- Is it still worth betting on top creators for your campaigns?
- What's really happening: why are the biggest creators saying no?
- What changes in practice for those planning campaigns?
- Three real-world scenarios: how does the strategy change for an e-commerce store, a studio and a manufacturing company?
- Equity, operational roles, performance fees: which compensation models exist today?
- What rules and risks do you need to know before signing a creator partnership?
- Why everyone's talking about it now: has the creator marketing market really exploded?
- How to get started: the steps to redesign your creator strategy
- What are the most common mistakes when negotiating with top creators?
- How can you tell if your creator strategy is really working?
- So, is it worth redesigning the creator strategy for your company?
- How we see it at SHM
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Top creators are cutting the number of partnerships and asking for equity, operational roles and involvement in the product: a flat fee is no longer enough.
- 63% of creators prefer long-term collaborations, and performance-based compensation has gone from 23% to 53% of partnerships in just two years.
- Companies that enter negotiations late, with rigid briefs and one-off budgets, get passed over in favor of brands willing to share value and creative control.
- Rethinking your negotiation approach before your next campaign isn't optional: it's the condition for reaching the creators who really move audiences.
A creator with 14 million followers said they'd rather work with five or six brands a year than a hundred one-off campaigns. If your company is used to buying visibility on rotation, the market is changing the rules under your feet.
Is it still worth betting on top creators for your campaigns?
Yes, but only if you're willing to change the way you approach them. The "pay, post, move on to the next" model no longer works with the creators who really matter.
The creator marketing market, meaning advertising campaigns produced in collaboration with creators and influencers on social media, is going through a structural shift. The creators with the most loyal audiences are choosing the brands they work with, not the other way around. Those who don't adapt lose access to the most effective profiles and end up competing for the remaining available creators, often those with less engaged audiences.
The right question isn't "how much does a post cost?" but "what are we willing to offer to get into the select roster of a creator who's worth it?"
| Your situation | Should you change your approach? | why |
|---|---|---|
| You run one-off campaigns with different creators every season | Yes | You're losing access to creators with loyal audiences |
| You already have an ongoing partnership with a creator | Yes | It's time to formalize it and deepen it |
| You only work with micro-creators (under 100k followers) | Partly | The one-off model holds up better, but quality still matters |
| You have a product the creator can have a say in | Yes | Equity and co-creation become real negotiating leverage |
| Your budget is fixed and the brief is non-negotiable | No, for now | Top creators will pass on you: better to focus on mid-tier profiles |
What's really happening: why are the biggest creators saying no?
Top creators have realized that accepting too many one-off campaigns erodes the trust of their audience, which is their most valuable asset. Fewer deals, but deeper ones, protect their value over time.
At Advertising Week New York, the most-followed creators explained their logic plainly. A creator with 14 million followers said she prefers to work with five or six brands a year, focusing on equity deals (that is, an ownership stake in the company) instead of flat fees. Another creator with over four million followers turns down campaigns he doesn't think will perform and suggests brands "hand them off to some micro-creator." A third accepted the role of chief content officer at an eyewear company, with an office, product feedback and directing credits.
This isn't star-power whims. It's a rational response to a market that has treated creators as interchangeable ad space, bought by impressions and replaced as soon as the numbers dip. The biggest creators are resisting so they don't get pulled into that spiral.
| Creator (source: Digiday) | Approach chosen | What they ask of the brand |
|---|---|---|
| Creator with 14M followers | Equity deal + co-creation | Company shares, creative involvement, products they actually use |
| Creator with 4M followers (dad creator) | Strict selection + proprietary formats | Format freedom, no rigid brief, real performance |
| Creator turned Chief Content Officer | Operational role in the company | Office, a say in the product, directing credits |
| Media company founder | Branded integration in micro-series | Collaborators, not sponsors: involvement from the start |
What changes in practice for those planning campaigns?
The selection and negotiation process gets longer and more complicated. Sending a brief and waiting for a quote is no longer enough: you have to build a value proposition the creator finds compelling.
