Ed East on how Billion Dollar Boy is redefining creator marketing at scale

Creator marketing has rapidly shifted from an experimental channel to the beating heart of brand strategy. With brands like L’Oréal and Unilever restructuring their operations around creator-led approaches, the industry is experiencing a pivotal transformation. To better understand what this means for marketers, ClickZ spoke with Ed East, Global CEO and co-founder of Billion Dollar Boy, about the findings of his company’s latest research and what lies ahead for creator marketing.

ClickZ: Let’s start with the headline finding: Over half of UK marketers and 71% of US marketers are now spending over $1M annually on creator marketing. What’s driving this level of confidence and commitment?

Ed East: We’re witnessing a fundamental shift in how people engage with advertising - and creators are right at the center of that disruption. Put bluntly: no one wants to sit through an unskippable ad showing a car gliding through the streets of Johannesburg anymore. It’s not relatable. It’s not entertaining. And it’s certainly not how audiences consume content in 2025.

The old playbook - one big blunt brand message in a 60-second spot, cut into a few shorter versions - is ineffective. Audiences today expect nuance. If they’re going to engage with a brand, they want something in return: entertainment, education, cultural relevance. Value.

That’s why creator marketing is attracting serious investment from brands on both sides of the Atlantic. It speaks to people where they are, in formats they enjoy, with voices they trust. It offers the bespoke, platform-native, community-driven content that traditional media struggles to deliver.

And this isn’t just something agencies like ours are saying. It’s a wider industry realization. At the IPA’s Effectiveness Conference last year, their “Effectiveness 3.0” study made it clear: we’re not entering a new era of bespoke, personalized advertising. We’re already in it.

The brands that are thriving right now aren’t dabbling in this - they’re restructuring around it. Just look at L’Oréal, who recently announced structural changes to prioritize creator-led and content-first marketing, and Unilever, whose CEO announced the brand would be allocating 50% of ad spend to social.

Creator marketing isn’t an emerging channel anymore. It’s the foundation of how modern brands build relevance, trust, and growth.

ClickZ: Your research highlights that one in three marketers struggle to manage creator relationships at scale. What’s behind this challenge - and how should brands be rethinking the way they partner with creators?

Ed East: As investment in creator marketing scales, so do the operational complexities - especially around managing authenticity, brand consistency, and relationships at volume.

And so, brands are presented a false choice between scale and authenticity, when the solution actually lies in building the right infrastructure: strategic, operational, and cultural.

Success requires aligning strategy, systems, and teams to enable fast, confident execution without sacrificing the authenticity that makes creator content so effective. It demands a long-term mindset, specialist collaboration, and a commitment to creator-led brand building at scale.

ClickZ: There’s a clear gap between what marketers think they’re offering in terms of support and how creators perceive it. What’s needed to close that perception gap?

Ed East: Our research shows 55% of creators have experienced burnout, and only around half feel they receive adequate support from brands (48%). By contrast, over 60% of marketers believe they are providing enough support. There’s a clear disconnect between perception and reality - especially around what meaningful support actually looks like for creators.

For brands, support tends to mean clear briefs, timely payments, and campaign logistics. But for creators, it goes deeper. They need to feel creatively empowered, respected, and mentally safe within a partnership.

That’s why we created FiveTwoNine - to provide peer support, mentorship, and practical tools that help creators build sustainable careers. But support can’t come just from agencies. Marketers also need to reframe creator partnerships as long-term collaborations, not just content transactions.

If we want creators to deliver their best work, we need to build a culture where they can thrive. That’s not just ethically sound - it’s commercially smart.

ClickZ: With so many marketers turning to creator-first agencies, how has your role as a partner evolved? What do brands expect from you today that they didn’t five years ago?

Ed East: When we started out eleven years ago, we were seen as a niche channel partner. Today, we’re strategic advisors.

You can see this in the evolution of the types of campaigns we execute, where we’re launching Lipton’s first-ever clothing range in partnership with a creator-founded streetwear brand; driving a creator-led body positivity movement for Dove; or even launching a creator-first TV campaign for Heineken.

Brands now expect us to contribute across the marketing mix - creative, media, data, even product innovation. They want insight into audience behavior, cultural trends, and platform shifts.

And importantly, they expect accountability. That’s why we invest in measurement, creative strategy, and proprietary tools like Billion Dollar Boy’s Companion.

We don’t see it through the lens of more responsibility; instead, we see it as a bigger opportunity to drive brand growth from the frontline of culture.

ClickZ: What advice do you give to CMOs who still view creators primarily as performance channels, rather than brand-building assets?

Ed East: Creator marketing delivers on both brand-building and performance, but too often it’s misjudged because we’re measuring the wrong things.

