Creator marketing remains a top priority for brands heading into 2025, with 93% of companies planning to increase their creator budgets or expand creators’ role in their marketing strategy, according to new research from LTK and Northwestern University’s Retail Analytics Council.

The study surveyed 185 marketing leaders who invested in creator marketing over the past year. It finds that 41% of brands now allocate at least half of their digital marketing budget to creators, marking a 14% increase from the previous year. LTK notes the creator marketing industry is projected to reach $24 billion by the end of 2024.

Brands are expanding their use of creator content beyond social media, deploying it across an average of four additional channels. Content marketing leads at 56%, followed by sponsorships (44%), connected TV (43%), display advertising (43%), and affiliate marketing (31%).

Social media advertising remains significant, with 82% of brands incorporating creator content into social ads. The study reports that media boosting represents 30% of brand creator marketing budgets. LTK’s own boosting solution has seen a 202% year-over-year increase in brand investment, delivering 86% more impressions for equivalent budget spend.

In retail media networks, 82% of companies utilize creators to build awareness, access customer data, and drive online and offline sales. Brands primarily measure creator effectiveness in these networks through earned media value.

Artificial intelligence is increasingly important in creator marketing, with brands primarily using AI to identify potential creator partnerships. According to the research, LTK’s AI-powered creator matching tool has helped brands discover new partnerships, with over 60% of matched creators being new to brand collaborations.

“Creators are no longer a niche portion of the marketing mix,” said Rodney Mason, Head of Marketing, Brand Platform at LTK, in a news release. 

Northwestern University’s Frank Mulhern, Professor and Director of the Retail Analytics Council, added that creators’ multi-channel engagement capabilities continue to drive increased budgets for creator campaigns.

The study included responses from global brands, with nearly half representing companies generating over $1 billion in revenue, spanning industries including fashion, beauty, consumer packaged goods, technology, health, and automotive sectors.