Majid Bahi: how the creator economy is reshaping advertising strategy and budgets
Could social influencers end up transforming the creative advertising industry, becoming a primary source of brand’s creative marketing output? Sounds like a radical prediction, but it could really happen.
We’re now starting to see more and more brands turning to influencers to replace ad agency creative, as the creator economy continues to increase in value at an accelerated rate – predicted to be worth $528bn by 2030, with the vast majority of revenue expected to be derived from brand deals.
The launch of Lions Creators at this year’s prestigious Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, is proof that brands and advertisers alike are recognising the significant role that content creators now play in creative marketing strategies. With the ability to create authentic content, tailored to audiences’ interests, moods, behaviours and desires, and at speed – are we likely to see the end of traditional advertising as we know it?
Authenticity is key
On a global scale, consumers are engaging with and making purchase decisions based on content that feels authentic and resonates with them on a personal level. Gone are the days of audiences truly engaging with overproduced studio-shot content.
The first step for brands is to source the right influencers to work with – individuals who already follow the brand, or have shown an interest in similar brands, or produce content relevant to that brand. This will ensure the partnership feels genuine, with the content aligning with the creator’s usual output, and therefore being of interest to their followers – the brand’s target audience.
If you take sports brand Gymshark as an example, from the beginning they collaborated with Instagram influencers to build brand awareness. They then moved to TikTok, posting more than 40 TikTok videos per month helping to keep them front of mind with their audience. By collaborating with micro-influencers with an average engagement rate of 18%, Gymshark were able to build genuine connections with Gen-Z audiences, building an online community aligned with their values. By strategically focusing on authentic content, they were able to accumulate over 5.5M followers and 100M likes on TikTok, amplifying their reach and engagement, resulting in a £1 billion valuation.
For brands, the appeal of working with micro-influencers is their ability to create high quality, social first content without the high price tag associated with high-profile influencers, albeit the latter may have a larger reach. Taking the time to properly onboard influencers from day one will secure their buy-in and ensure they genuinely support the brand, encouraging co-creation of content which will be more heartfelt and engaging.
Utilising the best-performing influencers consistently throughout the year builds a credible brand presence, as familiarity and trust grow with repeated, genuine endorsements.
The real challenge for brands and agencies alike comes from handing over creative control of the production process to the creators themselves, but brands must remember that it is the influencers themselves who know their audience best and what will resonate with them. It’s then up to the brands to select the best ideas to be deployed tactically or strategically. This marks a pivotal new role for influencers as true content creators.
The role of AI in content creation
AI is playing a transformative role in the evolution of the creator economy. We’re already seeing AI technology being used to predict campaign effectiveness and profitability, as well as speeding up influencer search capabilities to match suitable candidates to brand campaigns – ensuring the influencers themselves are safe to be associated with the brand and will not post controversial material. It can also be used to measure the effectiveness of campaigns.
AI management and measurement technology enables marketing organisations to manage a big stable of influencer creators, elevating marketing teams’ abilities to commission and manage creator talent at scale. This allows marketing teams to expand influencer programs, and run multiple campaigns simultaneously, without a proportional increase in workload.
In addition to efficiencies generated by the use of AI-driven chatbots to engage with audiences in real-time, we are also witnessing the advent of the licensing of influencers’ own images. These AI-generated avatars can be used to generate online content for brands, although this does, of course, put in doubt the idea of ‘authentic content.’
Does this mean the end of agency creativity?
The simple answer is no. But there’s no doubt that creator advertising is likely to break through from social media content to big creative ideas used for TV, posters and radio which are currently dominated by agency teams. Not only that, but it’s also geared towards creating assets the work not just for social, but also other dynamic digital media channels including online commerce, apps, AVOD and DOOH.
The money
When it comes to return on investment, brands are seeing returns of $5.20 for every dollar spent on influencer marketing – and for the top performing 13% of businesses, returns of more than $20 or more on every dollar spent. Coupled with the fact that content can be generated at a fraction of the cost (and time) of traditional studio or location shoots, from a cost point of view it’s a no-brainer.
As traditional advertising struggles to keep up with the demands of the fast-paced digital world we now find ourselves in, the creator economy has a prime opportunity to gain a strong foothold. With authenticity, speed and efficiency being three key factors in the rise in influencer marketing, we’re likely to see brands take a collaborative approach in combining traditional advertising with creator content, integrating both channels to maximise reach and impact and gain value for their investment.
Majid Bahi is global CEO of Socially Powerful.
