Building a Multi-Brand Influencer Program From the Ground Up
Summary
When I joined Circle Line as Marketing Director in 2022, influencer outreach was ad hoc, reactive, and entirely manual. By 2024 I built a formal influencer program from scratch across four brands including Circle Line, The Beast, La Barca Cantina, and North River Lobster Company, complete with application infrastructure, a CRM workflow, a review and approval process, a contract system, and a tracking database. In 2025 the program generated 3M+ views, 213K+ engagements, and over $102K in promo code revenue across 167 posts. I've since trained and handed the day-to-day execution to my team, while continuing to oversee strategy, high-value partnerships, and program development.
The Challenge
Circle Line was getting inbound creator requests constantly and had no system to handle them. Requests were coming in through email, Instagram DMs, and the website contact form, with no consistent way to evaluate creators, capture the information needed for a proper review, track who had been approved or declined, or follow up on whether content was ever posted. The team was spending hours on outbound research for every single booking. There was no database, no contracts in place consistently, no promo codes to measure conversion, and no way to report on what the program was actually producing.
The goal was to build something that could scale without burning out the team.
Objectives
Primary objective: Build a structured, scalable influencer program that turned reactive chaos into a proactive system — one the team could run efficiently and that produced measurable results.
Key goals:
Create an inbound application process so creators could self-select and provide all required information upfront
Build a CRM workflow to streamline review, approval, and scheduling
Implement contracts, promo codes, and a tracking database for accountability and measurement
Reduce the amount of manual outbound research the team had to do
Eventually train and transition day-to-day management to the team
Strategy
The biggest efficiency win was flipping the model from outbound to inbound. Instead of the team researching and pitching creators, I built a public-facing application on the Circle Line website where creators could apply directly, submitting their media kit, follower counts, platforms, and availability all in one place. That alone cut the time spent on initial research dramatically.
From there I built out the backend: a CRM workflow to review applications, a tiered approval process, a contract template, a promo code system tied to each creator so we could track actual ticket revenue, and a tracking spreadsheet that became the program's database across all four brands. By 2025 the program had enough structure that I could hand day-to-day management to my team while staying involved in high-value partnerships and strategic direction.
My Role & Execution
Influencer application page: Built a public-facing influencer program page on circleline.com where creators apply directly, providing all required information upfront so the team can review without back-and-forth. The page is still live and actively driving inbound applications.
CRM workflow: Built a workflow inside the CRM that routes applications through a structured review and approval process, dramatically reducing the time the team spends on each request and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks.
Contracts and promo codes: Implemented a consistent contract system for all collaborations and assigned unique promo codes to each creator so ticket revenue from influencer partnerships could be tracked directly. In 2025 alone, promo codes drove $102K+ in revenue across 1,140 transactions.
Tracking database: Built and maintained a comprehensive tracking spreadsheet across all four brands covering follower counts, visit dates, cruise assignments, fees, F&B costs, post links, view counts, engagements, promo code performance, and overall status for every creator collaboration.
Multi-brand scope: The program ran simultaneously across Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, The Beast, La Barca Cantina, and North River Lobster Company, with separate tracking and outreach strategies per brand. La Barca Cantina and North River Lobster Company closed in 2025 and the program consolidated to Circle Line and The Beast.
Team training and transition: Trained a team member to own day-to-day influencer management including application review, scheduling, contract coordination, and post tracking. I continue to oversee strategy, approve high-value partnerships, and manage the overall program direction.
5WPR partnership: Coordinated with PR agency 5WPR on select influencer seeding and outreach campaigns, integrating agency-sourced creators into the same tracking and approval workflow as inbound applicants.
Results
2024
128 Posts published across 4 brands
17.8M+ Combined follower reach
11.7M+ Total views
520K+ Total engagements
$48K Total program spend
2025
167 Posts published
21M+ Combined follower reach
3M+ Total views
213K+ Total engagements
$102K+ Revenue driven through promo codes
$28.9K Total program spend
Some of my Favorites:
@jeffrey_in_nyc — Bear Mountain Cruise (1.8M views)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DOirOSFAB0D/?hl=en
@charliecoopertv — North River Lobster Co. (1.2M views)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6XMJcpP0Pb/
@roxyschoice — Sip N Groove (898K views, 3.1M followers)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DM08S8hylqE/
@marfarlane — La Barca Cantina (614K views)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6eG7VQrXpO/
@queen_sav — North River Lobster Co. (349K views)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6RvD-6x1hH/
@mrbryanart — La Barca Cantina (344K views)
https://www.instagram.com/p/C6yi4RHOe6M/
@velinabloom — Harbor Lights (271K views from a single TikTok with 5.8K followers)
https://www.tiktok.com/@velinabloom/video/7653617586034183438
@littlekidbigcity_newyork — The Beast (206K views, 396K followers)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DM_Oi_3vo4E/
@littlekidbigcity_newyork — The Beast (132K views)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKhPiqvAViN/?hl=en
@itstehzeeb_ — Landmarks Cruise (94K views)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWT1qejjnId/?igsh=MTdyY25uZnozZnNqeQ%3D%3D
@namuuntur — Best of NYC (61K views, 167K followers)
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYgWhLuhfWk/
@shortskirtlongjacket1 — Sip N Groove (70K views from a creator with 7.4K followers)
https://www.tiktok.com/@shortskirtlongjacket1/video/7517655162454953246
