Let’s start with the obvious: white papers are boring.
“White papers are the most traditional B2B marketing effort, but they’re kind of the unsexy thing,” said Vin Matano, founder of Creatorbuzz. “You’re asking people to download this really dense paper.”
So when Air set out to launch its “2026 Trend Report,” they were fighting indifference. Because getting someone on Instagram to stop scrolling and download a PDF?
Yeah. Good luck.
A B2B Brand With a Very Real Problem
Air is a creative operations platform. In plain terms: they help teams manage, organize, and collaborate on content at scale.
Their audience? Marketers. Creative directors. Ops people.
Not exactly the “tap tap buy now” crowd.
And every year, they release a trend report: a big, insight-heavy piece designed to drive interest, credibility, and, ideally…leads.
“Air does a lot of brand campaigns: stunts, activations, that kind of thing,” Vin said. “But this one was important because it was actually about driving leads.”
The majority of influencer campaigns fall apart right here. You get views. You get likes. And then: nothing.
Because the ask is too big.
“Most brands use really high-intent CTAs like ‘use my code’ or ‘book a demo,’” Vin said. “That only works if someone is already ready to buy.”
Most people aren’t.
Enter: Creatorbuzz (aka the people who make influencer campaigns actually do something)
Creatorbuzz is a B2B influencer marketing agency.
“We help brands partner with creators to drive measurable outcomes like leads, awareness, and revenue,” Vin said.
For this campaign, they didn’t build the report itself. Air already had that in motion. Creatorbuzz came in to make sure people actually cared.
“They already had this campaign…the trend report,” Vin said. “They just wanted creators to be part of it and help amplify it.”
So Creatorbuzz:
- Sourced the creators
- Helped shape their contributions to the report
- Managed execution across all five creators
- And built the distribution strategy
All with one goal: Turn content into action.
The Shift: Make it Stupid Easy to Say Yes
Instead of forcing conversions, they lowered the bar. They brought in five creators, but not just to promote the report. They made them part of it.
“We had five creators contribute to the report itself,” Vin said.
Each creator added their own predictions. Their own POV. Their own voice.
Then they paired it with a simple flow:
- Post goes live
- Audience comments “AIR”
- Instant DM delivers the report
No link in bio. No extra steps. No friction.
“Manychat made it a lot easier for people to actually get access right away,” Vin said. “It removes that friction.”
The “This Shouldn’t Be Working” Moment
The first post went live. And immediately, something was different.
“The first post got over a thousand comments,” Vin said. “That’s pretty crazy for us. And it’s for a white paper…that’s a hard thing to get people excited about.”
Then it escalated.
“Second post got 3,000 comments. And then the final post has over 6,000 comments now.”
Across five creators, the campaign pulled:
- 6,200 leads
- 3,700 downloads
- ~9,500 comments
- ~694,000 views
But the views weren’t the headline. The comments were.
“Comments are important for Manychat…and this was like 10x the number of comments we typically see,” Vin said.
Why This Worked (and Why Most Campaigns Don’t)
Most campaigns assume: “If people see it, they’ll click.”
They won’t.
Because clicking takes effort, leaving the app takes effort. Finding the link takes effort. Caring enough takes effort.
So people don’t.
This campaign removed all of that.
“The reason the Air report did so well is because it wasn’t a hard ask,” Vin said. “It wasn’t ‘go book a demo.’ It was something anyone could take action on.”
Better ask; lower friction.
Without Manychat, This Breaks
You can’t scale this manually.
You’re not replying to thousands of comments, tracking intent in real time, and consistently turning engagement into leads. It’s not feasible.
Without automation, it falls apart.
“The content would’ve still gone live,” Vin said. “But I just don’t think it would’ve performed the way it did.”
What actually made this work (steal this)
1. Stop asking for too much: “If you’re looking for lead flow, that’s probably not the best CTA,” Vin said.
2. Use a softer entry point: If anyone can take that action, it’s a lower barrier, which means more conversions.
3. Capture intent instantly: Comment → DM → done; no drop-off window.
4. Pick the right creators (this is non-negotiable): “If you have the wrong creator, the CTA, the offer doesn’t matter,” Vin said.
5. Focus on conversation, not just reach: That’s where the signal is.
Influencer Marketing is Growing Up
This campaign worked because creators weren’t treated like billboards; instead, they were embedded into the campaign.
“In the future, brands are going to integrate creators more into the actual product or content, not just have them promote it,” Vin said.
That’s the shift.
From: “post this.” to: “build this with us.”
Could this be you?
If your influencer strategy still looks like:
- “link in bio”
- “use my code”
- “check it out”
You’re going to struggle.
Air’s campaign worked because it matched how people actually behave:
- They won’t leave the app.
- They won’t commit immediately.
- But they will engage.
And if you meet them there? You win.
If you want leads, you need a CTA that anyone can engage with in one tap.