Another sign the creator economy is growing up: brands hiring agencies of record

Sign number 108 that creators aren’t just a tactic for marketers anymore: they’re hiring agencies of record to manage them.

It might not be as headline-grabbing as Unilever’s influencer pledge or Publicis buying up Captiv8, but it signals the same shift: marketers are, for the umpteenth time, done dabbling. The era of patchwork partnerships and borrowed budgets is giving way to strategy, accountability and the infrastructure to match. Naming an agency of record is the industry’s shorthand for saying this ins’t going away. 

“We’ve shifted from brands wanting to go on a date to wanting to be in a marriage,” said Emma Harman, co-CEO of Whalar.

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