Are creators the new creatives?
CR looks into the increase in agencies and brands opting to work with creators in their campaigns, and examines the value they can bring, plus whether they present a threat to the traditional agency model
Being a creator was once seen as a separate career path to the ‘traditional’ ad industry, but increasingly those operating in the social space are being tapped for their skills and advice in creating effective branded content. Last year the One Club for Creativity launched One Creator Lab with TikTok, described as an “intensive, nearly cost-free 20-week training programme” that combines advertising fundamentals with the maker skills and tools needed to bridge the gap between creators and agency creatives.
This comes alongside the rise of other notable creator and brand collabs such as Gymshark naming bodybuilder and influencer David Laid its first ‘creative director of lifting’ last year. These developments suggest a new way of working, but is it just the latest trend or the sign of a more fundamental shift?
“The places and spaces that consumers and fans get their information from today is changing,” says Jamie Falkowski, CCO and partner at Day One Agency in New York. “Trust comes less and less from established players and outlets and more from individuals and creators. Creators can help our partners drive authentic conversations and help to take the connection or reason to be interested in a brand or product out of the brand’s hands and into the fans’ hands.”
Alex Williamson, global creative director of Billion Dollar Boy, believes creators also offer a new flavour of creativity. “They bring diverse experiences and perspectives to every project, which can be difficult to achieve when relying solely on those within the agency,” he explains. “Also, as creators engage with their audience on a daily basis, they deeply understand their preferences and can naturally integrate audience insight into the creative development process.”
Just as brands rely on experts in their business functions to deliver specific outcomes, big brands should take a similar approach when working with creators
Billion Dollar Boy set out to create “advertising for the influencer age” and has seen big results in this way of working. For example, Clarks Originals wanted to appeal to a new market so the agency enlisted over 50 creators to create over 480 pieces of content, to significantly grow its following on Instagram and TikTok. Elsewhere, they’ve taken on projects with brands including Candy Crush Saga, L’Oréal, and Walkers, working with multiple creators to create specific and tailored content.
It’s an approach Stephanie Hulbert-Thomas, creator, producer and account director, sees as especially appealing to smaller brands because they have the “flexibility to test and learn without adhering to rigid guidelines and processes”. She hopes bigger brands will start to adopt a more open approach. “Just as brands rely on experts in their business functions to deliver specific outcomes, big brands should take a similar approach when working with creators,” she says.
“Reviewing content is natural, but allowing a level of creative freedom is crucial, as there’s a reason for choosing a particular creator – their unique output, not just fitting into existing brand guidelines.”
At Billion Dollar Boy, creators are key contributors in the creative development process, treated as a true extension of the core agency team
This balance between creative control and freedom is one of the key differences in collaborating with creators, in that there’s an understanding that a creator will bring more to the table than your average influencer. “At Billion Dollar Boy, creators are key contributors in the creative development process, treated as a true extension of the core agency team and creative control is shared between us,” says Williamson.
“Collaborations like this often lead to more successful outcomes, but they’re not necessarily new, as similar partnerships like this exist in the world already. Take, for example, fashion houses that work with their creative directors, especially some of the more recent appointments. They work together in a similar manner, collaborating closely on the brand’s look and feel.”
Day One Agency’s Falkowski highlights the added community element that you often get from working with a creator. “When working with a celebrity, you’re often buying just a piece of their time and a fragment of their voice. It can feel transactional and the disclosure is clear. That can be OK,” he says. “But with a creator, if you do it right, it feels real. Even if there are dollars involved and there is a transaction, a great creator collab is built by tapping into true fandom for your brand, product or category.”
Managing expectations of both brand and creator can be difficult, with creators sometimes needing more creative direction from the agency. “We’ve also learned the importance of building trust with creators and ensuring there’s a mutual value exchange in the agency-creator partnership. When creating our briefs, we always focus on content that works for not only the brand, but for the creators as well,” explains Williamson. “We respect and value creators’ craft and that always shines through in our partnerships. Building that trust helps creators feel more like a true partner, not a transactional partner, which will result in a better outcome.”
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Falkowski sees this trust element as key, as not all agencies “think of creators as people and collaborators but distribution”. Day One Agency is focused on “earned first and story focused”, and their approach is both an “art and a science”.
