A new report from global marketing analytics firm Kantar has found that high engagement on creator-led social media campaigns is no longer a reliable indicator of brand growth, with only a small fraction of branded content successfully delivering both strong audience interaction and measurable business impact.
According to Kantar’s latest Creator Game Plan report, just six per cent of branded creator content achieves the dual objective of generating significant engagement while strengthening brand performance. The findings are based on an analysis of more than 15,000 branded content assets published across TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram.
The research suggests marketers should move beyond relying on metrics such as likes, shares and views when assessing campaign success, with Brandspur Brand News reporting that many creator partnerships fail to produce lasting improvements in brand perception despite attracting substantial online attention.
Kantar’s analysis found that while roughly one in four creator campaigns demonstrates overall effectiveness, brands are often overshadowed by the creators themselves, reducing long-term recall and limiting commercial value. The report highlights cultural relevance as a critical factor in ensuring branded content remains authentic while keeping the brand central to the audience experience.
The study also emphasises that creator content performs better when it reflects the interests, conversations and communities that audiences already engage with naturally, rather than appearing overly promotional or disconnected from current cultural trends.
As companies continue increasing investment in influencer marketing, Kantar says chief marketing officers are under growing pressure to demonstrate measurable returns on those investments. The report recommends adopting broader evaluation frameworks that assess brand-building impact, sales potential and audience engagement together instead of focusing solely on social media performance indicators.
To support that approach, Kantar has expanded its LINK AI platform to include creator-specific campaign evaluation, enabling brands to measure influencer marketing performance against benchmarks designed specifically for creator-led content rather than traditional digital advertising.
The report concludes that brands are likely to achieve stronger long-term marketing results by combining authentic storytelling with strategic brand integration, cultural relevance and data-driven performance measurement instead of pursuing viral engagement as the primary objective.
