Brands are more bullish on the creator economy than ever. In 2025, U.S. creator ad spend will reach $37 billion thanks to 26 percent year-over-year growth, a new report by trade group Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) estimates.
This means creator economy spending is increasing at four times the rate of the overall media industry, which IAB projects will grow by just 5.7 percent in 2025.
“Leveraging the creator economy to connect with audiences is no longer experimental for marketers—it’s essential,” David Cohen, the CEO of IAB, said in a press release on the report. “The significant growth we’re seeing reflects a deepening commitment from brands to invest in creator-driven strategies.”
While the report projects that every category will see double-digit ad spending growth this year, retail brands are spending the most by far. IAB estimates the industry will spend $12.3 billion on creator ads in 2025, an uptick of 38 percent since last year. At $5.5 billion in projected spending, consumer packaged goods brands come in a distant second place, followed by financial brands at $2.2 billion. Here’s what all the sectors from the report are projected to spend this year.
- Retail – $12.3 billion (+38 percent YOY)
- CPG – $5.5 billion (+24 percent YOY)
- Financial – $2.2 billion (+31 percent YOY)
- Apparel – $2.1 billion (+14 percent YOY)
- Tech – $1.9 billion (+26 percent YOY)
- Auto – $1.6 billion (+11 percent YOY)
- Telecom – $1.5 billion (+19 percent YOY)
- Travel – $1.3 billion (+31 percent YOY)
- Home – $1.2 billion (+16 percent YOY)
- Health and wellness – $1 billion (+40 percent YOY)
- Media and entertainment – $0.4 billion (+39 percent YOY)
Investing in creators comes with challenges, however. “The creator marketing ecosystem is still highly fragmented, with varying partnership models, siloed budgets, and limited standardization, making it tough for marketers to assess things like audience fit or creator credibility at scale,” Zoe Soon, vice president of IAB’s forward-looking Experience Center, said in the press release.
“The result,” she added, “is an environment where strategic matchmaking is often more art than science, and where brands are calling for better discovery tools to guide their investment decisions.”
One third of the 453 industry leaders IAB surveyed as part of its report ranked finding the right creator to partner with as their biggest influencer marketing pain point. Retail and CPG brands, meanwhile, said “controlling for content quality” was their number one challenge, per the report.
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Annabel Burba
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