ISBA, in partnership with Responsible Marketing Advisory (RMA), has released Creator Economy Operating Models: The Marketer’s Framework – designed to help brands decide who should own creator marketing in their business, whether they should build in-house teams, and how to prove its value to key stakeholders.
The Framework was developed with members of ISBA’s Creator Marketing Forum and Media Leaders group, who together represent over £1.75bn of annual UK advertising spend. It responds to a growing gap between how quickly brands are investing in creators and how ready their organisations are to manage that investment.
Creator marketing is the single fastest growing channel globally. In the UK, creator marketing spend is projected to surpass £1bn by the end of 2026. Despite this rapid growth, the research conducted with ISBA members found that 48% still manage creator marketing in an ad hoc way, and only 9% treat it as core to their marketing strategy. Ownership is equally unclear. In almost a quarter of businesses, responsibility is scattered across several teams, and not a single business in the research gave creator ownership to its media team.
The research also revealed that proving value is marketers’ biggest challenge: 59% say they can assess creator ROI only “somewhat confidently”, largely because creator activity sits outside the frameworks used to measure the rest of their marketing. Fragmented ownership and inefficient management of creator marketing not only compromises growth, but also puts businesses at risk from disclosure failures, inconsistent vetting, and regulatory action.
The Framework gives brands a structured way to make these decisions deliberately rather than by default. It sets out three operating models:
- Bolt-on: a flexible approach that activates creators around specific campaigns and moments.
- Channel: an always-on presence in the marketing mix, often supported by a retained agency.
- Core: creators as a structural part of how the brand goes to market, measured alongside every other channel on equal terms.
The guidance has purposely not been designed as a measure of maturity ladder. The aim is not for every brand to employ a Core model, but to choose the one that fits its size, investment and ambition. Diagnostic questions throughout the paper help marketers assess where they are today, the role creator marketing should play and where they want to go next. The Framework also shows how measurement can move beyond reporting to become an organisational capability that informs better investment decisions.
Bobi Carley, Director of Media & Advertising Relations at ISBA, said:
“Creator marketing now commands serious budgets, but the structures around it haven’t kept pace. Too often, ownership happens by default and value is hard to prove.
“Partnering with Responsible Marketing Advisory let us combine our Creator Marketing Forum’s insight with real operating model expertise, giving members a practical way to make those choices deliberately.”
Alice Brady, Chief Strategy Officer, Responsible Marketing Advisory added:
“Our conversations with ISBA members mirrored what we have seen for ourselves in many clients’ businesses: that creator investment is rapidly increasing in investment and importance, but that operating models haven't kept up and are breaking at the seams.
“The goal isn’t for every business to adopt a one specific creator governance model but more to create the right one for their needs, building in the flexibility to evolve the model and adopt new technology to support future growth.”