ISBA launches framework to help brands decide where creator marketing should sit

Brands are being urged to take a more deliberate approach to how they manage creator partnerships as investment in the sector grows faster than the structures behind it.

The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) and consultancy Responsible Marketing Advisory (RMA) have launched a new framework to help companies decide where creator marketing should sit within their businesses and what that setup should look like.

It comes as research with ISBA members found 48% still manage creator marketing on an ad hoc basis. Nearly a quarter of businesses surveyed spread influencer marketing across teams, while just 14% had a dedicated creator function.

“Creator marketing now commands serious budgets, but the structures around it haven’t kept pace,” said Bobi Carley, ISBA's director of media and advertising relations.

“Too often, ownership happens by default and value is hard to prove.”

The pair’s framework seeks to help brands work out how much infrastructure they need around creator marketing based on the role it plays in their business.

It sets out three models. “Bolt-on” is aimed at companies using creators around specific campaigns or moments. “Channel” covers ongoing activity that requires more dedicated resources, while “Core” is for businesses where creators have become a structural part of how they go to market.

Each comes with different decisions around what sits in-house, what role agencies should play, whether technology is needed and how the activity should be measured. ISBA and RMA say choosing the right model depends on a company's size and ambitions.

The framework was developed with ISBA's Creator Marketing Forum and Media Leaders group, whose members represent more than £1.75 billion in annual UK advertising spend.