According to recent research on shifting consumer behavior and preferences, creator-generated content is now outpacing traditional advertising in both consumer trust and return on investment.
WPP Media projects that for the first time, social media content will surpass traditional production in ad revenue this year, with creator-generated revenue expected to hit $184.9 billion in 2025, up 20% from 2024. Meanwhile, creator commerce platform LTK reveals that 84% of consumers trust brands more when creators demonstrate and review products, with Gen Z showing 64% trust in creator recommendations compared to Millennials at 57%.
This trend is further validated by CreatorIQ’s report finding that 94% of organizations believe creator content drives more ROI than traditional digital advertising – a 20% increase from the previous year. The creator economy is growing, with average annual spend for enterprise organizations reaching $1.7 million in 2024, representing a 143% increase over the last four years.
The creator economy’s continuing growth has caught the attention of Publicis Groupe, the $14 billion French marketing agency, which recently spent $500 million to acquire influencer marketing business Influential and followed up with the acquisition of Captiv8. Their bold Cannes Lions campaign this year centers on demonstrating how brands can achieve Super Bowl-sized reach—127 million viewers—while spending a fraction of the $8 million cost of a 30-second spot.
But beyond the ‘glowing numbers’ lies a fundamental question: Is this shift driven by authentic connection, or is it simply the next evolution of advertising? To understand the factors driving this market transformation, we gathered insights from creators and industry experts about whether authentic content is truly outperforming traditional marketing channels.
Their differing perspectives suggest that the future lies not in replacing traditional advertising entirely, but in recognizing creators as a powerful new media channel that delivers what traditional ads increasingly cannot: genuine influence built on earned trust.
Traditional advertising measures impact based on reach, impressions, or CPM. But creators also drive cultural currency—memes, trends, insider lingo, and product rituals that mass media could never authentically seed. When a skincare brand becomes a staple in GRWM videos or a tech gadget becomes “that thing everyone on TikTok uses,” it’s not buzz—it’s behaviour change.
Traditional ads guess what resonates. Creator partnerships reveal it. Every comment, like, share, and DM is a mini focus group in the form of engaged, niched communities. Creators tell us what hooks land, which value propositions get ignored, and which formats spark action. Brands can even test creative concepts through influencers before locking in big media spends. It’s agile, real-time R&D.
Traditional media still segments audiences by age, income, or region. But creators speak to culture-based micro-communities: eco-minimalists, sneakerheads, freelance professionals, k-beauty lovers, savvy savers.
Let’s be honest—people don’t skip influencer content the way they do pre-rolls or banner ads.
Creators sneak in the side door of attention. Why? Because they speak with audiences, and not at them.
Maybe not always the amount of reach traditional advertising would, but better targeted reach to the right audience. Influencers have that one special thing you can’t find in traditional advertising: personality. People follow them for them, and want to listen to what they have to say because they trust them. If the right brand reaches out to the right creator when it comes to the type of audience they want to target, I think it will 100% have a better result when it comes to reach and impact, since you really have the audience’s attention and have specified which audience you want to reach. So it’s more specific and less wasteful than sometimes traditional advertising can be where it’s just pinpointed on location, gender and age instead of the true niche or audience that is truly interested in the product.
Without a doubt, in my opinion traditional advertising tries (very aggressively) to pay for someone’s fleeting attention and is typically perceived as an unwelcome interruption to their day to day lives. In contrast, my platform isn’t a billboard; it’s a shared kitchen table for over two million people who chose to be here. When I share something I believe in, it hits differently than a random ad they’re trying to skip. It’s personal. It’s trusted. That connection isn’t something you can simply just buy with money, it’s earned. This results in deeper engagement, stronger brand loyalty, and yes, more buzz at a fraction of the cost, because we’re not just broadcasting – we’re having real conversations with people who actually want to listen.
We’re seeing creator marketing surpassing traditional marketing channels as brands recognize that they can’t rely on old practices to capture the attention of today’s consumers. The power has shifted in a way that brands are no longer simply experimenting with creator marketing, but investing in it as the foundation of campaigns.
Taking a look at the numbers, the Super Bowl, which is the biggest advertising moment of the year in the US, averaged 127M viewers during the 2025 game. Commercial spots during the game typically go for around $8M for a 30-second slot. But, when creators like Mr Beast are matching or even exceeding that level of viewership on their regular content, you can see how the industry has shifted.
This shift highlights creators’ ability to connect with audiences, help brands resonate with consumers and drive engagement in today’s complex digital landscape. We often experience brand clients increasing investment in part due to witnessing first-hand the commercial impact of creators and what they’re able to achieve.
Creators shape conversations, culture, commerce and vibrant communities, but the effort they invest in their craft is often unrecognised. They have diverse skill sets, and for many, it’s a full-time career that requires many hats, including Creative Director, Producer, Videographer, Editor, Talent, and the list goes on.