We recently conducted research which found a measurement disconnect: marketers’ most common campaign objectives for creator marketing are increasing brand awareness (41%) and reaching new audiences (37%). Yet, they’re typically measuring impact through ROI (60%) and customer acquisition and retention (60%). This misalignment leads to under-valued campaigns and missed opportunities.

The issue isn’t a lack of data, it’s a lack of clarity. As investment in creator marketing rises, so does the pressure to prove value. But chasing platform metrics alone doesn’t show the full picture. Creators drive awareness, sentiment, loyalty, and conversion - and when properly measured, their content consistently outperforms traditional media channels.

In a recent campaign for a health and wellness client, we moved beyond likes and reach to measure brand lift and matched-market sales. We found a 9% increase in unaided awareness and a 6:1 ROI – clear evidence of influencer impact when tied to real business objectives. That’s the kind of outcome CMOs and CFOs want to see.

The shift we need is simple but crucial: start with business goals, align creators accordingly, and invest in frameworks that connect content to commercial impact. Taking this approach, brands don’t need to choose between brand or performance. They simply have to recognize that creators are capable of both, and measure the channel as such.

ClickZ: Many US marketers flagged ‘navigating platform trends and algorithms’ as a top challenge. What’s your view on how algorithm changes are shaping creator strategies today?

Ed East: Algorithms move fast but this industry moves faster. In my eleven years working in creator marketing, I’ve seen platforms rise, formats evolve, and algorithms completely reset the rules of engagement.

For example, TikTok disrupted the dominance of Instagram and YouTube by prioritizing raw, unfiltered content and giving visibility to smaller creators - effectively democratizing influence. Similarly, platforms like Substack have re-energized long-form content, proving that substance still matters when it connects with the right audience.

What’s remained consistent is the industry’s resilience. Yes, algorithm shifts can impact performance, but they also reward creativity, agility, and audience-first thinking. The best creators aren’t chasing trends for clicks, they’re building authentic engagement, which makes them naturally adaptable to change.

Brands need to be equally agile. That means trusting creators to adapt in real time, and leaving room in your strategy for trend-led content. It’s not a case of outsmarting the algorithm, but rather staying aligned with what audiences genuinely care about today.

ClickZ: How is AI changing the creator marketing landscape—from campaign execution to content production? Is it helping solve challenges or creating new ones?

Ed East: AI is reshaping the creator marketing landscape - speeding up production, fueling creativity, and helping brands scale ideas more efficiently. At Billion Dollar Boy, we’re using AI across the board: tools like Midjourney and Runway help visualize campaign concepts; ElevenLabs and Suno power voiceovers and music; and platforms like ChatGPT support ideation, research, and writing.

It’s already delivering results. In one campaign for Versace, we partnered with digital creators to reimagine a handbag launch through generative AI. The content delivered a 5.7% engagement rate and a 1,456% higher play rate - showing how AI can unlock creative expression and performance when thoughtfully applied.

But there’s a caveat: the heart of creator marketing is still human creativity. Audiences can tell when content feels robotic or formulaic. AI should enhance the craft, not replace the personal touch that makes content resonate.

That principle underpins Muse, our innovation unit dedicated to emerging technologies. We explore AI’s potential but with one guiding rule: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Every tool we test must serve the idea, not just the process. And every campaign must stay rooted in authenticity, artistry, and cultural relevance.

Used well, AI is a powerful creative co-pilot. But the best work still comes from real people with original ideas, and that’s something no algorithm can replicate.

ClickZ: You’ve said creator marketing is now “the frontline of brand-building.” What does that look like in practice, and how should brands be evolving their strategies to reflect that shift?

Ed East: It means creators are often the first - and most meaningful - touchpoint consumers have with a brand.

Think about how our media consumption habits are changing: the average consumer is now commonly discovering brands through a creator on TikTok rather than a TV ad. That moment of discovery needs to feel authentic, relevant, and emotionally resonant.

So brands need to think bigger. Instead of siloing creator campaigns under social, bring them into the core brand strategy. Involve creators early in the process. Build always-on programs that evolve with your audience. Use creators to test, learn, and refine messaging in real time.

In short: creators are no longer the add-on. They’re the starting point.

ClickZ: Finally, if you could change one thing about the creator-brand-agency dynamic today to ensure long-term sustainability of the creator economy, what would it be?

Ed East: We need to replace transactional thinking with transparent, collaborative partnerships built on mutual respect and fair value exchange.

Despite progress, too many creator-brand relationships still lack clarity on expectations and creative contribution. For the creator economy to thrive, creators must be treated as strategic partners, not just content suppliers. That means clear communication, trust, and space to innovate.

Agencies have a responsibility to champion this shift, bridging the gap between brand goals and creator realities. When all parties work together transparently, everyone benefits and the ecosystem becomes stronger, more creative, and more sustainable.