Creator spend is projected to hit $37 billion according to the IAB, and the trade body says that is about 4x faster than the media industry overall. That is no longer a test budget. It is a channel with a P&L, a risk profile, and a CFO asking questions. This article covers what the numbers say, where the money is going wrong, and what to fix before your next planning cycle.
What the $37 billion figure actually measures
Start with the definition, because it matters. The IAB’s creator economy ad spend release says U.S. creator ad spend is projected to reach $37 billion in 2025, a 26% increase year-over-year. The same release sets overall media growth at 5.7%, citing the IAB 2025 Outlook Study, which is where the “about 4x faster” comparison comes from.
The methodology is narrow on purpose. It counts dollars brands deliberately invest in creators through direct partnerships, amplified sponsored content, and planned creator adjacencies. It excludes affiliate links, subscriptions, tips, and merchandise. Other analysts use a broader total-addressable-market approach, so you will see much bigger “creator economy” numbers elsewhere. Do not mix them in one slide.
The IAB figure counts only brand-directed, intentional creator ad spend. That makes it a cleaner benchmark for your own budget than any total-market creator economy estimate.
The trajectory is the real story. According to the same release, spend more than doubled since 2021, from $13.9 billion to $29.5 billion in 2024. The full IAB report page adds a forward view: creator ad spend is expected to reach $44 billion in 2026.
Creators are now a “must buy”
Here is the shift that matters most for budget owners. Per the IAB, 48% of ad spenders consider creators a “must buy,” ranking only behind social media and paid search. Creators are being treated as a distinct channel, not a tactic tucked inside the social line.
That has an organizational consequence. A channel gets its own owner, its own forecast, and its own accountability. We have already seen that play out in titles and reporting lines. Our coverage of creator budget authority shows how many brands raised the title without raising the budget control that should come with it.
Some teams are going further and dissolving the wall entirely. If you are weighing that option, read how merged performance budgets change who defends the spend.
Awareness still leads, but sales is knocking
What are brands buying? The IAB’s list of top campaign goals put brand awareness at 43%, reaching new audiences at 41%, reputation and trust at 35%, and online sales or conversions at 32%.
Look at that spread. Conversions rank fourth, but a third of buyers still chase them. The same release shows that 40% of buyers rank overall ROI as their top KPI for creator campaigns. So marketers are asking creators to do brand work and performance work at once, then measuring both with tools built for neither.
That tension is not unique to the IAB sample. Our piece on why awareness stays the top KPI despite finance pressure covers the same conflict from the buyer side. If you need a cleaner way to separate brand lift from revenue proof, start with sentiment versus hard proof.
Growth without standards: the real risk
Money is moving faster than infrastructure. David Cohen, the IAB’s CEO, said in the release that the growth brings a need for clear standards, better measurement, and tools to navigate a fragmented ecosystem. The brands surveyed agreed. Measurement, standards, and transparency topped the list of improvement areas, including:
- Advanced attribution
- Consistent reporting
- Creator discovery and vetting tools
- Standards for audience authentication and fraud prevention
Discovery is the friction point you feel daily. The IAB found a third of brands call identifying the right creators their biggest hurdle. On selection criteria, the IAB study found 58% of brands rank creator reputation and 56% rank audience alignment among their top criteria. In plain terms: credibility and fit decide deals, yet most teams still pick partners by hand, in spreadsheets, on gut feel.
So what does a disciplined process look like? Three habits separate mature programs from the rest:
- Define the KPI before the brief. Pick one primary outcome per campaign (reach, trust, or conversion) and say so in the contract.
- Vet audiences, not follower counts. Ask for audience demographics and authenticity evidence from the creator’s own platform analytics.
- Standardize reporting. Use the same template across creators so you can compare cost per outcome across partners, platforms, and quarters.
Budgets are rising faster than the evidence behind them, a gap we examine in budgets outpacing revenue proof.
Compliance scales with spend
More dollars means more posts, and more posts means more disclosure exposure. The FTC is not vague on this. Its Endorsement Guides Q&A notes that companies that received notices of penalty offenses and then engaged in certain deceptive endorsement practices could face substantial civil penalties.
There is also the fake-review side. The FTC’s final rule on fake reviews and testimonials prohibits their sale or purchase and lets the agency seek civil penalties against knowing violators. If your agency pays for testimonials or buys engagement to pad results, that risk lands on your brand.
Regulated sectors have noticed. Banks, for instance, have been pulling creator work closer. See how banks control compliance risk in house, and how B2B teams are building influencer centers of excellence to do the same.
AI: useful, but nobody fully trusts it
The IAB found nearly three in four creator ad buyers are using or planning to use AI within the next year. According to the IAB release, the leading uses are content editing at 49%, creator briefs at 46%, and content personalization at 45%. That is efficiency work, not creative replacement.
Yet 95% of advertisers have concerns about AI in creator marketing, and the top worry is losing human connection. That is the very reason brands buy creators in the first place. The practical rule: use AI to shorten your briefing and editing cycle, and keep it away from the voice of the creator. If a campaign works because the audience trusts a person, an automated imitation spends that trust for you.
What should you do with a $37 billion market?
Treat the number as a benchmark, not a mandate. If you are a mid-size brand, you will not win by outspending the category. You will win by running tighter vetting, clearer KPIs, and cleaner disclosure than the competitor next to you in the feed.
Also watch where the next dollars go. Newer surfaces are opening, and our report on new creator surfaces is a good place to find test candidates before costs climb.
FAQs
How much is creator ad spend worth?
The IAB projects U.S. creator ad spend will reach $37 billion in 2025, up 26% year-over-year, and its report page expects $44 billion in 2026. Its figure covers only brand-directed, intentional spend, so it is smaller than broader creator economy estimates.
Why is creator spend growing 4x faster than other media?
In the IAB’s comparison, creator spend is growing 26% year-over-year against 5.7% for media overall.
What KPIs should brands use for creator campaigns?
Choose one primary KPI per campaign. In the IAB data, awareness (43%) and new audience reach (41%) lead the goals, while 40% of buyers rank overall ROI as their top KPI. Match the metric to the objective, then report every creator in the same format.
What is the biggest challenge in scaling creator programs?
Finding the right creators. A third of brands in the IAB study call it their biggest hurdle, and the study also points to weak attribution, inconsistent reporting, and limited standards for fraud prevention.
What compliance risks come with larger creator budgets?
Disclosure failures and fake engagement. The FTC can seek civil penalties in certain endorsement cases, and its fake reviews rule bars buying or selling fake testimonials. Build disclosure checks and contract language into every brief.
Should brands use AI in creator marketing?
Yes, for editing, briefs, and personalization, where the IAB found most current use. Keep humans in charge of the creator’s voice, since the IAB found 95% of advertisers have concerns about AI in creator marketing, mainly about losing human connection.
Next step: pull your last four creator campaigns, tag each with one primary KPI, and calculate cost per outcome in a single template. Whatever you cannot fill in is your measurement gap, and it should be fixed before you ask for next year’s increase.
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