Panel moderator and chief revenue officer of Nielsen, Amilcar Perez, emphasized the growing role of data for creators. He shared that Nielsen is working with creators like MrBeast to provide analytics that quantify the value of their viewership. “Nielsen helped the whole industry for many years with TV currency,” he said. “So, now it’s time to help the content creator currency as well.”
What specific data points and content attributes are most attractive on the brand side when exploring potential collaborations? Dughi said that his team is looking at creative chemistry with the brand, engagement, and sentiment. For each aspect, both quantity and quality matter.
At Unilever, he’s also focused on the number of times content is saved as an incremental additional metric. “Most of our videos are cleaning hacks and tips, so they need to be useful—and a save is a good indication of whether people find the content to be really useful.”
Farrell added that looking at shares is really powerful: “Is this a creator who generates conversation people want to share that content elsewhere or co-create with it?” She also highlighted the power of community in the comments. “When you’ve started to narrow down creators you’re thinking of working with, look at how they engage with the comments and look at the comments they’re getting from that audience.”
(L-R) Savage X Fenty’s Vanessa Wallace, iHeart Media’s Hetal Patel, ADWEEK’s Alison WeissbrotUsing trusted voices to create partnership content that performs
Following the first panel, a second panel discussion, “Tuning In New Audiences: The Creator-Platform Revolution,” explored how creator-brand alliances can drive innovative content and mutual audience growth.
Vanessa Wallace, CMO of Savage X Fenty, kicked off the conversation, talking about how creators—especially micro-influencers—help brands reach new audiences with authenticity and personal connection.
Building on that idea, Hetal Patel, president of advertising intelligence at iHeartMedia, noted that creator content taps into a time-tested marketing tool that dates back to the early days of radio: the human voice. “Audio is a very intimate medium,” she continued. “But at the same time, it brings creative freedom that’s unmatched by any other medium—storytelling at its finest.”