Recent examples of this include a campaign for Chipotle in which different creators from athletes to scientists were tasked with making noise around one of the brand’s menu items, and the agency’s work with cosmetic brand Elf’s new SPF where they enlisted the help of Snooki from MTV’s Jersey Shore, who was rising rapidly on TikTok.
‘Creator’ is a top job of choice for students leaving college and university today. This is as much about defining how we work now as building for the future
Both Day One Agency and Billion Dollar Boy have operated in the creator space comfortably for a while now, and as a result have built networks of trusted creators they’re able to tap into and work with.
Their role in these relationships is often as a mediator, ensuring both parties understand what’s expected. But a recent development within these kinds of agencies has been the hiring creators for in-house roles to meet the demands from brands to create a specific type of content.
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“For us it is two fold – speed and expertise. We built out our in-house creators and the extended Day One Creator Studios (D1C) community to allow us to be able to move at the right speed,” explains Falkowski. “It was also built to ensure we have the right talent that knows the channels – who live and breathe social media and short form storytelling.”
The danger in this approach can be that it narrows the diversity of thought and insight these creators can offer. “If brands use an in-house team, they have to use those creators to save costs, even if they aren’t the best fit for the project, which can impact effectiveness,” suggests Williamson. “But by not hiring in-house, brands have the opportunity and flexibility to cast the most effective and tailored team of creators for every project.”
However Falkowski believes they’re thinking of the future with these kinds of hires. “‘Creator’ is a top job of choice for students leaving college and university today. This is as much about defining how we work now as building for the future. If this is a role that creative students and makers want, why not figure out how to carve out space within the agency world for them? These creators tend to be very hybrid — producers, editors, writers, talent — and in building out this pool of in-house and extended partners we’re learning new ways to tackle assignments and streamline the entire process.”
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What it highlights is how many of the skills developed by being a creator can transfer well to agency life. Hulbert-Thomas, who was previously project director for TikTok Labs and runs the Instagram account @_womeninsneakers, recently founded the consultancy GangGang, which “recognises that community and community marketing are the future of the social landscape” and works with brands such as Asos, P&G, Disney and Nike to make an impact on social.
“The drive behind setting up GangGang was simple: to create cool content for brands that genuinely resonated with their audience,” she explains. “With over 20 years of combined experience across multiple industries like sneakers, fashion, beauty, tech, and finance, we provide invaluable insights into creating social media and engaging brand communities.”
Because we leverage creators for their ideas, distribution and production skills, it means that we cross three different types of services that need compensation
While Hulbert-Thomas has set up her own shop, she understands the desire to hire more creators like herself, though she highlights that it might not work for every agency. “If there is a desire for always-on creator content from a brand, it makes sense to have creators act as ambassadors,” she notes. “However, such collaborations may have a limited lifespan due to factors like audience fatigue, the growth of a creator, and audiences becoming more savvy to advertising.”
Despite the reservations, she does believe this new wave of creators signals that traditional agencies will need to adapt and be open to change. “This includes internal processes and external collaborations. Flexibility, nimbleness, and diversity of thought will be key to growth and unlocking new levels of creative excellence,” she says.
Williamson agrees and highlights that with strategy still playing a key role, the biggest change will be working with the pace of creator culture and creator trends. “Commercially, because we leverage creators for their ideas, distribution and production skills, it means that we cross three different types of services that need compensation. That pricing structure needs new thinking,” he notes. “Most obviously, when collaborating with creators, the role of an agency creative will inevitably evolve, as creator work is not crafted within the agency.”
Falkowski continues to look to the future and says as more creators get involved in agency work, many will become the agency leaders of tomorrow, leading to a different way of thinking. “They will approach work more consumer- and platform-first and will know how to make work that is both more cost effective and more consumer up vs brand down.”
In the meantime it seems agencies such as Day One Agency and Billion Dollar Boy, plus creators like Hulbert-Thomas will continue to bridge the gap in the creator-agency relationship. “We play a unique role when working with creators in balancing what the brand wants and what the community is looking for,” says Falkowski. “We’re here, right in the middle of the two sides and trying to bring everyone together.”
