Pearls of Influence: The Interactive Dynamics of Influencer and Place Branding in Shanxia Lake Town Pearl Cluster

• Digital platforms create a hybrid space bridging physical and virtual realms. • Place and influencer branding co-create a vibrant, new rural cluster form. • Influencers emerge as key actors in digital-era regional development. • Digital ethnography reveals influencer-led transformation in a rural pearl cluster. This paper explores the rapid digitalization of the economy, focusing on the rise of platform and influencer economies, and examines their impact on place branding and clusters within rural regional development. Our study demonstrates how influencers in a rural industrial cluster become key figures in regional place branding by merging their digital identities with the natural resources they promote. This process enhances and contributes to the area’s heritage, culture, and geography. We present an empirical case study of Shanxia Lake Town in China, a rapidly growing pearl cluster driven by influencers’ digital activities, which has seen significant growth in recent years. Using digital ethnography, we analyse content created by influencers and propose a conceptual framework to explain the interaction between digital and physical spaces within the cluster. We also explore the relationships between individual influencers and broader regional development processes. Specifically, we examine the dynamics of hybrid space, shared identity, evolving locality, and collective branding, which together generate mutual benefits and foster a new cluster form and regional growth. Our findings highlight the potential of the influencer economy, supported by digital platforms, to drive cluster and regional development in rural areas. We provide both theoretical and practical insights, addressing the gap in knowledge about the influencer economy in rural settings and integrating previously fragmented literature on influencer economy, digital platforms, place branding, and regional development.