Creator Economy Spending Surges, But Small Brands Still Dominate Deals 

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TLDR

Big brands are boosting creator budgets, but smaller firms still dominate deals highlighting a gap between investment and execution.

Article

Major advertisers are increasing spend on creator marketing, but smaller and direct-to-consumer brands continue to dominate deal volume. U.S. investment in creator-driven content is expected to reach $43.9 billion in 2026, underscoring the channel’s growing importance. However, large brands have yet to scale their participation in line with this growth.

Smaller firms account for the majority of creator partnerships, with over 90% of sponsored content deals coming from emerging or DTC brands. Their advantage lies in speed and flexibility. In contrast, larger companies often rely on structured processes and approvals, treating creator collaborations like traditional ad buys rather than ongoing relationships.

Industry experts note that this creates inefficiencies in the ecosystem. Creators report inconsistent engagement from large advertisers despite rising demand for long-term partnerships. As one expert put it, “There’s just not enough volume of brands coming in,” pointing to a gap between available creator supply and enterprise participation.

Measurement remains another barrier. Many large organizations still lack standardized frameworks to evaluate creator performance, making it harder to justify sustained investment. This leads to short-term campaigns instead of scalable, always-on strategies.

The result is a clear mismatch: budgets are growing, but execution lags. Until larger brands rethink how they approach creator marketing, smaller players will continue to define how influence translates into business outcomes.