The classic model (brief to the creator, quote, contract, post, report) isn't going away, but it becomes the path for mid-tier and micro creators. With the biggest profiles, the process increasingly resembles a negotiation between business partners. The brand has to come to the table with more than a budget.
Understanding how creator partnerships that deliver real results work today is the starting point for not wasting time and resources on approaches that get ignored.
- 1 · Brand / Marketing managerMap your strategic creatorsIdentify 5-10 creators whose audience matches your ideal customer. Don't just look at followers: look at audience loyalty and topical consistency.
- 2 · Brand / Marketing managerBuild a value propositionWhat can you offer beyond payment? Equity, product co-creation, an advisory role, exclusive access to data or events. Define it before you contact the creator.
- 3 · Legal / procurement teamPrepare flexible contract structuresStandard contracts aren't enough. You need clauses for equity, product rights, multi-year terms and performance-based compensation.
- 4 · Brand / CreatorInvolve the creator in the creative phaseThe creators who get the best results are the ones who join the process before the brief is closed. Leave room for their format and their voice.
- 5 · Marketing managerMeasure and renewDefine shared KPIs from the start. A long partnership is only justified if the data confirms it: conversion rate, sentiment, attributable sales.
Three real-world scenarios: how does the strategy change for an e-commerce store, a professional firm and a manufacturing company?
The partnership model evolves differently depending on the industry and the type of product. Here are three typical situations, with the value at stake.
Illustrative examples: numbers are used to show the calculation logic, they are not real client data.
| Company type | Current situation | New approach | Potential value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fashion e-commerce (50k/year budget) | 5 one-off campaigns with different creators, high CPM, low loyalty | 1-2 annual partnerships with brand-aligned creators, mixed compensation: fixed fee + % of sales | Lower acquisition cost, a more loyal audience, reusable content |
| Professional firm (B2B consulting) | No creator activity, visibility left to organic LinkedIn | Partnership with 1 vertical creator in the field (finance, HR, legal) for educational micro-series | Qualified leads, industry authority, evergreen content |
| Manufacturing company (technical product) | One-off YouTube campaigns with generalist creators, poor relevance | Co-developing technical content with a specialized creator, possible advisory role on the product | Technical credibility, access to professional communities, differentiation from competitors |
Equity, operational roles, performance fees: which compensation models exist today?
The market has fragmented into at least four distinct models. Choosing the wrong one means losing the creator or overpaying for mediocre results.
Performance-based compensation, meaning payment tied to clicks, conversions or sales, went from 23% of partnerships in 2024 to 53% in 2026, according to the Influencer Marketing Factory Brand Deals Report 2026. That figure alone explains why the biggest creators prefer fewer brands: they only want to work with products they'd bet their own earnings on.
| Compensation model | How it works | Suitable for | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed fee | One-time payment per piece of content or campaign | Micro and mid-tier creators, one-off campaigns | No alignment with business goals |
| Performance fee | Payment tied to trackable conversions, sales or clicks | E-commerce, products with a measurable funnel | The creator avoids products they aren't sure about |
| Equity (company shares) | The creator receives a percentage of the company | Growth-stage brands with a strong product | Legal complexity, long-term expectations |
| Operational role (company title) | The creator joins as a consultant or executive | Brands that want to co-create product and content | Requires clear governance and real autonomy |
What rules and risks do you need to know before signing a creator partnership?
In Italy, there are specific regulatory obligations for partnerships with major creators. Ignoring them exposes your brand to fines and reputational damage.
In July 2025, AGCOM approved the Guidelines and Code of Conduct for Italian influencers (resolution 197/25/CONS). It applies to "relevant influencers": those with at least 500,000 followers on a platform or at least one million average monthly views. It covers about 2,000 active creators in Italy.
For brands, this means every sponsored piece of content must be clearly identified as such, with transparency obligations that fall on both the creator and the advertiser. Before signing a contract, check that the creator complies with the code and that the contract includes compliance clauses.
