Marketing Briefing: Harris, Trump recognize power of creators as agencies advise pausing content as election nears

The breadth of the appearances and creators are not only a reflection of the different audiences that the campaigns are courting but the impact of the ongoing fragmentation of the media landscape. 

As creators have become more important for marketing and therein politicians, marketers and agency execs have had to navigate the ripple effects of that shift this cycle. They’re bracing for creators to be talking about politics especially in the coming week.

That has some influencer marketing agencies advising clients to plan for a so-called “dark period” on campaigns with influencers around the election. While it’s a difficult time period for marketers to do so — Q4 is always crunch time; early Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales usually start shortly — some risk averse marketers would rather go quiet than appear to make a political statement. Others are seeking to work with creators they deem “apolitical.”

“It’s the new normal,” said Danielle Wiley, founder of influencer marketing shop Sway Group, which is advising clients to take a pause from Halloween until a day or two after the election, noting that the end date is flexible.

Wiley noted that the 2020 election maintained headlines after Election Day. It took four days to be called. It’s pushed content out this year until Nov. 6 or 7, Wiley said — but “with an asterisk” given “it’s safe out there to do so.”

Creators and social channels are expected to create “a lot of noise and feelings during this time period” which is why some shops have advised clients to block out time to not publish content, explained Brandon Solis, head of social at Havas New York, in an email, noting that the shop has done so. “We’re playing in delicate spaces,” wrote Solis. 

The potential for a brand to get caught in the middle of politics that could damage the brand or cause blowback in some way has certainly been top of mind for marketers over the last year. “Brands should focus on aligning with values rather than politics,” said Ashley Rudder, chief creator officer, Deutsch New York. “We advise our clients to embrace creators who naturally embody the values that align with the brand. This approach creates relevancy without the risks of partisanship.”

Others believe going dark outright is a mistake. “While going dark on issues that matter to your brand seems like the safe play, it’s actually the cause of losing your next generation of customers,” said EP+Co’s chief strategy officer Chris Plating. “Building belief with consumers can drive all of your brand goals from consideration to purchase to advocacy, but it requires action and consistency — and in times like these, it requires courage.”

Influencers, meanwhile, aren’t shying away from politics even if brands are wishing they would. In August, 51.8% of influencers surveyed by influencer shop Fohr said they were increasing the pace of their political posts and only 8.7% of the 428 influencers surveyed said they were shying away from politics. The survey also found that 54.2% of influencers ordinarily post political for social issue content in their feeds. 

While Fohr does see clients looking to tamp down their adjacency to political content, the shop believes it is “short sighted” to do so, explained James Nord, founder of Fohr. “And in fact, it’s our belief that creators should feel a sense of obligation to, from time to time, make sure they’re using their feed to highlight issues that they care about.” 

“It’s representative of a deeper connection with their audience and less of a transactional relationship,” added Nord.

Fohr isn’t alone in that positioning. Influencer marketing and agency execs believe that politics will be a bigger part of the creator economy as it is more normalized.

David Lazarenko, partner and executive vice president of Think Shift, an agri-marketing agency, expects that there will continue to be times where brands pull investment around elections and that creators will continue to post their strong political opinions. It will require creators to brace for financial “ups and downs,” he said.

Brands, meanwhile, will need to recognize that creators will likely use their voices as they see fit. As the creator economy continues to grow — in dollars and overall cultural cache — working with creators whose values align with a brand’s values can make it easier for brands to avoid potential backlash. 

“By championing topics like mental wellness, sustainability, and inclusivity, brands can show up as positive forces within the cultural landscape,” Rudder said. “This way, they’re not taking a political stance — they’re aligning with values that speak to their audience’s everyday lives.”

A new playbook

Co-branded advertising — using an ad to promote a more than one product at once or creating co-branded products — seems to be more of the norm rather than the exception — at least, for movie marketers nowadays.

Ahead of its Nov. 22 release, Universal Picture’s Wicked is rolling out co-branded partnerships with brands like automaker Lexus, clothing brand Aerie and cosmetic retailer Ulta. Wicked isn’t alone. The move follows similar co-branded marketing efforts from the likes of Warner Bros’ Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (partnering with brands like Progressive Insurance and Denny’s, among others) earlier this year. It’s a clear signal that studios and brand marketers alike are following the brand marketing playbook of 2023’s Barbie.

When previously asked about the changing nature of the movie marketing business and the memeification of movie marketing in August over email, Matt Rotondo, head of brands at Sugar23, a shop that has been working with various brands to produce original entertainment content, noted that “the marketing expertise and resources of brands can help promote/amplify projects.”

“It often is powerful for audiences to see brands alongside popular talent in these entertainment promotions,” Rotondo previously wrote in an email. “When the entertainment is great, it’s a win for all.”

By the numbers

Forrester’s “Predictions” reports for 2025 were released this month, featuring a slew of stats and factoids. Three of them, based on its Q3 B2C Marketing CMO Pulse Survey, highlight areas marketers say they’re likely to focus on next year, from unorthodox sports partnerships to a harsher regulatory environment.

• 78%: the proportion of of US B2C marketing executives that admit their marketing and loyalty tech set-ups are siloed. Forrester suggests the area will be an investment focus for marketers in 2025.
• Emerging sports leagues will draw more sponsorship cash. 22% of marketers who already spent on a sports sponsorship had put budget aside to sponsor Major League Pickleball next year.
• 45%: the number of B2C marketing execs in the U.S. who expect AI will eventually reduce the size of marketing departments but don’t foresee it happening in 2025 — Sam Bradley

Quote of the week

“Brands would be far more forgiving if X had big growth numbers and really new, innovative ad formats. It would then be a very different conversation. You’d still have brands that feel it’s not appropriate for the political reasons, but you’d have a lot that would at least take a second glance.”

— A senior ad exec when asked about X on the second anniversary of Elon Musk’s takeover.

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• Spotify tunes up its ad tech as it looks to attract even more ad dollars
• X is set to expand its NFL content partnership with new portal