Why Brands Should Like and Subscribe to the Future of Creator Partnerships

Cue the “In Memoriam” music. It’s time to say R.I.P. to traditional celebrity brand deals.

During a panel on crafting connections at ADWEEK’s Brandweek conference on Tuesday, executives from Shopify, Diageo, and IRCODE spoke about the future of brand partnerships and where the industry is moving. And according to the executives, it’s time for traditional brand deals to evolve.

Stephanie Jacoby, global svp Smirnoff at Diageo, has been with her company for 17 years and noted how partnerships have changed over that time. For instance, when looking at the overall impact, deals with creators can far outweigh simply having a celebrity as the face of a brand.

“Creators and these smaller communities are becoming so much more influential and impactful, particularly with Gen Z and millennials, because they bring with them this community, this authenticity,” Jacoby said.

Essentially, the creators are humanizing the brand experience, according to Jacoby.

Creating new experiences

Matty Beckerman, CEO and founder of Brandweek partner IRCODE, noted that creator brand deals are leading to innovation.

IRCODE’s tech looks to replace QR codes, turning items and images into scannable objects themselves. For instance, Brandweek utilized Beckerman’s tech to create a real-life scavenger hunt, making posters without QR codes entirely scannable.

And with the power of creators, Beckerman said the IRCODE technology can go to a whole new level.

“We’re using influencers to pave the way because they’ll come up with way more creative use cases than I could ever think of or our marketing teams could ever think of,” Beckerman said.

In addition to honing in on creator communities, Jessica Williams, head of global brand marketing and partnerships, Shopify, explained how creator deals are mutually beneficial relationships, with brand cachet also leading to creator economy growth.

“It’s fun to see the creators grow,” Williams said. “We’ve seen a couple of creators where … they were maybe a couple hundred thousand, and now they have millions and millions of followers.”

Though Jacoby noted that the term “authenticity” gets thrown around too much nowadays, the executive said the word epitomizes the value of creator deals.

“With this up-and-coming generation, in particular, they’ve just been inundated with celebrities, advertising, marketing, spin, and whatever for so long, and their bullshit meter is high,” Jacoby said. “When you can spot those communities and develop those really authentic relationships, it’s amazing the impact that they can have.”