On the reputation side, the main risk is the "sellout" effect: a creator who posts too much sponsored content loses credibility with their audience, and that damage carries over to the brand. It's one of the reasons the most careful creators select their partners with care, and why you should too.
| Risk | Who's exposed | How to mitigate |
|---|---|---|
| Failure to disclose sponsorship | Brand + creator | Contract with an AGCOM compliance clause, post review before publication |
| Reputational damage from oversaturation | Brand | Choose creators with a limited roster, avoid those who post more than 2-3 sponsors a month |
| Equity not legally structured | Brand + creator | Involve a lawyer specialized in creator deals before signing |
| KPIs not defined in advance | Brand | Agree on performance metrics in the contract, not after the campaign ends |
| Creator who walks away from the partnership | Brand | Minimum-term clauses and penalties proportional to the value of the deal |
Why everyone's talking about it now: has the creator marketing market really exploded?
Yes. Global spending on creator advertising is growing four times faster than the rest of the media industry, and the Italian market also passed 490 million euros in 2025.
According to the IAB 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report, US creator advertising spend reached $37 billion in 2025, up 26% year over year. The forecast for 2026 is $44 billion. In Italy, according to data from the Convegno Influencer Marketing 2026 reported by Media Key, the market closed 2025 at 490 million euros (+5% on 2024), with a forecast of 550 million in 2026.
The most interesting signal for anyone planning campaigns is a different one: in 2025 the number of pieces of content produced fell by 2%, but average engagement per piece went up. Fewer posts, higher quality, more engagement. That's exactly the direction top creators are pointing to with their choices.
How to get started: the steps to redesign your creator strategy
You start by auditing your existing partnerships and defining what you're willing to offer. Only then do you reach out to creators.
Before you contact any creator, it's worth understanding how the logic of creator partnerships on Instagram works today and which metrics really matter for measuring return. The starting point is always internal: what can you offer that another brand can't?
- Audit your past campaigns. Analyze the last 12 months: which creators generated real conversions? Which ones only produced impressions? Cut the latter from your future roster.
- Define your value proposition. Beyond payment, what can you offer? Early access to products, co-creation, equity, an advisory role? Put it in writing before you open any negotiation.
- Select 5-10 strategic creators. Don't just look at followers. Look at engagement rate, audience loyalty, thematic fit with your brand and the number of active sponsors.
- Contact the creator (or their manager) with a proposal, not a brief. Explain why your brand is relevant to their audience. Leave room for their response before sending any document.
- Structure the contract with flexible clauses. Duration, shared KPIs, compensation model (fixed, performance-based, equity), AGCOM compliance obligations. Involve a specialized lawyer.
- Get into the creative process early. The creators who deliver the best results are the ones involved before the brief is locked. Share goals, not executions.
What are the most common mistakes when negotiating with top creators?
The most frequent one is showing up with a rigid brief and a fixed budget, as if you were buying ad space. The biggest creators spot it right away and move on.
Another common mistake is confusing reach (the number of followers) with effectiveness. On TikTok, 72% of brand-creator relationships end after a single campaign, according to the Brand Deals Report 2026. This means most brands build nothing lasting, and creators know it.
You can dig deeper into how Meta has redesigned its tools for connecting brands and creators, but tools aren't enough if your negotiating approach is still the one from five years ago.
| Error | Why it is a problem | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Rigid brief sent with no prior dialogue | The creator ignores it or asks for a very high fee to make up for the loss of freedom | Start with a conversation, not a document |
| Evaluating followers only, not engagement | A big audience doesn't mean a loyal one, or one relevant to your product | Analyze interaction rate and comment quality |
| One-off campaigns with no continuity | The audience doesn't associate the brand with the creator, and the effect fades within days | Plan at least 3-6 months of ongoing collaboration |
| No AGCOM compliance clause in the contract | Risk of penalties for both parties | Include disclosure obligations and a check before publication |
| KPIs defined only after the campaign ends | Impossible to optimize or renegotiate along the way | Define shared metrics before signing |
How can you tell if your creator strategy is really working?
Vanity metrics (likes, impressions, followers gained) aren't enough. You need indicators that link the partnership to business goals.
