When personal branding becomes social impact

Marianna Penna
7 days ago
4 min read

Chiara Ferragni, a verdict, and the lesson we can’t ignore.

Friends, family, and clients have been asking my opinion on what happened with Chiara Ferragni—the Italian influencer known internationally—especially after yesterday’s court decision in Milan, which cleared her of aggravated fraud charges related to the charity-linked “pandoro” and Easter egg campaigns.

I’m sharing my point of view because:

She is a female entrepreneur (female entrepreneurship is close to my heart and central to my mission).
She is a marketing machine (as many have called her)—and marketing is my field.
She built a narrative around transparency (authenticity is my theme in life and personal branding).
She helped set the pace of influencer marketing in Italy and internationally.
She has been seen as a leadership and empowerment example.
And she is undeniably a role model for a young generation, influencing social behaviour and consumption patterns.

So for me, this story is all about social impact.

I’m not going into legal interpretations of the entire case—because that’s outside my expertise—but from my perspective, this is a call for responsibility: for companies, their representatives, and the marketing industry.

This case is a call for responsibility—of companies, their representatives, and the marketing industry

It’s not enough to discuss new rules for influencer marketing or to better define the boundaries between commercial and charity initiatives (important as they are). Italy’s regulators have already been moving in that direction through stricter transparency guidance and broader conversations about charity-linked sales.

But we also need to talk about a deeper ethical standard:

Companies and their representatives (founders, owners, testimonials, influencers)—and the marketing people behind them, including all marketing operators—must communicate with transparency for the benefit of the audience, not only for profit.

Because when your platform is massive, your narrative is not only “branding.” It becomes public influence.

Clean record vs. clean reputation: two different currencies

Yes—legally speaking, the acquittal matters.

But personal branding doesn’t operate like a courtroom.

A legal outcome can close a case. It does not automatically reopen trust.

Why? Because trust is not purely rational. It’s relational. It’s intuitive.

And in this story, we also can’t ignore the sequence that shaped public perception:

The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) sanctioned companies linked to the campaign for unfair commercial practices in 2023.
Donations/settlements were publicly reported afterward (including significant sums directed to charities connected to the controversy).

Those actions may repair harm. They may show accountability. But they don’t automatically restore credibility—because credibility lives in the space between what you said, what people believed, and what actually happened.

“Everybody can make a mistake”… but gut feelings rarely do

I truly believe:

Everybody can make a mistake.
Everybody can make a communication mistake.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Gut feelings rarely make mistakes.

When a community feels misled, it changes something deeper than opinion. It changes belief.

And even if a brand survives a crisis commercially, there is still a personal cost that no verdict can erase: your conscience will charge you the real price.

I’m not claiming to know what was intentional versus mismanaged—none of us fully know. But I do believe this:

Truth has a way of prevailing. And whoever places themselves at the centre of a brand narrative will be the one carrying the weight of it.

The real risk: when storytelling becomes power without duty

Marketing is powerful. Personal branding is powerful. Influencer marketing is powerful.

And that’s exactly the point: power without responsibility becomes dangerous—especially when charity, public trust, and money intersect.

Because the damage is never only “to one person”:

It damages trust in charitable campaigns.
It damages trust in ethical marketing.
It damages trust in female leadership narratives.
It teaches young people that “image wins,” even when integrity feels unclear.
It makes audiences cynical—and cynicism is a social cost.

That’s why this story is bigger than one name. It’s a mirror for an entire system.

Where responsibility really sits: the ecosystem, not just the face

People love to reduce these cases to the individual at the front. But ethically, responsibility is shared:

1) The company

If you benefit from a narrative, you must ensure the narrative is clear, accurate, and provable.

2) The representatives

Founders, owners, testimonials, influencers: if your name is on it, your values must be in it—explicitly.

3) The marketing operators

And this is where I want to place the spotlight:

Marketing is not neutral.

Agencies, brand strategists, PR teams, social media managers, campaign managers—when we craft narratives, we shape trust and behaviour.

So we must ask:

Is this message clear—or conveniently vague?
Are we informing the audience—or pushing emotion without clarity?
Are we building value for society—or extracting attention for profit?

Because the audience deserves transparency. Not persuasion dressed as purpose.

Social media is an echo—and if you betray your message, the echo can make you deaf

Social media is a magnificent amplifier. But it doesn’t just amplify your message. It amplifies your contradictions too. So yes:

Social media is a great echo to your message. But if you betray it, the echo can become so loud it makes you deaf.

Deaf to feedback. Deaf to your own values. Deaf to the truth you once claimed to stand for.

Personal branding can make you… or it can kill you

Personal branding can build:

credibility,
opportunity,
community,
legacy.

But it can also destroy brand value fast—because once credibility breaks, “visibility” becomes exposure.

So what saves you?

Not PR tricks. Not spinning. Not “moving on.”

What saves you is:

being in control of your fame,
remembering you are here to serve,
and choosing to be the spotlight of a cause (something bigger than you), not someone who lives under the spotlight.

Spotlight on you is fragile. Spotlight on a cause is legacy.

The question we should all be asking

If your brand influences society, then transparency is not optional.

So I’ll ask you:

What do you think about what happened—and what should society demand from companies, founders, influencers, and marketing teams when public trust, money, and “purpose” intersect?