Being chronically online is part of the job description for this top influencer marketer
Sophia Sesto, VP of culture at Poppi, emphasizes the importance of being 'chronically online' to maintain the brand's relevance in influencer marketing. The company relies on manual, human-led trend spotting rather than AI to identify creators and drive social media engagement.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between the push for AI automation in marketing and the continued value of human cultural intuition in brand strategy.
Sophia Sesto is Poppi's VP of culture. Photo Credit: Sophia Sesto If you're lucky, scrolling through TikTok could be part of your job. Sophia Sesto, Poppi's VP of culture, is tasked with keeping the prebiotic soda brand relevant. Poppi's influencer strategy relies on its team of marketers who are deeply fluent in the internet and pop culture. Sophia Sesto has a trick up her sleeve for influencer marketing: staying chronically online. Her role — vice president of culture for the buzzy prebiotic soda brand Poppi — requires her to be tuned in to popular culture. To spot trends and emerging content creators, it's crucial to follow "your own For You Page," Sesto told Business Insider. Sesto was recently featured in Business Insider's 2026 list of most innovative influencer marketers. The search for new, culture-driving creators "is never-ending," said Sesto, who leads Poppi's influencer, partnerships, and social marketing teams.
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