Year in Review for the Creator Economy

If influencer marketing had a cap-and-gown moment, 2025 was it.

The turning point came in March, when Unilever announced it would allocate 50% of its media budget to social and creator-led marketing.

The Unilever Effect

Under new CEO Fernando Fernandez, the FMCG giant committed to working with 20x more creators while shifting half of its global media spend into social channels.

Unilever, once one of the loudest voices warning about influencer fraud, now believes the ecosystem has matured enough to handle scale, safety, and accountability.

Spend Followed, Rates Followed Faster

The months that followed saw the ripple effects move quickly.

Agencies reported a surge in inbound briefs, particularly from FMCG brands that had historically underweighted creators. Multi-market activations became more common. Budgets expanded. And creator rates rose accordingly, with micro-creators seeing fees climb roughly 30% year over year.

But the more important shift was qualitative, not quantitative.

Unilever’s endorsement reframed influencer marketing in the eyes of senior leadership.

Creators felt it too. Negotiations changed tone. Expectations increased. And creators increasingly positioned themselves not as content vendors, but as strategic partners.

Creator Marketing Grows Up

Agencies built specifically for creator-led work thrived in this environment.

In particular, Billion Dollar Boy became a proxy for where the sector landed. According to the agency’s research, 71% of US marketers and 52% of UK marketers now spend more than $1m annually on creator marketing.

Its IPA Effectiveness Accreditation, the first awarded to an influencer agency, felt symbolic. Creator marketing was no longer asking to be taken seriously. It was proving it could perform.

Creators are no longer just amplifiers. They are increasingly treated as creative engines: building IP, formats, and franchises that extend beyond feeds and platforms.

The “Hollywoodification” of the creator economy is no longer theoretical. It is happening in real time.

How AI created 50 New Billionaires

AI quietly rewrote the wealth map in 2025, minting more than 50 new billionaires as breakthroughs across models, infrastructure, and applications moved from labs into daily workflows.

Anthropic’s multibillion-dollar raises, Meta’s stake in Scale AI, and DeepSeek’s open-source shockwave pushed valuations into historic territory.

The cultural inflection point arrived when OpenAI’s Sora 2 flooded social feeds, accelerating investment into multimodal tools like audio, video, and coding.

Models, data, chips, and infrastructure compounded together, signaling that the next wave of value will favor control, distribution, and those positioned to define standards as AI matures from hype into habit.

TikTok releases Smart Split

TikTok is pushing deeper into AI-powered creation with Smart Split, a new tool that automatically turns long-form videos into multiple short, vertical clips ready for distribution.

Built for podcasts, day-in-the-life footage, and long recordings, Smart Split handles clip length, captions, and vertical reframing, reducing the time between recording and publishing.

How to use Smart Split inside TikTok Studio Web

1. Upload a video longer than one minute.

2. Select the sections to convert into clips.

3. Let AI generate cuts, captions, and framing.

4. Review and publish multiple shorts.

Standardization for AI in 2026

The creator economy and generative AI spent the last two years in hypergrowth mode, but 2026 marks the end of experimentation without accountability.

Ad dollars are still flowing, but brands now demand standardized identification, metadata, and ROI proof, moving away from vanity metrics toward systems that track impact across platforms and moments, not just posts.

Regulatory pressure is accelerating, with laws like California’s AB 853 pushing for asset provenance and Colorado’s SB24-205 enforcing accountability around algorithmic outcomes.

What comes next is not less creator content or less AI, but more infrastructure beneath it.

Measurement, verification, and standardization are becoming table stakes, signaling that the next phase of growth will reward platforms and players that build trust at scale, not just speed.

The Driven Podcast:

I sat down with NichLmao to break down what actually works for small YouTube channels navigating today’s algorithm, cutting through recycled growth advice with practical, field-tested tactics.

Nich shares how early-stage creators should think about content strategy, consistency, and expectations, why most channels stall before traction, and how mindset compounds just as much as uploads.

🔥 Hot Opportunities

Check out some of the hottest opportunities on our job board below, and if you’re a brand looking for awesome creators to work with - you can recruit for your campaign for FREE. Just fill out this form or click below (takes 2 minutes), most jobs receive their first qualified candidates within 2-3 days of going live.

The Maple Brothers Seeks Parent Videographers for Kids' Adventure Content/UGC ($100-$500) Per Video

The Maple Brothers, an organic kids' snack brand launching their US branch in 2026, is seeking parent videographers who love capturing their kids' authentic outdoor adventures. This isn't about polished production - it's about real moments of kids aged 5-10 exploring, playing, and enjoying nature while discovering healthy snacks.

Ches Editions Seeks UK Haircare Creators for Gifted Holiday Campaign - Free Luxury Haircare Box valued at £180

Ches Editions, the award-winning British luxury haircare brand, is seeking UK-based creators to receive their iconic red box filled with 100% natural Shampoos, Conditioners, Hair Oils, and Hair Masks.

Share your experience with your followers through Instagram or TikTok Stories and be among the first to showcase their new luxury haircare line this holiday season.

Sweet Dill Seeks Product Recommendation Creators for Paid Partnership ($200-$1,000)

Sweet Dill is seeking content creators who use affiliate links in their product recommendation videos.

Join a paid partnership program designed to help you unlock the full earning power of your audience through advanced affiliate link protection technology. Limited spots available for creators who want to maximize their affiliate revenue this December.

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~ Brian F.

1. _{AI Minted More Than 50 New Billionaires In 2025 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciapark/2025/12/25/ai-minted-more-than-50-new-billionaires-in-2025/}

2. _{TikTok can use AI to turn your long video into short ones - https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/tiktok-can-use-ai-to-turn-your-long-video-into-short-ones/ar-AA1PqCFt?ocid=BingNewsVerp}

3. _{In 2026, the honeymoon is officially over for creator content and GenAI - https://www.campaignlive.com/article/2026-honeymoon-officially-creator-content-genai/1944029}