Measuring the return on creator campaigns is one of the most debated topics in the industry. It's worth reading how to calculate the ROI of creator marketing even at physical events, where measurement is even more complex. For digital campaigns, the signals to monitor are more direct.
| Indicator | What it measures | Alert threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion rate attributed to the creator | How many sales or leads come from the creator's link or code | Under 1% on e-commerce campaigns: rethink the format or the product |
| Engagement rate (interactions / followers) | How active and involved the audience is | Under 2% on Instagram: the audience isn't loyal |
| Comment sentiment | How the audience perceives the partnership | Negative comments about the sponsorship: a sign of oversaturation |
| Average collaboration length | Partnership continuity over time | Under 3 months: you're still in the one-off model |
| Cost per acquisition (CPA) vs. paid channels | Cost efficiency compared to paid campaigns | If creator CPA is higher than paid with no brand benefits: renegotiate |
So, is it worth redesigning the creator strategy for your company?
It's worth it if you have a product a creator can have a say in, a budget that allows multi-year partnerships and the flexibility to negotiate beyond a fixed fee. In that case, top creators give you loyal audiences that no paid campaign can replicate.
A middle ground if you work with mid-tier creators (100k-1M followers) and can offer at least continuity and creative freedom. The pure one-off model works less well, but a six-month partnership with a niche creator can already make a difference.
Not yet if your brief is rigid, your budget is fixed and you can't offer anything beyond payment. In that case, micro-creators (under 100k followers) with niche audiences are the most efficient choice, at least until your approach changes.
How we see it at SHM
For us, creator marketing works when it stops being a channel and becomes a relationship. The brands that get the best results don't buy visibility: they build alliances with creators who believe in the product. It's the same logic we apply when we help our clients structure Meta campaigns or Google Ads campaigns: the numbers improve when the strategy is built on clear, measurable goals, not on off-the-shelf formulas.
We believe innovation should be analyzed and turned into lasting value, not chased as a trend. The fact that top creators are asking for equity and operational roles isn't a trend: it's a sign that the market is maturing toward more solid partnership models. Companies that understand this now have an edge over those waiting for it to become the standard.
If you want to understand how to structure a creator strategy that works for your company, you can explore our approach to strategic AI integration to optimize partnership selection and measurement, or contact us directly for an assessment of your specific case. You'll find all the articles in the Marketing and performance ADV cluster to explore every aspect of the strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's a documented trend among creators with the most loyal and largest audiences. Creators with millions of followers have realized that accepting too many one-off campaigns erodes the trust of their audience, which is their main asset. For micro-creators (under 100k followers), the one-off model still holds up, but even there, the quality of the match with the brand matters more and more.
It means giving the creator a share of ownership in the company, as you would with a partner or an investor. In return, the creator has a direct financial interest in the brand's success and tends to work with more commitment and consistency. It's a complex structure that requires a specialized lawyer and clear governance, but for growing brands with a strong product it can be the most effective lever.
Look at the engagement rate (interactions divided by followers): under 2% on Instagram is a sign of a poorly engaged audience. Also analyze comment quality: generic comments or emojis don't indicate loyalty. The Brand Deals Report 2026 by Influencer Marketing Factory shows that on TikTok 72% of brand-creator relationships end after a single campaign, a sign that audiences don't become loyal easily.
In July 2025, AGCOM approved the Guidelines and Code of Conduct for Italian influencers (resolution 197/25/CONS). It applies to creators with at least 500,000 followers on a platform or at least one million average monthly views. The brand shares responsibility for proper disclosure of sponsored content: include compliance clauses in the contract and review posts before they go live.
For most SMEs, top creators with millions of followers are not the most efficient choice. The best-suited strategy is to work with niche creators in your own industry (often with 50k-500k followers), offering continuity, creative freedom and, where possible, involvement in the product. Results in terms of engagement and conversion are often better than those of generalist creators with larger audiences.
The main KPIs are: conversion rate attributed to the creator (via a dedicated link or code), cost per acquisition compared with paid channels, comment sentiment and the length of the collaboration. A partnership that lasts less than three months rarely produces lasting brand effects. Define the metrics in the contract before you start, not after the campaign is over.
The real competitive advantage isn't finding the right creator: it's becoming the brand the best creators want to work with.
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