In today’s shifting influencer marketing landscape, brands are only as competitive as the intelligence behind their strategies. Succeeding in the face of saturation and audience fatigue calls for efficient workflows, precise measurement, and data-driven insights that decision-makers can actually use. According to the newly released IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Influencer Management for SMB Companies 2025–2026 Vendor Assessment (IDC #US52967425, November 2025), is a Leader.
With IDC MarketScape’s recognition of Meltwater as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape evaluation for SMB influencer marketing platforms, we were the only vendor recognized as a Leader across both the SMB and large enterprise categories for 2025–2026. We believe this dual achievement makes it official: Meltwater at the forefront of influencer marketing management organizations of every size. Here’s why that matters.
How AI is transforming influencer marketing
AI is revolutionizing every aspect of how organizations do business, and influencer marketing is no exception. Instead of the time-consuming manual processes and analyses that were once unavoidable, AI now allows marketers to make their operations “intelligent”. Klear, Meltwater’s influencer marketing solution, is at the cutting edge of this sea change, enabling organizations to boost ROIs with campaign management automation, advanced data analytics, and end-to-end campaign measurement across all major social platforms.
IDC MarketScape recognition
IDC MarketScape vendor analysis model is designed to provide an overview of the competitive fitness of technology and suppliers in a given market. The research methodology utilizes a rigorous scoring methodology based on both qualitative and quantitative criteria that results in a single graphical illustration of each supplier’s position within a given market. The Capabilities score measures supplier product, go-to-market and business execution in the short-term. The Strategy score measures alignment of supplier strategies with customer requirements in a 3-5-year timeframe. Supplier market share is represented by the size of the icons.
As an IDC MarketScape-recognized Leader in enterprise and SMB influencer marketing management, we believe Meltwater is uniquely positioned to support brands navigating the industry’s biggest shifts. Some of the key strengths that were recognized by the IDC MarketScape’s recognition include:
- High-precision creator discovery
- End-to-end campaign management and reporting
- Proprietary True Reach scoring system to measure creators' authentic audience size and influence levels
- Built in "CRM" functionality to manage influencers
How we believe Meltwater is differentiated for influencer intelligence
The biggest shift in influencer marketing today is undoubtedly just how important AI has become for moving past rudimentary operations to advanced ones. Now, AI-powered creator identification, campaign optimization, and performance modeling goes hand-in-hand with smarter, more efficient decision-making. Klear, Meltwater’s influencer marketing solution, is purpose-built to address that shift head on by delivering:
- Advanced analytics, including sentiment tracking and predictive insights
- Precise attribution modeling, linking influencer activity directly to business outcomes
- Data quality and structuring that scales with organizations and their needs
The features that we believe differentiate our influencer marketing solution include:
High-precision creator discovery
Klear’s influencer discovery features simplifies the process of finding the strongest, most relevant content creators for your campaign goals. Instead of spending hours sorting through profiles and relying on vanity metrics, the solution automatically analyzes audience authenticity, engagement quality, and predicted fit.
End-to-end campaign management and reporting
Competitive SMBs and enterprises don’t have time to waste on hopping from solution to solution. That is why we built Klear to bring all campaign measurement and reporting functions into one easy-to-navigate platform. With it, marketing teams of all sizes save time, while boosting collaboration and democratizing insights with a single source of influencer campaign truth.
Proprietary True Reach scoring
Klear’s True Reach score takes the guesswork out of creator vetting and verification, using AI to evaluate exactly how influential influencers are among their followers and how relevant they are to your specific brand. With True Reach, organizations no longer have to worry about inflated follower counts or frauds, letting them focus on partnering with only the strongest, most relevant content creators.
Built-in CRM functionality
Through relationship tracking, collaboration tools, and other features supporting successful long-term creator partnerships, Meltwater’s built-in CRM makes influencer programs scalable and sustainable. With it, organizations of all sizes can manage creator pipelines with the same sophistication they bring to customer relationship management.
Here at Meltwater, we’ve seen firsthand how these capabilities allow marketing teams large and small to cultivate data-driven creator programs that are measurable, scalable, and move the needle on wider business goals.
For one example, look to Radisson Hotel Group. The global leader in hospitality uses Meltwater to power its international PR and influencer marketing operations. With our solutions, Radisson Hotels moved from fragmented, manual processes to a fully integrated approach, achieving an estimated 22% increase in the value of its influencer marketing program.
This is one of the many success stories we’re seeing roll in from our clients, and it’s just the beginning. As Klear continues to evolve, so will the sophistication and measurable impact of the programs it powers.
Learn more
Discover how Meltwater’s influencer marketing solution, Klear, simplifies discovery and vetting, strengthens creator-brand relationships, and delivers data-driven insights. Explore the platform with a product tour or fill out the form below for a demo.
FAQ: Meltwater’s IDC MarketScape position as a Leader and Influencer Marketing Solution
What did Meltwater get recognized for by IDC MarketScape?
Meltwater was named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Influencer Management for SMB Companies 2025–2026 Vendor Assessment. This follows Meltwater’s recent Leader placement in IDC’s Worldwide Influencer Marketing Platforms for Large Enterprises 2025–2026 Vendor Assessment.
Why do you believe Meltwater’s IDC MarketScape recognition important?
Meltwater is the only vendor that IDC MarketScape has recognized as a Leader across both SMB and enterprise influencer marketing evaluations. We at Meltwater believe this confirms our ability to support organizations of all sizes.
What strengths did IDC MarketScape highlight about Meltwater?
The IDC MarketScape noted the following strengths for Meltwater –
- High-precision creator discovery
- End-to-end campaign management and reporting
- Proprietary True Reach scoring system to measure creators' authentic audience size and influence levels
- Built in "CRM" functionality to manage influencers
How does Meltwater use AI in influencer marketing?
Klear, Meltwater’s Influencer Marketing solution, uses AI to power creator identification, brand safety analysis, audience authenticity modeling, brand and influencer relevancy scoring, and automated campaign measurement, helping brands focus on strategy instead of spreadsheets.
Who can use Meltwater’s influencer platform?
Klear, Meltwater’s scalable, unified Influencer Marketing solution, serves SMBs, mid-market brands, and global enterprises.
What is True Reach?
True Reach is Meltwater’s proprietary metric that calculates a creator’s authentic audience size, reducing inflated follower numbers and improving ROI modeling.