Lastly, creators’ expertise extends well beyond content creation. Brands often turn to them not only for their audience reach but for their deep cultural insight, whether it’s to inform a campaign or collaborate on a product launch. Their knowledge and connection is valuable to brands well beyond the final content that a consumer sees.
Yes, if not more. When a brand works with a Creator, they are paying for the trust built between that Creator and their audience. If we imagine a scale from 0 – 100 where 100 is a customer making a purchase, and 0 is no desire to purchase, traditional advertisers often start closer to 0, investing thousands to capture attention, increase brand awareness, build trust, and finally convince a user that the product is worth buying. Creators start much higher on that scale. Trust, attention-capture and customer likemindedness are assumed, so Creators start on the scale from 50 – 99. Audiences assume themselves as like minded with the Creator and are thus primed to take recommendations; the only gap to plug is brand awareness and showing audiences that the product is worth adopting into their lives. If brands can find value-aligned creators, the payoff from built-in Creator-Audience Trust carries infinitely more potential than the faceless anonymity of traditional advertising.
I genuinely believe the power of creators is massive. Especially when they work as a collective. That’s why we’re seeing the music industry increasingly lean on creators for sound promotions. When thousands of people online use the same song, it can generate more viral momentum than a billboard or even a TV commercial. People today want to feel connected to what’s being advertised. They don’t want ads that feel forced or in-your-face. When creators make ads that align with the content their audience already loves, it doesn’t just feel more authentic, it delivers a better return on investment.
As a talent-first agency working closely with major brands, we’ve watched the shift happen in real time. When a trusted creator shares a product, the message lands in a way a 30-second commercial rarely can. Traditional ads still reach large audiences, yet most people scroll past, mute, or look away. Creators, by contrast, weave brands into stories their communities already care about, so it feels like a natural part of the conversation.
That type of authenticity pays off. The creators we represent have consistently outperformed traditional media in the campaigns they’re part of, driving stronger engagement and conversion while helping brands move faster and spend smarter. These days, attention isn’t something you can simply buy. Attention has to be earned, and creators earn it by building real connections with their audiences. Those connections make their impact hard to ignore. For brands deciding where to spend their next marketing dollar, creators often prove to be the most effective choice.
I’m surprised it’s still a debate whether or not digital creators can create as much buzz traditional advertising. As individuals, we consistently do the jobs of entire teams, from videography to audio engineering, food styling to dishwashing, social media management to video editing… And the impact from one influencer post can exceed the yearly reach of an entire full-budget TV show or print publication while catering to a more personalized niche. This isn’t to say influencers are performing some noble public service—but neither are ad agencies. The difference is, we can often do the job faster, more efficiently, and with a more personal connection to the audience.
Absolutely. Creators can drive equal or greater impact than traditional ads often with better ROI. Their content feels native, builds trust, and drives action. With the right creator, you’re not just buying reach you’re buying influence and conversion.
Creators’ superpower isn’t just cost efficiency, it’s relationship building. Traditional advertising interrupts; content creators educate and build trust. We see first hand at Creator Match that creators are fundamentally reshaping B2B marketing because they solve traditional advertising’s biggest weakness: credibility in an oversaturated market.
In B2B spaces, we’ve seen LinkedIn creators with 10K engaged followers outperform million-dollar ad campaigns because they’re speaking directly to decision-makers who already trust their expertise.
The magic happens when creators become genuine brand advocates rather than one-off promotional partners. This isn’t just about reach numbers, traditional advertising relies on frequency and polish; creator content relies on expertise and authenticity.
The future isn’t creators replacing traditional advertising, it’s creators becoming the new trusted media channels. Smart brands are already shifting budgets accordingly by investing in long-term creator relationships that function more like strategic partnerships than traditional media buys.
Creators can rival traditional advertising in both reach and impact, often at a fraction of the cost. Building my social audience unlocked opportunities I never thought possible, including the chance to write my first cookbook.
What once felt like a far-off dream became reality when an editor discovered my content and reached out. That opportunity came directly from the reach and engagement I built through content creation. The direct connection with an audience is both powerful and valuable.
Through my cookbook CHILI CRISP and videos, I’ve seen how this connection drives real influence. People have told me they started using chili crisp daily after seeing my content or reading my book. Some even began seeking out new products based on my recommendations.
That kind of personal impact, shaping habits, driving purchases, and building trust, is something traditional ads rarely achieve.
According to recent research on shifting consumer behavior and preferences, creator-generated content is now outpacing traditional advertising in both consumer trust and return on investment.
WPP Media projects that for the first time, social media content will surpass traditional production in ad revenue this year, with creator-generated revenue expected to hit $184.9 billion in 2025, up 20% from 2024. Meanwhile, creator commerce platform LTK reveals that 84% of consumers trust brands more when creators demonstrate and review products, with Gen Z showing 64% trust in creator recommendations compared to Millennials at 57%.
