Advertising is shifting fast. Creators now command attention once held by traditional media. Bravado's Andile Rapiya unpacks how this shift is reshaping brand strategy, media planning, and marketing.
Andile Rapiya, managing director, Bravado at Brave
The advertising landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift. We’re no longer operating in the traditional media ecosystem our industry was built upon; we’re navigating The Attention Economy, where creators have become the new kingmakers. At Bravado, we’ve witnessed this transformation firsthand, and it’s reshaping everything we thought we knew about brand communication, audience engagement, and commercial effectiveness.
The rise of creator supremacy
The numbers don’t lie: creators are winning the battle for attention. While traditional advertising struggles with declining viewership, ad-blocking technology, and audience fragmentation, digital creators are building deeply engaged communities that brands can only aspire to reach. These aren’t just influencers posting sponsored content; they’re media entrepreneurs who understand their audiences better than any focus group ever could.This shift has prompted agencies like Razorfish to launch in-house creator offerings, recognising that the future of advertising lies not just in working with creators, but in integrating them into the creative process itself. It’s a fundamental acknowledgement that creativity and influence (read influencers) have merged into a single, powerful force.The traditional advertising model assumed a one-to-many broadcast approach. Creators have flipped this on its head, creating one-to-one relationships at scale. They’ve mastered the art of authentic communication in ways that feel personal yet reach millions. This is why ad agencies like Razorfish are increasingly hiring creators as agency staff and embedding them in campaign development from the outset.
From influencers to media networks
The evolution from individual creators to creator-as-media-network represents the most significant shift in the media landscape since the rise of digital platforms. Today’s successful creators aren’t just content producers; they are building robust media ecosystems complete with multiple revenue streams, audience data, and distribution networks that rival those of traditional media companies.
MrBeast is an excellent example of this. The man who started as a YouTube content creator and now has 415 million followers has built a media empire centred around his highly successful channel. He’s expanded into snack brands and a reality TV show called Beast Games, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on December 19, 2024. The show featured 1,000 contestants competing for a $5 million prize, making it one of the most extensive reality competition series ever created. His ventures include the chocolate brand Feastables, the snack company Lunchly, and a reality TV series. He is also known for his philanthropy, @BeastPhilanthropy, which has 28.2M subscribers, and for @MrBeastGaming, a channel with 48.4M subscribers.The massive success creators are enjoying is forcing brands to rethink their entire media strategy. Instead of simply buying placement within creator content, innovative brands are forming strategic partnerships with creators who can provide sustained, multi-touchpoint access to highly engaged audiences. These creators bring something traditional media cannot: genuine trust and authentic connection with their communities.
Beyond social: the creator economy expansion
The creator economy has expanded far beyond social media platforms. We’re seeing digital creators establishing presence across Connected TV (CTV), audio platforms, gaming environments, and even physical retail spaces. This diversification represents a maturation of the creator economy, presenting unprecedented opportunities for brands willing to think beyond traditional social media partnerships.
CTV presents particularly compelling opportunities. As cord-cutting accelerates and streaming becomes the dominant viewing behaviour, creators who have built audiences on social platforms are now producing content for streaming services and developing their channels. For brands, this means premium access, brand-safe content environments with the added benefit of creator authenticity.Audio represents another frontier where creators are establishing dominance. Podcast creators command incredibly loyal audiences, and the intimate nature of audio content creates deeper emotional connections than visual platforms often achieve. Brands that understand how to integrate authentically into these audio experiences are seeing remarkable engagement rates.The expansion into gaming and virtual environments cannot be ignored. Creators are building communities in gaming platforms, virtual worlds, and emerging metaverse experiences. These environments offer brands opportunities for immersive, interactive engagement that traditional advertising simply cannot match.
Fuelling Retail Media Networks
There is perhaps nowhere the creator economy’s commercial impact is more evident than in retail media networks (RMNs). Creators have become crucial drivers of e-commerce, transforming how consumers discover, evaluate, and purchase products. They’re not just influencing purchasing decisions; they’re creating direct pathways from content to commerce.The integration of creators into retail media strategies represents a fundamental shift in how brands approach performance marketing. Instead of relying solely on data-driven targeting and algorithmic optimisation, brands can now leverage creator authenticity and audience trust to drive measurable business outcomes.Creators excel at creating shoppable content that doesn’t feel overtly commercial. They’ve mastered the art of product integration that feels natural and valuable to their audiences. This organic approach to commerce drives higher conversion rates and more substantial customer lifetime value compared to traditional e-commerce advertising.The data generated through creator-driven commerce is invaluable. Brands gain insights not just into purchasing behaviour, but into the content formats, messaging approaches, and engagement strategies that drive actual business results. This feedback loop enables continuous optimisation of both creator partnerships and broader marketing strategies.
The technology integration imperative
At Bravado, our digital-first approach positions us uniquely to understand how technology is reshaping creator partnerships. The most successful creator collaborations now leverage sophisticated data analytics, personalisation technologies, and cross-platform tracking to maximise impact and measure results accurately.Technology enables brands to move beyond simple reach and engagement metrics to track authentic business impact. We can now measure how creator content influences brand sentiment, drives website traffic, increases app downloads, and ultimately contributes to revenue growth. This measurement capability transforms creator partnerships from brand-building exercises into performance marketing channels.Artificial intelligence and machine learning are revolutionising creator identification and partnership management. Brands can now identify creators whose audiences align precisely with their target demographics, whose content styles match their brand voice, and whose engagement patterns suggest genuine influence rather than hollow metrics.
Strategic imperatives for brands
The creator economy demands strategic thinking that goes beyond traditional influencer marketing playbooks. Brands must approach creator partnerships as long-term media strategy, not campaign-based activations. This means developing creator relationship strategies that span multiple touchpoints, content formats, and business objectives.We’re witnessing the emergence of a hybrid model where traditional advertising creativity meets creator authenticity. The most successful campaigns now combine the strategic thinking and production quality of traditional agencies with the audience insight and authentic voice of creators.This integration isn’t just changing how we execute campaigns; it’s transforming how we think about brand communication itself. The future belongs to brands that can seamlessly blend professional creative excellence with authentic creator voices, delivering messages that feel both polished and genuine.The rise of the creator economy isn’t a trend to be managed; it’s a phenomenon to be leveraged. It is the new reality of brand communication. Brands that smartly embrace this transformation and build creator partnerships that deliver mutual value will emerge as winners.
