The lines between entertainment catered to social media versus sit-down TV may be blurring more than ever, especially as more creators straddle the two worlds.
As creators roll out more episodic content and series, major marketers are inking longer-term deals to puts ads on those series and expand content beyond ad hoc creator partnerships and to invest in creators and their audiences. Advertisers like Match Group (with series like “The Connection Experience”), Amazon (“Boy Room”) and Walmart (“Add to Heart”) are among those already working with creators on longer-term series.
There are also cost advantages when working with creators more long-term, according to agencies, and beyond that brands can get more sustained return on their content strategies rather than banking on one-off posts or hoping for viral moments. When it comes to long-term, creators might be partnered for a series of social posts or videos and contracted for a longer duration of a campaign. If they are producing a show or starring in one, they might be signing agreements or contracts like actors.
Maggie Reznikoff, svp of account management at Open Influence, compared it to “buying a larger piece of real estate on a [creator’s] feed” — so creators are entering longer agreements with brands and adding extended usage or exclusivity windows based on the length of partnership.
This approach means having more creators adding on exclusivities in their terms, explained Victoria Bachan, president of creator talent management company Sixteenth, a part of Whalar Group. Long-term contracts could vary by creator or the campaign length, unlike how actors might sign on to several seasons of a TV show.
In some cases, the deals could be paid out in “batches” to creators that produce work throughout a campaign’s duration, as opposed to a single check, added Nickey Rautenberg, director of content performance at HireInfluence. “For the brand, it shows that they value the creator beyond one-offs and are open to investing in something long-term. And for the creator, it gives them an opportunity to really tell a story and engage their audience.”
Emma Lenhart, director of creative strategy at HireInfluence, shared that a recent campaign, The Connection Experience, that the agency created with online dating company Match Group hired six influencers to produce a six-post series from September to December of last year on their dating app and in-person experiences. She did not provide terms of the financial agreement.
Influencer Madi Webb (2.6 million TikTok followers) posted updates throughout the Tinder-sponsored series over the course of several months, with several posts getting more than 500,000 views. The agency did not specify whether this will be a continuing series.
Expanding content ecosystem
Marketers aren’t just relying on creators’ channels. They’re experimenting with episodic content and storytelling through their marketing channels with series on their owned channels, too. Take Walmart’s romantic comedy holiday ads that follow the story of a New Yorker rekindling with an old lover, featuring shoppable ads running across Roku, TikTok, YouTube and Walmart’s other social channels.
But with creators, marketers can build off their existing fan base. Influencer agencies point to “Chicken Shop Date” on YouTube by host and creator Amelia Dimoldenberg (2.85 million YouTube subscribers), who has signed brands from Voxi to Bumble, and “Subway Takes” on Instagram with comedian Kareem Rahma (291K Instagram followers), which has featured brands including Urban Outfitters and J. Crew.
These series have “done extremely well,” Sixteenth’s Bachan said, without providing figures.
“Rather than a single post that gets lost in the feed, recurring content builds anticipation, consistency and stronger connections with fans over time,” said Kelsey Smith, chief of staff at media automation app Greenfly, which works with sports leagues like the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Jose Sharks on long-term series.
A creator FAST channel
Some brands and creators are betting on a streaming approach with a dedicated slate of creator shows and series, featuring food and comedy creator Uncle Roger, who has 20 million followers globally, and comedian and creator Trey Kennedy, with 3 million Instagram followers. Ad tech and streaming company Sabio Holdings on Jan. 30 launched Creator TV, a free ad-supported television (FAST) channel available through streaming service Plex, which is available in about 140 countries.
“The creator economy as a whole is a better reflection of today’s diverse world than the traditional media and entertainment spaces,” said Charlie Ibarra, head of content at Creator TV. “By bringing creators to this traditional space, we think we’re bridging that gap. … Taking [creators like] Uncle Roger … and presenting it in a way that’s designed for a sit back, TV experience.”
Creator TV will offer six programmed shows with 12 creators involved, with a range of experience for a variety of content from comedy like creator Jenny Lorenzo, making comedic sketches that draw from her Cuban background to food creator Evan Yee, who featured local Chinese restaurants impacted by the pandemic.
Sabio declined to share the current number of advertisers involved with Creator TV or early success metrics. Advertisers can sponsor a show or fund the production of a creator (such as talent fees or equipment costs) and the promotion and advertising of their content, said Joe Ochoa, vp of Creator TV.
“[Brands are] always looking for fresh content” that draws a younger and more diverse audience, Ochoa said.
What’s next?
Yet this trend doesn’t mean the end of one-off partnerships or shorter-term creator work — the episodic projects do not “fully replace ad hoc content,” said Chris Jacks, director of growth strategy at HireInfluence.
Another emerging area might be an uptick in creator ambassador programs as more advertisers sign onto these deals. Multi-series creator deals are also common in ambassador programs that have been increasing in the past year, explained Andrea Ahern, svp, head of accounts at Billion Dollar Boy. Ahern’s agency data showed that 73% of marketers last year planned to invest in more ambassador programs, but she did not provide exact figures.
“These [content formats] help strengthen the brand-creator relationship, making campaigns more effective and feel more natural,” Ahern said.
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