Cyndee Harrison breaks down why influencer marketing — now a $33 billion industry — has scaled faster than the safety net around it. Using the classic celebrity-endorsement model (George Clooney and Nespresso) as a contrast, Cyndee explains how big-budget brand partnerships have always come with built-in protection: media training, legal review, and crisis planning. Influencer marketing, by comparison, often runs "without a seatbelt." She walks through what's at stake for all three parties in a brand deal — the creator, the brand, and the consumer — and uses a recent Michigan state-agency influencer story to show that even well-intentioned, by-the-book partnerships can still land in a headline questioning judgment.

What You'll Learn

• Why traditional celebrity endorsements came with an "apparatus" most influencer deals sk ...