Navigating the Creator Economy: Strategies for Brand Growth and Consumer Connection
In today's media frenzy, establishing distinct and personalised connections with audiences has become paramount for brands – and content creators are paving the way. According to Deloitte’s 'Creator economy in 3D’ report, a whopping three out of five consumers are more likely to approve of a brand if it's recommended by a creator.
This research sheds new light on the unique intersection of how consumers, content creators, and brands are engaging in this growing and thriving economy. Surveying brands, creators, and consumers, the report provides a succinct overview of the collective needs and challenges facing marketers. With the Creator Economy growing like crazy (we're talking a $250 billion industry doubling in five years), creators are shaping how we interact with brands and media more than ever before.
Acting as personal cheerleaders, creators are capable of reaching out to specific communities and crafting relatable content that hits home. Dennis Ortiz, social commerce practice leader and advertising, publishing and social platform sector leader at Deloitte, suggests that riding this wave of relatability could be a game-changer for brands, with half of consumers more inclined to buy stuff recommended by a creator with a similar background.
Keen to further explore the findings unveiled in the Creator Economy report, Dennis tells LBB why, if you've not already jumped on the creator bandwagon, now is the time to hop aboard.
LBB> Why is it important for brand marketers to harness the evolving trends of the ‘creator economy’ in order to take ‘creator marketing’ to another level?
Dennis> When it comes to driving personalisation and building trust with audiences, creators are the next wave of marketing. More and more consumers are relying on recommendations from their favourite creators and our research shows that 3 out of 5 consumers are likely to positively engage with a brand or make a purchase from a recommendation from their creator.
LBB> If you had to pick three key takeaways from this report, what would they be? And why do they stand out?
Dennis> 77% of consumers look to creators to learn. This shows the impact of how creators are driving education for the end consumer. This adds a whole new channel on how brands need to communicate and distribute their messaging to consumers.
42% of high-ROI brands’ social media budgets are invested into creator partnerships, nearly twice as much as low-ROI brands. This just articulates the power of the voice of the creator. As more and more brands understand and see the impact, I believe we are going to see an even more diverse set of creators emerge.
Four times as many creators are likely to continue a brand partnership when they feel like the brand supports their long-term growth. While creators are not formal employees, they need to be treated and supported like they are. Similar to what we have seen in the gig-economy, brands need to begin to evolve their thinking on how creators are a part of their workforce, especially given the impact outlined in the above stats.
LBB> Was there a specific finding or insight that you were surprised to learn? And if so, why?
Dennis> Creators are looking for brands to help support them both financially, but also in terms of longer-term growth. This calls for a mindset shift for how brands are currently viewing the community. Brands will now need to think of how they treat creators as part of their workforce, considering how to maximise the creator lifetime value and what investment to make.
LBB> Cannes LIONS have announced the launch of LIONS Creators - a dedicated forum for those working within this market. In what ways do you hope this new experience can grow and educate the wider creator economy and agencies / brands who partner with creators?
Dennis> Creators crave creative freedom. This level of freedom is sometimes hard for brands to work within given their guidelines are set at the corporate level. I hope this forum will continue to help brands and creators foster an environment where they can continue to understand each other’s ways of working and to find ways to maximise the creativity of creators to drive new engagement models for brands and their customers.
LBB> Do you have any predictions for the future of the creator economy? What do you think we will be discussing this time next year, in terms of creator marketing?
Dennis> I cannot wait to see the positive impacts of GenAI. The combination of the creativity creators brings, coupled with the powerful tools with GenAI; I think we are going to see a new forum of engagement and even higher levels of personalisation.
