Marketing Briefing: Why marketers should pay attention to SXSW’s embrace of creators

“For a long time creators have been holding a large value of the market share of attention, especially with young audiences, and it’s exciting to see these organizations catch up to where we’ve been for a while,” YouTuber Michelle Khare, creator of Challenge Accepted, a YouTube show where Khare tries out various careers, feats and more for her 5 million followers.

Now, creators say, it seems, conferences like SXSW and Cannes Lions and even Sundance are helping to break down silos around the creator economy.

“The brands that are the ones that traditionally send the signals to the industry of what is valuable and what you should actually care about, they’re the ones that are facilitating the conversations [with creators] now,” said Rhett McLaughlin, one half of the YouTube duo Rhett and Link and co-founder of the entertainment company Mythical.

There’s no shortage of programming, events, and networking at the festival this year and at the myriad events with curated coverage happening alongside SXSW — there was even a so-called “creator palooza” where baseball caps with “creator” stitched into the cap were free for attendees on Sunday. A handful of attendees donned said caps. It’s not just a matter of events and networking, of course, but a question of whether events like SXSW centering the creator economy will make a difference in marketers’ decision making when slicing up the ad pie.  

“We certainly hope that the moving and shaking that we’ve been doing rustles up more brand deals,” said Link Neal, the other half of the YouTube duo Rhett and Link and co-founder of the entertainment company Mythical, who added that it felt like they were on an “ambassador mission” at this year’s SXSW and various industry events. “We’re trying to educate people.”

Long-time YouTubers Rhett and Link certainly aren’t new to SXSW or the advertising industry festival circuit. They’ve been to Cannes Lions, SXSW and Sundance before. Even so, they do say that this year’s Sundance and now SXSW felt different in the way that the industry has centered creators.

At the same time, marketers are playing catch up to understanding how creators work and that creators are professionals who run their own businesses, brands and have employees to make their content sing, much like that of traditional networks.

“There is this sense that everywhere we go we’re making a case for ourselves and for our industry,” said McLaughlin. “It’s getting the industry to catch up and understand what’s happening here and how they could be a part of it.” 

To influencer agency execs, creators’ deep understanding of their audience has been on display throughout the conference and it’s something marketers need to pay closer attention to when considering where to allocate their ad dollars. “The creators who are on stage are speaking about their consumers with a level of excitement and insight that the brands aren’t,” said Grace Murray Vazquez, vp of strategy at influencer marketing company Fohr. “Brands think that consumer insights are so difficult to find but they’re [creators are] out in the open and in the comments.”

Murray Vazquez added that creators are “on the front lines all of the time interacting, responding, giving [their audience] what they want.”

Some marketers recognize the need for brands to change up their processes and shake up how tight their control of their brands may be. “Creators are a really nice way for brand people to let go a little bit and learn the way that people want to talk about brands,” said Tarang Jain, media director in the U.S. at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

“Everyone is trying to adapt to the creator economy,” said Woodie Hillyard, co-founder and CEO of W, the personal care brand from influencer and boxer Jake Paul. “People are realizing that the old ways of doing things are rapidly breaking down. The way people purchase, the way people discover brands [have changed and marketers have to change too].”

At SXSW, with the conference’s embrace and marketers’ interest, it’s clear that there is a focus on adapting to the reality of today’s marketing landscape and the cultural relevance of the creator economy. What that adaptation looks like — adopting creator ethos in communicating with audiences, influence on creative, working with creators, changing media buying and planning — will depend on the brand. 

Regardless of the variety of brands’ adaptation, there’s a sense that the focus on creators will only continue. “Creators are increasingly the epicenter of culture, community and commerce,” said Brendan Gahan, co-founder of Creator Authority. “To maintain relevance any conference needs to court creators.” 

3 Questions with Amy Deneson, CMO at House of Puff, a cannabis company

President Trump’s administration has made a lot of changes, including tariffs, diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Any concern about what that could mean for House Of Puff as a cannabis brand?

We’re waiting to see just like everyone else. We’ve been watching rescheduling on the federal level and this is really a 50-50 chance when we think about the values and the priorities of the people that are currently in the administration, as well as that are being tapped to join. So we are watching rescheduling on a federal level and then on a state by state regulatory level. 

What does that mean for marketing strategy going forward with so much uncertainty? 

There will be regulations and the goal really for the House of Puff is to stay on the right side of the law always, but be as nimble with our formulations and our channels so that when there is a shift in regulation to either constrict or expand, that we’re ready to go. 

How are you showing up on marketing channels while navigating the uncertainty? Any plans to test some of the newer channels?

We’ve seen great success as we’ve evolved with the platforms that are tried and true. Although, they have their own expanding relationship with cannabis. For example, on Meta, we went from being very greenwashed and very sensitive to the community guidelines. Now, they’ve expanded to welcoming hemp derived products for advertising. So we are testing advertising and have been able to keep our campaigns live, compliant and also in positive ROAS for two months. — Kimeko McCoy

By the numbers

Economic uncertainty seems to be the new normal for marketers as President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs looms. Trump has hit pause on tariffs on some Canadian and Mexican imports for now, leaving marketers in limbo.

As marketers look for flexibility in their media spend commitments, traditional media and social advertising are expected to take the brunt of budget reductions, according to a recent survey from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). More findings from the survey below:

• 94% of U.S. advertising decision-makers surveyed are concerned about the impact of tariffs on ad spending.
• Budget contractions are anticipated to peak mid-year, with 45% of advertisers planning to reduce overall ad spend.
• 26% of survey respondents identified the automotive industry as one of the most likely to face ad budget reductions. — Kimeko McCoy

Quote of the week

“Creators don’t have other creators or colleagues. You’re not seeing them every day unless you schedule it.”

— London-based lifestyle and beauty vlogger Sienna Santer when asked about Whalar Group’s new campus and whether creators will want a similar space.

What we’ve covered

• Coca-Cola quietly considers moving its North American media out of WPP
• As SXSW kicks off, marketers embrace it as an ‘accessible’ conference for content, connection
• Marketers rethink cheap programmatic as ad waste mounts