By David Thresh, Founder of Thresh Productions
I spent a decade at The Walt Disney Company working extremely closely with creators on campaigns. Sometimes the most challenging part of the role was guiding others on the real purpose of working with talented creators.
It’s not just about increased reach. It’s about cultural fluency, platform-first storytelling, relevance, and, most importantly, their skill in building and capturing an audience through their content and then aligning all those things with key brand goals. I only ever saw potential collaborations break down when this wasn’t appreciated.
When speaking to other lines of business about their creator needs, they were often thinking about a tick box to extend the reach of a key campaign. Usually followed by discussions about deliverables, post counts, and follower size. All very valuable points and ones that massive entertainment brands have to ask. However, when it came to the most successful creator campaigns I ever worked on, ones that actually drove increased conversion or captured the attention of the social space, they all went much deeper.
It’s about working with them as an extension of your creative department. The goal isn’t to say, ‘what content do we need them to post?’ but to say, ‘what outcome are we trying to get to?’ As soon as this mentality shifted not only did I see the performance of collaborations work ten times better, but I also consistently found creators far more invested in the work. Allowing them to feel as much a part of the strategy and creative process as they are the output.
‘But we have brand rules to follow and key marketing messaging to get across’. Yes, and you should. There’s nothing wrong with creative constraints around content; in fact they often lead to some of the best out there. But this is exactly what they should be, constraints around talented creators’ existing content style and format to help achieve your message, not strict guidance on what to post. You’ve likely already chosen a creator for their key audience for your needs (young families, Gen Z, etc.), and no one knows how to speak to their audience better than them.
When I was in the Destinations team and contracted and hosted creators out in the Theme Parks, it was never ‘here’s our latest attraction, can you post a 30-second Reel that talks about how it’s just opened, be sure to include these features (x, y & z) and then mention how they can experience it next year with our latest offer that includes x discount and ends next month’. It was ‘Here’s our new attraction, it’s based on X IP, we’re trying to use this moment to help bolster our offer for next year. We love your content and would love to understand how you would bring it to life on your channel.’
Two similar, yet startlingly different approaches. I promise you the second will be much more successful for both parties. Better content, better performance, better conversion — and a more balanced relationship.
For a brand, it gives more relevant creatives, faster execution, better audience response, and a stronger relationship with a creator.
For creators, it acknowledges greater respect for their work, a better creative outcome for their channel, and less friction in their feed for ad-based content.
How can you take this thinking into your own work?
For brands:
- Rethink the briefing process – does it provide the relevant brand creative constraints but allow the creator the chance to express their talent (which is why you hired them)?
- Define success metrics – they should go beyond just ‘increase awareness’.
- Involving creators earlier – don’t wait until the creative approach is locked.
For creators:
- Be success-metric minded – pitch your own concepts but keep them tailored to the goal of the campaign.
- Back yourself – your voice is important, and likely why a brand hired you. Don’t be afraid to suggest changes or defend creative if you believe it will perform better for your audience.
For talent managers:
- Be a translator, not a middleman – You understand your talent’s voice and the importance of the commercial side of the brand. It’s crucial you communicate this both ways.
Creator marketing is quickly moving to the forefront of major marketing campaigns; done properly, it can truly benefit both brand and creator. The brands that get this right will lead the board, and the creators that deliver the results will become increasingly in demand.
Creators wrote the playbook on platform-first creative. The brands that stop treating them as channels — and start treating them as creative departments — will define what comes next.
