(First published in Marketing Mag)
Herd MSL’s Senior Account Director, Elizabeth Mitchell, featured in Marketing Mag where she discussed the real challenge with creator marketing today, staying relevant, and standing out in a landscape where trust is fragile and attention is fleeting.
The real challenge with creator marketing today isn’t finding influencers, it’s staying relevant and standing out in a landscape where trust is fragile and attention is fleeting. Audiences are more clued up than ever before. They know how brand deals work, they know when something feels overly briefed and they scroll past anything that feels inauthentic.
In a feed already saturated with content, the last thing any brand wants is to be forgettable. Yet, too many still fall into the trap of over-engineering their messaging, sharing strict formats and scripts that strip creators of the very tone and style that made them influential in the first place.
Today’s most effective brand-creator partnerships are built not on control but genuine and authentic alignment and collaboration. Smart brands aren’t just buying reach; they’re tapping into cultural credibility. Yet, that only works when creators have the creative freedom to tell the story in their own voice. Real influence doesn’t come from a caption that hits all the product claims. It comes from content that feels true to the creator and relevant to the audience.
Take a recent campaign from Imodium, where they partnered with a creator known for their hilariously honest digestive health skits. Rather than reshaping their content to fit the traditional brand tone, Imodium leaned in. The ad became an extension of the creator’s existing style and seamlessly fit into their feed and audience’s expectations. It didn’t try to hide the fact that it was sponsored, as it didn’t need to. The content was entertaining, well-executed and unmistakably her. This is why it worked. Audiences didn’t say, “This kind of looks organic”; they said, “That was a great ad, this is how it should be done.”
This is the shift. We’re not trying to pass branded content off as something it’s not. We’re trying to make it so good, so well-suited to the creator, that people engage with it anyway and respect it for what it is. The highest compliment now isn’t “I didn’t realise this was sponsored.” It’s: “That was a great ad.”
So, what does this mean for brands?
Stop picking creators based on vanity metrics
Follower count doesn’t equal impact. Look for creators with strong audience alignment, consistent engagement and a voice that genuinely fits your brand.
Treat creators like collaborators, not media placements
Bring them in early, brief them with context (not just deliverables) and trust them to know what will land with their audience.
Aim for ‘great ad’
Success isn’t hiding the fact that it’s sponsored. It’s making the content so compelling, entertaining or relevant that the audience enjoys it anyway and respects it more for being upfront.
Because when creators are given the freedom to be themselves, branded content doesn’t just fit in, it stands out.