Creator economy: how UTA builds lasting talent

The UTA case: a talent agency at the heart of the creator economy

In July 2026, during the Cannes Lions advertising festival, the Creators division of United Talent Agency (UTA) grabbed the industry's eye. Ali Berman and Raina Penchansky, who lead this branch, shared what they think in a Decoder podcast episode by The Verge . UTA's roster includes creators like Charli D'Amelio, Markiplier, Alex Cooper, and Alix Earle. Therefore, it is a front-row seat to watch how the industry is evolving.

UTA wasn't born as a digital agency. It's one of the biggest traditional talent agencies in the world. Still, they figured out before many others that the creator economy needed a professional, structured approach. So, they built a dedicated division that is now a global benchmark.

Timeline of a winning model

UTA's Creators division didn't happen overnight. By 2025, the global influencer marketing market had already surpassed 24 billion dollars, according to estimates by Statista . In that context, UTA accelerated its expansion in the creator space. Furthermore, it began treating creators with the same contractual and strategic tools reserved for film actors.

The turning point was realizing that a creator is not just an advertising channel. They are a brand. Consequently, the agent's job goes beyond negotiating sponsorships. It includes managing reputation, diversifying revenue streams, and building proprietary assets like podcasts, books, and product lines.

Therefore, the UTA model is structured into three distinct phases: scouting , development and sustainable monetization . Every step needs different skills. Specifically, the development phase is the one Italian brands tend to overlook the most.

Winners and losers: who really profits from professionalization

The UTA model produces clear winners. Represented creators get access to deals they couldn't negotiate on their own. In fact, UTA brings relationships with global brands, publishing houses, and streaming platforms to the table. Plus, it offers legal protection and tax advice. All of this transforms a creator from a freelancer into a structured entrepreneur.

On the other hand, the ones losing ground in this scenario are the brands that keep treating influencers like simple media buys. These brands pay high fees for content that doesn't perform. Why? Because they lack an understanding of the creator as an independent storytelling entity. As a result, campaign ROI stays low and the relationship with the creator is episodic, not strategic.

Similarly, micro-agencies that fail to offer an integrated service are losing ground. The market is polarizing. On one hand, large structures like UTA with global resources and networks. On the other, completely independent creators with highly vertical communities. The middle segment is the most at risk.

How UTA identifies emerging talent: operational criteria

One of the most interesting aspects that emerged from The Verge's podcast concerns the scouting process. Berman and Penchansky do not simply look for creators with many followers. They look for creators with authentic engagement , narrative consistency and ability to evolve . These three points are way better at guessing long-term success than just looking at follower counts.

In particular, narrative consistency is the hardest factor to replicate. A creator who knows who they are, what they stand for, and who they are talking to builds a loyal community. This community can then be monetized repeatedly and sustainably. Therefore, authenticity is not an abstract ethical value: it is a measurable economic asset.

On top of that, UTA assesses a creator's ability to operate across multiple platforms without losing their identity. A creator who only works on TikTok is vulnerable. In contrast, those who know how to adapt their format to YouTube, Instagram, podcasts, and newsletters are a much more solid asset. This multi-platform approach is now a strategic priority, as confirmed by analyses from Harvard Business Review on the creator economy .

SHM Studio Reading: What it means for Italian marketing

We at SHM Studio we observe this model with interest. The Italian influencer marketing market is mature in large companies, but still fragmented in SMEs and the mid-market. Therefore, the lessons of the UTA model are applicable with specific adaptations to the local context.

First of all, Italian marketing managers need to stop thinking of influencers as an advertising format. An influencer is an editorial channel with their own qualified audience. Consequently, collaboration requires a co-production logic, not ad-space buying. This radically changes the brief, the contract, and the measurement of results.

Plus, picking the right creator should come down to quality over quantity. Engagement rates, comment quality, and niche consistency matter way more than just raw follower counts. So, putting your money on a creator with 50,000 super-focused followers can actually bring you way more value than going with someone who has 500,000 general followers.

For B2B brands, in particular, the creator economy offers still largely unexplored opportunities. Industry thought leaders, professional podcasts, and newsletter writers are creators in every respect. Integrating them into a LinkedIn strategy structured approach can significantly boost qualified reach.

The work in progress: unresolved issues in the industry

The UTA model is effective, but not without tensions. The first concerns the commission transparency . Traditional agencies charge fees that can significantly eat into creators' earnings. This creates an incentive to cut out the middleman, especially for more established creators.

The second tension involves the value measurement . There is still no shared standard to measure the ROI of creator collaborations. Every platform uses different metrics. Every brand has different KPI. As a result, contract negotiation is often based on rough estimates.

Finally, there is the issue of creator sustainability as a person. Burnout is a real and documented problem in the industry. An exhausted creator produces lower-quality content. Therefore, brands and agencies that ignore creator well-being are sabotaging their own investment in the medium term. This is an issue that also McKinsey analyzed within the context of the influencer economy .

Next moves: operational implications for marketing managers

Based on this analysis, what are the top to-dos for marketing folks at an Italian company? Let's check out four main ones.

• Map out the creators relevant to your industry. Not just by followers, but by topic match and audience quality. Tools like Brandwatch or Talkwalker can help with this check.
• Set up multi-year contracts. One-off collabs generate less value than ongoing partnerships. Plus, they let the creator weave the brand into their story naturally.
• Integrating the creator into the overall content strategy. Content produced by creators can be reused in paid campaigns, within the SEO copywriting strategy and in B2B sales materials.
• Measure using stage-specific KPIs. Awareness, consideration and conversion need different metrics. So, a single merged KPI is not enough to check if a collab actually works.

For those who want to learn how to integrate these strategies into a plan of Digital marketing structured, the SHM Studio team is available for a dedicated consultation. Similarly, those managing paid campaigns can find interesting synergies between creator content and google ads campaigns to boost the reach of organic content.

In short, the creator economy is mature. Brands that still treat it like a tactical experiment are falling behind in a way that's hard to catch up with. On the other hand, those who build structured relationships with relevant creators today are investing in an asset that will increase in value over the next few years.

To explore how artificial intelligence the creator space is shifting too, or to check out how you're currently doing influencer marketing, Get in touch . Find more insights on the topic in our Blog , where we regularly analyze digital marketing developments for the Italian market.