This trend is further validated by CreatorIQ’s report finding that 94% of organizations believe creator content drives more ROI than traditional digital advertising – a 20% increase from the previous year. The creator economy is growing, with average annual spend for enterprise organizations reaching $1.7 million in 2024, representing a 143% increase over the last four years.
The creator economy’s continuing growth has caught the attention of Publicis Groupe, the $14 billion French marketing agency, which recently spent $500 million to acquire influencer marketing business Influential and followed up with the acquisition of Captiv8. Their bold Cannes Lions campaign this year centers on demonstrating how brands can achieve Super Bowl-sized reach—127 million viewers—while spending a fraction of the $8 million cost of a 30-second spot.
But beyond the ‘glowing numbers’ lies a fundamental question: Is this shift driven by authentic connection, or is it simply the next evolution of advertising? To understand the factors driving this market transformation, we gathered insights from creators and industry experts about whether authentic content is truly outperforming traditional marketing channels.
Their differing perspectives suggest that the future lies not in replacing traditional advertising entirely, but in recognizing creators as a powerful new media channel that delivers what traditional ads increasingly cannot: genuine influence built on earned trust.
Inigo Rivero, Managing Director and Co-Founder, House of Marketers
Traditional advertising measures impact based on reach, impressions, or CPM. But creators also drive cultural currency—memes, trends, insider lingo, and product rituals that mass media could never authentically seed. When a skincare brand becomes a staple in GRWM videos or a tech gadget becomes “that thing everyone on TikTok uses,” it’s not buzz—it’s behaviour change.
Traditional ads guess what resonates. Creator partnerships reveal it. Every comment, like, share, and DM is a mini focus group in the form of engaged, niched communities. Creators tell us what hooks land, which value propositions get ignored, and which formats spark action. Brands can even test creative concepts through influencers before locking in big media spends. It’s agile, real-time R&D.
Traditional media still segments audiences by age, income, or region. But creators speak to culture-based micro-communities: eco-minimalists, sneakerheads, freelance professionals, k-beauty lovers, savvy savers.
Let’s be honest—people don’t skip influencer content the way they do pre-rolls or banner ads.
Creators sneak in the side door of attention. Why? Because they speak with audiences, and not at them.
Angela Onuoha (@angela.onuoha), Content Creator
Maybe not always the amount of reach traditional advertising would, but better targeted reach to the right audience. Influencers have that one special thing you can’t find in traditional advertising: personality. People follow them for them, and want to listen to what they have to say because they trust them. If the right brand reaches out to the right creator when it comes to the type of audience they want to target, I think it will 100% have a better result when it comes to reach and impact, since you really have the audience’s attention and have specified which audience you want to reach. So it’s more specific and less wasteful than sometimes traditional advertising can be where it’s just pinpointed on location, gender and age instead of the true niche or audience that is truly interested in the product.
Yaidy Cohen (@yaidymakes), Content Creator
Without a doubt, in my opinion traditional advertising tries (very aggressively) to pay for someone’s fleeting attention and is typically perceived as an unwelcome interruption to their day to day lives. In contrast, my platform isn’t a billboard; it’s a shared kitchen table for over two million people who chose to be here. When I share something I believe in, it hits differently than a random ad they’re trying to skip. It’s personal. It’s trusted. That connection isn’t something you can simply just buy with money, it’s earned. This results in deeper engagement, stronger brand loyalty, and yes, more buzz at a fraction of the cost, because we’re not just broadcasting – we’re having real conversations with people who actually want to listen.
Sophie Crowther, Global Talent Partnerships Director, Billion Dollar Boy
We’re seeing creator marketing surpassing traditional marketing channels as brands recognize that they can’t rely on old practices to capture the attention of today’s consumers. The power has shifted in a way that brands are no longer simply experimenting with creator marketing, but investing in it as the foundation of campaigns.
Taking a look at the numbers, the Super Bowl, which is the biggest advertising moment of the year in the US, averaged 127M viewers during the 2025 game. Commercial spots during the game typically go for around $8M for a 30-second slot. But, when creators like Mr Beast are matching or even exceeding that level of viewership on their regular content, you can see how the industry has shifted.
This shift highlights creators’ ability to connect with audiences, help brands resonate with consumers and drive engagement in today’s complex digital landscape. We often experience brand clients increasing investment in part due to witnessing first-hand the commercial impact of creators and what they’re able to achieve.
Creators shape conversations, culture, commerce and vibrant communities, but the effort they invest in their craft is often unrecognised. They have diverse skill sets, and for many, it’s a full-time career that requires many hats, including Creative Director, Producer, Videographer, Editor, Talent, and the list goes on.
