Creator marketing buyers say measurement is the industry’s biggest problem, and the IAB now plans to write the definitions. Its first report from the Trusted Creator Brand Deal Initiative, released on November 10, found 67% of surveyed industry leaders named measurement as the top problem.
What happened
The IAB’s report, The Creator Economy’s Next Chapter, draws on two waves of research with FrontRow Research, including a survey of 53 industry leaders. A common definition of a “view” was the most-requested standard (66%). Usage rights were the top friction clause in contracts (61%), 60% agreed that longer payment terms cause cascading harm, and 74% agreed fee opacity persists partly because some in the industry benefit from it. The IAB puts creator media budgets at an expected $44 billion this year. With the Media Rating Council, it plans to convene platforms and measurement providers to set common definitions for views, impressions, reach and watch time.
Why it matters
Until a shared definition exists, a marketer comparing creator views across platforms has no guarantee the numbers count the same thing. James Douglas, VP, Experience Center at the IAB, said: “Creator marketing has largely won the argument about whether it belongs in the marketing plan. What it needs now is the infrastructure to scale.” The sample is small, and the IAB calls the findings directional.
One thing to watch
In our reading, the fee disclosure finding may matter sooner than the metrics work, because buyers can act on it in their next contract. The report calls on buyers to lead fee disclosure. We wrote about the measurement gap in The Creator Economy Hits Its Measurement Ceiling, and about faster attribution for creator spend in Creator Marketing’s Attribution Lag Just Got Shorter.
Source: IAB via PR Newswire
