I’m planning an influencer campaign that spans multiple regions—Russian brands reaching into US markets and vice versa—and I want to learn from what’s actually worked before we build our strategy.
The issue is, most case studies I find are either outdated, too vague to be useful, or they’re from completely different industries. I need examples that show: how did they structure the partnership, what was their creator selection process, how did they handle cultural differences, what were the actual results?
I feel like there’s a lot of guesswork happening when there could be institutional knowledge from campaigns that have actually succeeded. Where are you guys pulling learnings from when you’re doing cross-market work? Do you have favorite case studies or resources? Anyone running open databases of successful campaigns?
I’m specifically looking for examples that went beyond just ‘we got engagement’—I want to see the strategy details.
Honestly, the best case studies I’ve found are from talking to people who’ve actually done it, not from published materials. I’ve built relationships with marketers in Russia and the US, and when we trust each other, they’ll share what worked and what didn’t.
But yeah, there’s a gap in publicly available knowledge. Most brands keep their exact strategies quiet, so published ‘case studies’ are usually sanitized versions that don’t show real strategy.
What I do: I save successful campaigns I see happening in real time. Like, a brand launches a creator partnership, it gets traction, I’ll reach out to someone on that team and ask them to coffee and pick their brain. Or I’ll follow creator communities and listen to what people are doing.
I’ve been building a personal archive of ‘works well in Russia,’ ‘works well in US,’ ‘works well across both’ because I knew I’d need it. Maybe start doing that yourself? Follow campaigns as they happen, take notes on what resonates. That’s more current than waiting for case studies.
Have you tried reaching out to people directly who’ve done cross-market campaigns? Most people are surprisingly open to sharing if you ask respectfully.
Also, industry forums and private communities (like Slack groups for marketers) sometimes share real examples. They’re not public, but if you can gain access, the knowledge-sharing is way less sanitized. You might find what you’re looking for there.
From a data perspective, this is tricky. Most published case studies are selective—they only share wins, and they usually fudge the numbers to look better. So my approach is different.
I look at campaign outcomes by scraping available data: what campaigns are trending, what creative is resonating, what audience sizes are being reached. I reverse-engineer strategy from observable outputs.
For cross-market specifically, I look at: which brands are active in both markets, what’s their creator strategy, how does their content differ by market? You can learn a lot from that without needing formal case studies.
I’d also recommend looking at quarterly reports from major platforms (Instagram, TikTok) that sometimes break down trends and successful campaign types by region. That’s at least data-informed.
But honest answer: I don’t have a database of cross-market case studies to point you to. Most institutions don’t share that level of detail publicly. You might need to build your own by tracking campaigns and tracking results.
How much time could you invest in building an internal case study database?
One place that does have some useful aggregate data: industry reports from places like Influencer Marketing Hub, Statista, eMarketer. They’re not specific to cross-market work, but they have proven tactics and trends by region. Less strategic than true case studies, but a starting point.
We’ve been doing cross-border campaigns as part of our expansion, and I’ve run into the same issue. Published case studies are either too high-level or outdated.
What’s worked for us: connecting with other founders and operators who’ve done similar work. We have a small informal network of people who are expanding from Russia to the US or vice versa, and we share what works and what failed.
That’s where I’ve learned the most: ‘We tried this approach with creators in Russia and it flopped because X. But this other approach worked way better.’ Those unfiltered learnings are gold.
I’d recommend building a similar network. Find 3-5 other brands or agencies doing cross-border work and establish a regular sharing cadence. You’ll learn a ton from what they’re experimenting with.
Also, I’ve started documenting our own campaigns meticulously—not just results, but decision-making, what we tested, what we learned. We’re essentially building our own case study database for internal use. When you’re doing novel work, you have to document it yourself.
Are you documenting your campaigns in detail, or is it more results-focused?
We’ve done probably 50+ cross-market campaigns at this point, and I’ve learned that the real value isn’t in finding one perfect case study—it’s in understanding the principles that work, then adapting them.
Principles I’ve seen repeat:
Principle 1: Deep audience research beats creator tier. A micro-creator with a perfectly aligned audience outperforms a macro creator with wrong audience every time.
Principle 2: Cultural adaptation isn’t optional. Brands that try to run the same campaign verbatim across markets fail. You need local input.
Principle 3: Communication clarity prevents disasters. Every failed partnership I’ve seen had misaligned expectations, not bad creators.
Principle 4: Measurement consistency matters. You need the same KPIs tracked the same way across markets to learn what’s actually working.
I could share specific campaign examples, but honestly, the principles matter more than the specifics. Every brand and market is different.
My advice: stop looking for a perfect case study and instead focus on finding people who’ve done cross-market work, getting on calls with them, and learning their principles. That knowledge is way more portable.
Want me to introduce you to anyone in my network who’s done this?
Also, if you’re in a position to do it: run your own pilot campaigns, document everything, and create your own case studies. You’ll learn faster than waiting for others to publish.
Also, the creator perspective on cross-market campaigns: we often feel pretty lost about what the brand actually wants when there’s a cultural/language difference. The best campaigns are when brands take time to explain their vision in a way we really understand. Maybe that’s worth documenting—what communication style actually works?
Also, if you do gather learnings from your direct interviews or your own campaigns, consider publishing something—anonymously if needed. You’d be filling a gap that clearly exists, and you’d build credibility in the space.