Kantar: only 1 in 3 creator posts show engagement tied to brand-building impact

August 25, 2026 · adweek.com

One in three pieces of creator content shows platform engagement that lines up with real brand-building potential, per Kantar research presented in an Adweek webinar. Sixty-one percent of marketers still plan to raise creator content spending in 2026, the research firm found, while its own data shows most of that content underdelivers against brand metrics. Nicole Jones, EVP, head of media and growth, NA at Kantar, and Gazmend Alushi, president of measurement and analytics at Whalar, presented the findings alongside a practical framework for vetting creator partnerships before committing budget. The session, "The Future of Measurement: Creator Spend Needs Media Discipline," also covered how to align measurement approach with campaign objective, whether the goal is awareness or conversion.

Campaigns that lean on engagement metrics alone to select creators risk funding content that performs well in the feed without building the brand. The framework Jones and Alushi outlined lets planners screen creator partnerships against a brand-building bar before committing spend, and match measurement approach to the objective, awareness versus conversion, so budgets get evaluated against the goal each deal is meant to serve.