Creator marketing has become the industry’s favourite bet. More brands, more creators, more formats, and more money. The momentum is real. But let’s be honest: a lot of it is still being bought on faith, believes Lynne Deason, Head of Creative Excellence at Kantar.

Ask the simple question, “Did this actually work?”, and too many teams still hesitate. Not because they do not believe in creators. They do. Because the signals they are using are not strong enough to answer the question.

Creator content can look like it is working. It gets views. It attracts likes. It travels quickly. It feels alive in culture. But none of that tells you whether it built the brand, shifted demand or deserves more investment.

That is the uncomfortable truth. The creator economy is not the problem. The way we measure it is.

Creator marketing does not behave like traditional advertising. It is less controlled, less consistent and far less predictable. Which is exactly why it can be powerful.

So, we fall back on what is easiest to count.

Views. Likes. Shares. Signals that tell you something happened, but not whether it mattered.

Marketing has a processionary-caterpillar problem. One brand moves, the line starts forming, and suddenly everyone is heading the same way, not because it is the smartest route, but because no one wants to be left behind.

Creator marketing risks becoming exactly that: more creators, more formats, more spend. But the brands that win will not be the ones shuffling faster in the same line. They will be the ones that know what gives the work wings.

This is where the confidence gap opens up. Brands are scaling creator marketing faster than they are learning what actually works.

And when confidence drops, one of two things usually happens. Either brands play it safe and squeeze out the very thing that made creator content interesting in the first place. Or they keep spending, but without a clear sense of what they are getting back.

Neither is good enough. Not when creator content is moving from experimental budget line to a serious part of the marketing mix.

The answer is not more content. It is better signals.

If creator content is now core to how brands grow, it needs to be measured with the same rigour as everything else, but in a way that respects how creator content actually works.

That is where LINK AI for Creators comes in.

It helps brands understand what is really working before they spend more behind it. Not just which content grabs attention, but which content builds brand, drives sales and is worth scaling.

That matters because creator marketing is full of false positives. Content can be lively, popular and completely wrong for the brand. It can generate interaction without building memory. It can make noise without making any meaningful difference.

The job is not to kill the instinct, energy or messiness that make creator work compelling. It is to know what to back, what to fix and what to stop funding.

If you are investing in creator content this year, there are three places I would start.

First, get practical. We have put together a short guide and on-demand session on what actually drives effective creator content today, what to avoid and how to make more of your content work harder.

If you are planning to spend more with creators, read this before you brief the next round of work.

Explore the guide and session here

Second, zoom out. Because this is not just a creator issue. It is part of a much bigger problem in marketing right now: more data, more channels, more pressure, but not always more confidence.

Our report on the marketing confidence gap looks at where that uncertainty comes from, why it is growing and what marketers can do about it.

Read it here

Creator marketing is not going anywhere. But the advantage will not come from doing more of it. It will come from understanding what actually works, where your brand has permission to play and which assets deserve more money behind them.

Because right now, a lot of brands are scaling creator content.

Far fewer are scaling what works.

Third (you thought I’d forgotten) …if you are at MAD//Fest, come and find us at the Kantar Cabana.

Bring the creator content you are not sure about. We will help you work out what is worth scaling, what needs sharpening and what is just making noise.