From vibes to data: Why some brands use predictive tech to vet creators

Every industry struggles to scale, and the creator economy is no different. The market has exploded in the last decade, but without the traditional guardrails, metrics and accountability you’d come to expect from a multi-billion-dollar industry. 

With the creator economy set to grow by 18% in 2026 per IAB’s November 2025 report, brands like TheRealReal and Shark Ninja are turning to predictive models and datasets to guide their strategies. 

Online luxury clothing consignment platform TheRealReal signed creator advertising agency Fohr’s predictive tech for its 2025 holiday campaign. Fohr’s extensive models suggested two different content creators as tentpoles for the activation: actor Gwenyth Paltrow, who targeted a more millennial audience, and socialite and content creator Becca Bloom, for Gen Z users. The predictive tech gave them results (2.5x increase in views per dollar plus a 440 percent lift in views) — and ultimately helped build a “more transparent relationship with creators,” said TheRealReal’s head of integrated brand marketing & experience Caroline Gardner —  who didn’t reveal exact growth figures.

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