Lastly, creators’ expertise extends well beyond content creation. Brands often turn to them not only for their audience reach but for their deep cultural insight, whether it’s to inform a campaign or collaborate on a product launch. Their knowledge and connection is valuable to brands well beyond the final content that a consumer sees.
Unjaded Jade (@unjadedjade), Content Creator
Yes, if not more. When a brand works with a Creator, they are paying for the trust built between that Creator and their audience. If we imagine a scale from 0 – 100 where 100 is a customer making a purchase, and 0 is no desire to purchase, traditional advertisers often start closer to 0, investing thousands to capture attention, increase brand awareness, build trust, and finally convince a user that the product is worth buying. Creators start much higher on that scale. Trust, attention-capture and customer likemindedness are assumed, so Creators start on the scale from 50 – 99. Audiences assume themselves as like minded with the Creator and are thus primed to take recommendations; the only gap to plug is brand awareness and showing audiences that the product is worth adopting into their lives. If brands can find value-aligned creators, the payoff from built-in Creator-Audience Trust carries infinitely more potential than the faceless anonymity of traditional advertising.
Kristi Cook (@spillsesh), Content Creator
I genuinely believe the power of creators is massive. Especially when they work as a collective. That’s why we’re seeing the music industry increasingly lean on creators for sound promotions. When thousands of people online use the same song, it can generate more viral momentum than a billboard or even a TV commercial. People today want to feel connected to what’s being advertised. They don’t want ads that feel forced or in-your-face. When creators make ads that align with the content their audience already loves, it doesn’t just feel more authentic, it delivers a better return on investment.
Christopher Sorge, Co-Founder and COO, Ezel
As a talent-first agency working closely with major brands, we’ve watched the shift happen in real time. When a trusted creator shares a product, the message lands in a way a 30-second commercial rarely can. Traditional ads still reach large audiences, yet most people scroll past, mute, or look away. Creators, by contrast, weave brands into stories their communities already care about, so it feels like a natural part of the conversation.
That type of authenticity pays off. The creators we represent have consistently outperformed traditional media in the campaigns they’re part of, driving stronger engagement and conversion while helping brands move faster and spend smarter. These days, attention isn’t something you can simply buy. Attention has to be earned, and creators earn it by building real connections with their audiences. Those connections make their impact hard to ignore. For brands deciding where to spend their next marketing dollar, creators often prove to be the most effective choice.
Jeremy Scheck (@scheckeats)
I’m surprised it’s still a debate whether or not digital creators can create as much buzz traditional advertising. As individuals, we consistently do the jobs of entire teams, from videography to audio engineering, food styling to dishwashing, social media management to video editing… And the impact from one influencer post can exceed the yearly reach of an entire full-budget TV show or print publication while catering to a more personalized niche. This isn’t to say influencers are performing some noble public service—but neither are ad agencies. The difference is, we can often do the job faster, more efficiently, and with a more personal connection to the audience.
Lo May (@lofromtiktok), Content Creator
Absolutely. Creators can drive equal or greater impact than traditional ads often with better ROI. Their content feels native, builds trust, and drives action. With the right creator, you’re not just buying reach you’re buying influence and conversion.
Tara Knight, Head of Creator Marketing, Creator Match
Creators’ superpower isn’t just cost efficiency, it’s relationship building. Traditional advertising interrupts; content creators educate and build trust. We see first hand at Creator Match that creators are fundamentally reshaping B2B marketing because they solve traditional advertising’s biggest weakness: credibility in an oversaturated market.
In B2B spaces, we’ve seen LinkedIn creators with 10K engaged followers outperform million-dollar ad campaigns because they’re speaking directly to decision-makers who already trust their expertise.
The magic happens when creators become genuine brand advocates rather than one-off promotional partners. This isn’t just about reach numbers, traditional advertising relies on frequency and polish; creator content relies on expertise and authenticity.
The future isn’t creators replacing traditional advertising, it’s creators becoming the new trusted media channels. Smart brands are already shifting budgets accordingly by investing in long-term creator relationships that function more like strategic partnerships than traditional media buys.
James Park (@jamesyworld), Content Creator
Creators can rival traditional advertising in both reach and impact, often at a fraction of the cost. Building my social audience unlocked opportunities I never thought possible, including the chance to write my first cookbook.
What once felt like a far-off dream became reality when an editor discovered my content and reached out. That opportunity came directly from the reach and engagement I built through content creation. The direct connection with an audience is both powerful and valuable.
Through my cookbook CHILI CRISP and videos, I’ve seen how this connection drives real influence. People have told me they started using chili crisp daily after seeing my content or reading my book. Some even began seeking out new products based on my recommendations.
That kind of personal impact, shaping habits, driving purchases, and building trust, is something traditional ads rarely achieve.