73% of marketers plan to increase creator spend, but only 29% can measure impact

According to Kantar, 73% of marketers plan to increase their spending on creators, while only 29% are confident in their ability to measure the impact of that investment.

The marketing data and analytics company says brands need to look beyond engagement metrics to identify content that drives short-term sales and long-term brand equity.

An analysis of 15,000 creator assets in 2026 found that engagement aligned with brand impact in only around one in three cases, suggesting that views, likes and shares alone may not reliably indicate whether content is building a brand.

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However, Kantar's analysis with Whalar found that creator content can deliver both immediate results and longer-term brand building. Among 101 creator assets analysed, 62% delivered short-term impact alongside long-term brand equity, compared with 27% under Kantar's digital advertising norms.

“Engagement remains a useful signal, but it is not enough as the sole measure of success. As investment in creators grows, marketers need to understand whether content is genuinely driving brand impact, rather than simply generating activity on the platform,” said Hani, creative solutions lead at Kantar Indonesia.

Creator content offers growing brand-building potential

Kantar Connect 2026 data showed that creator content was among the touchpoints with the fastest growth in brand impact since 2022, rising by around 77%. This compared with an average increase of approximately 4% across the 20 leading touchpoints.

Meanwhile, the global creator economy is projected to reach US$376 billion by 2030.

Against this backdrop, Kantar said brands risk scaling content that attracts attention without necessarily contributing to brand growth if they rely solely on engagement metrics.

The company also found that creator content with a direct call to action (CTA) recorded the highest impact in its analysis, across both short-term outcomes and Power, its measure of long-term brand equity.

The findings suggest that conversion-focused content does not necessarily have to come at the expense of brand building. However, simply adding a “buy now” prompt is not enough.

Kantar said CTAs work best when the product has a clear role in the story, its benefits are demonstrated, and the creator is relevant to the brand message.

Four principles for more effective creator content

Kantar identified four principles that can help brands improve creator content performance across categories.

Give the brand a role, not just a place. Rather than appearing briefly at the end of a video, the product should play an integral role in the content, such as helping to solve a problem.

Turn claims into visible proof. Demonstrations, close-ups, real-world usage and before-and-after evidence can make product benefits more tangible than verbal claims alone.

Treat authenticity as the starting point. A credible, relevant creator can attract attention, but the brand's role, product evidence and relevance of the story are needed to translate that attention into results.

Include a relevant call to action. A CTA can clarify the next step for consumers, but it is most effective when the content has already established a compelling reason to try the product.

Creators can help brands reach consumers before they search

Kantar also highlighted the role of creators in helping brands reach consumers beyond established product categories.

Rather than waiting for consumers to identify a need and search for a solution, brands can use creator content to connect with interests already present in their audiences' everyday lives, from food and beauty to sport, parenting and community activities.

For categories that do not naturally feature in social media feeds, this approach could create new opportunities for discovery.

Kantar Indonesia cited toothpaste as an example, suggesting that the product could feature in food-related content or sensory experiences rather than appearing exclusively in discussions about oral health.

The approach calls for brands to give creators greater scope to integrate products into relevant conversations, rather than restricting briefs to conventional category-based messaging.

Instagram versus TikTok: choose based on the objective

Kantar's analysis also pointed to differences in how Instagram and TikTok can contribute to marketing outcomes.

Instagram generally has an advantage in brand building, while TikTok tends to be stronger at driving engagement through storytelling, according to the company.

However, Kantar cautioned against treating the distinction as a fixed formula, with Instagram reserved for brand building and TikTok for engagement.

Instead, brands should select platforms according to their communication objectives and the creative approach required to achieve them.

To help marketers assess creative effectiveness, Kantar offers LINK AI, which draws on learnings from more than 260,000 advertising tests and tens of millions of consumer interactions to evaluate creator assets within minutes.

The tool identifies creative elements associated with short-term sales likelihood, demand power and impact, helping brands determine which content to scale, refine or discontinue.

As creator investment expands, Kantar's findings point to a shift in how brands evaluate performance: from measuring the volume of attention generated to understanding whether creative content contributes to demand and long-term brand growth.

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