How has creator economy influenced marketing?

Photo by Andrés on Unsplash

For as far as I can remember, as marketers, we used to obsess over:

- What should we say?

- Which channel should we use?

- How often should we repeat it?

With the creator economy setting in, there is a shift towards how brands are building influence. Now we are increasingly seeing another question evolving:

- Who is saying it?

Kantar's latest research found that when YouTube creator ads were combined with brand advertising:

- Long-term brand equity increased by 9%, outperforming brand advertising alone by 1.3x.

- Aided brand awareness also increased by 9%, outperforming brand advertising alone by 1.6x.

For years, marketing teams have been treating brand building and performance as competing priorities, but they don’t have to be. 

Brands have historically built influence through reach, repetition and carefully crafted messaging. Creator content builds influence through credibility, community and social proof. It's a different way of earning trust and not just another channel. 

Creator-led campaigns can strengthen long-term brand equity while also supporting commercial outcomes. It isn’t that creators are replacing advertising but building human credibility that amplifies it. Creator content works when the audience trusts the person behind the message, unlike traditional advertising, where the focus was building trust for the brand.

The question that has implications beyond consumer marketing now is, "Who is best placed to say?"

We already see the shift with corporate brands investing more in executive thought leadership. B2B companies are elevating subject matter experts. And in employer branding, the organisations that stand out won't necessarily be those with the slickest careers site or recruitment campaign. Those companies whose employees, leaders and alumni are consistently building trust through their own voices are likely to stand out.

The shift from message to messenger-led is now helping build human credibility, and this, I see, can strengthen both short-term effectiveness and long-term brand health.

I would love to hear about what your experience has been from your investments in the creator economy. Drop them in the comments. 

Source: Kantar research on YouTube creator advertising effectiveness, discussed in collaboration with Whalar.