-Specific Content Strategy

These brand partnerships rely heavily on understanding each platform’s unique characteristics. “When we log on to a social media platform as a consumer, we go in with preconceived ideas of what we’re going to view,” Kristian explains. “So if we’re on TikTok and we know that we’re going to be swiping through quick videos, putting a three-minute ad on there is gonna have terrible results because people aren’t engaged for that amount of time.”

He highlights the importance of tailored approaches: “If we go on YouTube, the landscape is a bit different, and people are more likely to be sold to because they’re primarily watching longer form content there. The same thing doesn’t apply to Instagram, where I still find that images work best.”

Expansion Into Influencer Boxing

Colossal’s expertise in managing controversial creators led to an expansion in late 2022: Colossal Combat, now, as Kristian notes, the “largest influencer boxing agency” globally. 

“Colossal Combat is the first UK influencer boxing agency that connects primarily influencers with the world of crossover boxing,” Kristian explains. With 26 fighters on their roster, they’ve quickly established a strong presence in this growing niche.

The venture leverages Kristian’s unique combination of industry expertise. “There was just this huge gap for us to fill once again,” he notes. “I’ve been a boxing fan since 1997 and I had the business experience again and the business acumen and the contacts and also boxing experience. And so it would have been moronic not to fill it.”

Colossal handles everything from booking fights to finding coaches and equipment, applying its full-service management approach to this new vertical. “We work with influencers, sponsors, and promoters to drive the best results,” Kristian says, adding that their relationships span approximately 30-40 promotions globally, from the UK to America, Indonesia, Argentina, Japan, and Dubai.

Meeting Industry Challenges

While understanding the market and platform strategies drives results, Kristian still encounters many in the industry who harbor some reservations. 

“There’s a lot more skepticism around influencer marketing now, which I think is unjust,” he notes. “There’s a lot of naysayers, which is strange because every year it establishes itself more and more in terms of the money that it brings in, the results that it delivers, the size of the campaigns.”

Yet, recent creator economy successes challenge this skepticism. “If you look at the last three years, you look at the number of brands that have been launched, like MrBeast with Feastables chocolate, KSI, and Logan Paul with Prime. Prime is a multi-billion dollar company targeting companies like Lucozade and Gatorade. Seeing it cross over into the mainstream and really have that big impact makes me wonder why some people are still skeptical.”

Anticipating Market Changes

These mainstream successes point to significant shifts ahead, as Kristian identifies several emerging trends shaping the industry’s direction. 

“We’re going to see more AI creators as people become well-versed on how you can train an AI creator to replicate what a human does,” he predicts. “We’ll see more push towards user-generated content doing live commerce. We’re already seeing a huge upscale of that on TikTok.”

His outlook on creator-led brands remains positive: “I think we’re going to see more strength in creator-led brands. The results of creator-led brands have been pretty significant, so once you’re a creator of a certain size, as long as you find the right niche, the results are practically guaranteed, assuming a solid marketing strategy.”

Leading Political Creator Partnerships

This predicted growth in creator-led brands aligns perfectly with Colossal Influence’s foothold in ethical marketing. As this sector gains momentum, their specialized experience positions them to establish standards for political creator partnerships. 

“We’re starting to see a lot more increase in ethical companies coming to the forefront of influencer-based promotion,” Kristian notes, “which is good because that benefits many of our creators who are left-wing social and political commentators.”

As new challenges emerge, Kristian maintains his focus on sustainable development. “My goal has always been slow and sustainable growth,” he emphasizes. “I’m very happy with our slow and sustainable growth and making sure I stay on top of things like AI and working out how to best protect our creators’ interests.”

He emphasizes consistent performance: “Making sure that we keep on delivering solid results and results that exceed expectations is something that we focused on and something that I think the industry needs to continue to focus on until it establishes itself.”