Cannes Lions this year was the start of a “massive bull run in the creator market,” says brand strategist Eugene Healey.
The creators were at every party, but most of them knew nothing about the Palais, which is where the work on show in the basement, observes Healy, “is what prevents the entire event from turning into “White Lotus-themed conference slop.”
If marketers and advertisers don’t bring creators into the whole measurement ecosystem, the bull run will become a bubble. Kantar’s new research proves marketers – three in five of whom are increasing their investment in this area – need to have a serious game plan.
Kantar analysed 15,000 branded creator assets and found that only 6% delivers both engagement and brand-building. That rises to 27% in the best case scenario.
Is there a way to measure brand building and short-term sales potential as well as engagement? Kantar claims to be able to do this, and also references brands whose content is driving the right metrics.
L’Oréal is a good example of creators used at scale across the brand portfolio to maintain continuous beauty conversation, product recommendation and community reach, supported by formal governance around disclosure, due diligence, brand fit and responsible content. Creators help the company build more personalised consumer relationships, while relaying brand product messages in their own voice.
CeraVe partnered with creator and comedian Anwar Jibawi to spread the word that its Air Foam Cleanser works well for combination skin. Anwar brought the product benefit to life through a funny, TikTok retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, reimagined as Oilio and Dryliet.
Vera Sidlova, Kantar’s global creative director, said: “Our research is a wake-up call that high engagement and genuine brand effectiveness more often than not do not align. CMOs say they’re under pressure to prove their return on investment. To do this, they need better signals and more rigorous metrics for testing to understand if their creator partnerships are the right fit.
“Creative freedom isn’t a courtesy – it’s the reason why 61% of marketers say they will increase their investment in creator content. But for all the authenticity and personality that creators offer, there’s no gain to be found in a campaign that lacks strategy, genuine audience insight and fails to add value to a brand’s long-term game plan.”
