Creators are now a core media channel. Budget for them like one
US creator ad spend is forecast to hit $44bn in 2026, and nearly half of buyers now call creators a ‘must buy’. What that means for how you plan, contract…
The IAB estimates US creator ad spend reached $37bn in 2025, up 26% year on year and growing about four times faster than the media industry overall [1]. Its forecast for 2026 is $44bn [2].
Just as telling: 48% of ad buyers now rank creators as a ‘must buy’ channel, third only to social media and paid search [1]. The IAB says brands are embedding creators into their media strategies, workflows and even product development [2].
What brands struggle with
Choosing the right creators is the biggest hurdle for a third of brands [1].
Reputation and audience fit are the top selection criteria (58% and 56%) [1].
AI: nearly three in four buyers use or plan to use AI in creator marketing, but 95% have concerns, mostly about losing the human connection [1].
How to treat creators like a channel
Set objectives per creator, not per campaign: awareness, new audiences, trust or sales.
Negotiate usage rights up front so the best content can go behind paid spend.
Move from one-off posts to longer partnerships with a smaller group of creators.
Report like you would for any channel: reach, engagement, clicks and sales, with what to keep, cut and scale.
This is exactly the work we do for clients: sourcing and vetting talent, negotiating rates, contracts, creative and reporting. See our influencer marketing page for how it works.
Sources
Run creator campaigns like commercial deals.
We find the right creators, negotiate rates and usage, direct the content and scale the winners with paid.
From £3,000 per campaign