- U.S. ad spend on the creator economy is projected to reach $37 billion this 12 months, a 26% increase from the $29.5 billion spent in 2024 and almost thrice the $13.9 billion spent on the channel in 2021, according to a brand new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau shared with Marketing Dive.
- The IAB’s “Creator Economy Ad Spend and Strategy Report” highlights how creators have grown in promoting, with nearly half of marketers citing creator content as a “will need to have.” Findings also highlight the growing role artificial intelligence is predicted to play in creator content.
- The report also highlights the challenges that remain, with a 3rd of advertisers citing “finding the correct creator” as their top difficulty within the space. Other sticking points include the necessity for higher attribution, reporting and standards for audience authentication.
The creator economy has quickly evolved from an experiential channel to a marketing must-have. The IAB’s latest study surveyed over 450 ad-spend decision makers, 48% of whom said creators were essential to their marketing plans, rating the channel as the third most vital after paid search and social media. Respondents cited creators’ ability to create personalization at scale and the connections between creators and their audience as reasons for investing within the space.
Most brands use creator campaigns to construct brand awareness — cited as a top goal by 43% of respondents — and to reach latest audiences, a spotlight cited by 41%. Nearly a 3rd of advertisers cited driving online sales and conversions as a top goal, suggesting value throughout the acquisition funnel. In fact, 40% of respondents ranked overall return on investment as their top performance indicator for creator campaigns.
A key point of friction is finding a creator that aligns with the brand, per the report. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said their top criteria when evaluating creators is their fame, while 56% said audience alignment is their top priority.
“The creator marketing ecosystem remains to be highly fragmented, with various partnership models, siloed budgets, and limited standardization making it tough for marketers to assess things like audience fit or creator credibility at scale,” said Zoe Soon, vice chairman of IAB’s Experience Center, in release details.
As with other media sectors, AI has disrupted the creator economy. Nearly three-quarters of creator ad buyers are either already using or planning to use AI in the subsequent 12 months to help them boost efficiency. Specifically, 49% of respondents currently use the tech for content editing, while 46% use AI for creator briefs and 45% use it for content personalization. At the identical time, 95% of advertisers are concerned about AI’s use in creator campaigns, particularly within the ways it would impact the power for human connection.
Advertisers are also concerned with areas such as transparency, measurement and standardization. Among the opportunities for improvement uncovered by the IAB’s report were advanced attribution, consistent reporting, creator discovery and vetting tools, and audience authentication standards.
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