Forbes tests a creator-led audience play to grow off-platform reach 

The publisher is working with six creators — including TikTok star turned venture capitalist Griffin Johnson — on bespoke deals that mix a talent fee with a share of the revenue their content brings in, with who owns the IP changing by project. It’s a flexible, case-by-case payment model rather than a fixed rate card, and execs are still in test-and-learn mode on what delivers a return for both Forbes and the talent.  

Though the structure may be slightly different, Forbes’ move marks yet another media brand leaning on creators to try and boost their off-platform engagement and pull in a new generation of viewers.

For publishers, the draw is clear: creators can reach younger, social-first audiences that a brand handle struggles to hit, and give media companies new ways to package and sell that attention. As search and social referrals soften, talent-led franchises like Forbes’ are a bet that creator networks can act as both audience funnel and revenue product. 

To some, Forbes’ pivot is less a bold swing and more a sign that creator-led distribution has become table stakes across media. 

“What’s happening here shouldn’t be a surprise. This is the creator economy going normal,” said Adam Steingart, head of business development at GameSquare Holdings. “It’s the modern-day correspondent – happening more and more. “At Paramount we launched a creator network around sports, same basic outline. ESPN’s been doing it. So has the NFL. Look at the NBA, too. What once was unique is now expected. I applaud the move, but it’s the expectation in the marketplace, not the exception.”

Though Forbes’ creator network is housed within an existing media property like creator efforts at outlets including The Daily Mail, ESPN, The Free Press, vp Chloe Moore, stressed that the format is different. Creators won’t be expected to sit in on weekly meetings, or pushed to and they won’t be pressured to make content that feels at odds with their brands, though they do get a rundown of the publication’s editorial guidelines. What each creator is expected to bring to the partnership will vary by person and project. 

“We’re giving creators a robust menu of opportunities to help them grow their businesses that also fuels Forbes business,” Moore said. “That includes infrastructure support on the production side, a robust events schedule that creators can plug into or lead themselves, and building new IP with creators, both short- and long-form.”

Nicholas Spiro, chief commercial officer at ViralNation, told Digiday this is a talent-led content play that will hopefully spread Forbes’ reach across a roster of creators rather than its single brand handle. “Forbes is essentially extending into a larger multimedia enterprise strengthened by individual creators, the same way the news vertical has let reporters build their own identity, brand and following,” Spiro said.

Building the Forbes Creator Network

The more granular aspects of these creator deals – namely, monetization and IP ownership – are also bespoke. Moore said the terms vary by creator and what they’re bringing to the table, and that Forbes doesn’t see a “one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to working with creators. 

“The IP ownership really depends on the opportunity. If the creator is building the series and owning all the content productions themselves, they are owning that IP for the most part,” she said. “We have the ability to offer bespoke deals with these creators…we went on a listening tour before Tim [Pierson, Forbes head of video] and I even launched this network, and every creator is different. They all want different things.”

Forbes didn’t want the partnership to feel “transactional,” which is why the monetization aspect will also vary from creator to creator. Moore told Digiday that, depending on the opportunity, creators will get either a revenue share or a talent fee. 

Lauren Hamlition, director of digital marketing and social strategy at Paramount, told Digiday that Forbes’ creator network deal structure was “smart.”

“Blending revenue share, talent fees, and IP ownership moves away from the one-off transactional model creators have always gotten the short end of, and toward something that actually benefits both parties long-term,” she said via email. “Honestly, this shift is long overdue.”

Steingart said the deal terms show that companies are adjusting how they treat creators  approaching them more like “traditional talent from the golden age of media.”

Over the last few months, Forbes has shifted its off-platform strategy to prepare to onboard creators like Griffin Johnson (who told Digiday via email that “Forbes has always been at the intersection of business, culture, and innovation, which is why joining the [network] was such a natural fit”), bestselling author Erin McGoff, comedian Joe Fenti, Emmy-nominated Shira Lazar, and Sho Dewan, founder and CEO of Workhap, who has already debuted a Forbes Creator podcast, The Work Hotline. 

“All of our off-platform content efforts are now housed under the creator umbrella team that was officially formed in February,” said Pierson. “We kind of hit the ground running and really doubled down on what the strategy is and how we’re going to kind of take this to market and roll up creators into the network and start making some content.”

Pierson and Moore confirmed the network’s main focus will be building the Forbes brand on TikTok, where it has 593,000 followers compared to Johnson’s 9.5 million, and Instagram, where the publisher has 8 million followers. Forbes creators won’t just appear on the Forbes-owned accounts, but will post their content on their own feeds, as well.

“The audience swap is really important to help us diversify off-platform growth,” Moore said.

Hamilton thinks leaning into TikTok and Instagram is the right move for Forbes. 

“These are the powerhouse platforms where algorithmic discovery, creator trust, and branded content monetization all converge. Forbes, like many publishing media companies, can’t reach the online audiences it used to through search and its own social media channels, so developing creator programs is essential,” Hamilton said. 

As far as the actual content, Pierson said he hopes that eventually the creators will help forge new tentpole IP and formats that become “as much a Forbes show as it’s a creator show.” The plan is to also pull creators in to make branded content, as Moore said their global brand partners are increasingly seeking creators as stars in sales meetings.

Forbes also wants to lean on creators for their expertise, which means not pressuring them to make content outside of their remit. That means the branding around Forbes Creator Network content is key, as some of the videos coming out of it could feel tonally different from the publisher’s traditional output. 

“When somebody is on Griffin’s feed, they’ll know it’s one of his Forbes videos – we need to make sure we are building that and consulting with all the right folks internally,” said Pierson.

Forbes will continue to seek this delicate balance throughout the initial rollout of its creator network and afterwards — a balance between creator input and Forbes’ integrity, between revenue share and talent fees, between off-platform growth and brand dilution. 

“Any brand pursuing this strategy is not without risk. You are decentralizing your own brand and can essentially think of the Forbes Creators as sub-brands,” Spiro said. “If they leave the company, some percentage of their audience goes with them. If they engage in risky behavior, it can cast a shadow on the brand… that’s a risk that Forbes the entity would most likely never take – thus the strategy must be viewed from a risk and reward vantage point. However I would place this as more reward than risk.”