Creator marketing in Australia is no longer sitting on the sidelines of brand strategy. New research shows that companies are already investing heavily in creators. Most expect that spending to rise further over the next two years.
The State of Creator Marketing Australia 2026 report, produced by the Australian Influencer Marketing Council and the Marketing Association of Australia, offers a snapshot of how brands, agencies, platforms and creator-focused businesses are approaching the sector.
The report points to a market that is becoming more mature, but also more demanding. Spending is rising, AI is entering everyday workflows and creator partnerships are expanding beyond social posts. At the same time, brands still want stronger proof that their investment is delivering measurable value.
Creator Marketing Investment Is Still Growing
The report found that 84% of surveyed organisations currently invest in creator marketing, showing just how deeply creators have become embedded in modern campaign planning. Even more notably, 77% expect to increase their investment over the next two years. None of the respondents said they planned to reduce spending.
That kind of confidence suggests creator marketing has moved beyond the testing phase for many Australian organisations. Brands are no longer asking whether they should work with creators. The bigger question is how much budget they should allocate. In addition, brands are considering how creator activity should fit alongside broader advertising, public relations and brand campaigns.
The report also shows that dedicated creator budgets are still relatively uncommon. Many organisations continue to fund creator campaigns through wider brand, communications or public relations budgets. This suggests the category is growing faster than some internal marketing structures.
Brand Building Remains the Main Reason Companies Work With Creators
Creator marketing is often associated with direct sales, affiliate links and conversion campaigns. However, Australian organisations appear to value it most strongly as a brand-building tool.
According to the report, 80% of organisations use creator marketing for brand building, while 76% see creators as a way to maintain cultural relevance. Performance and sales objectives were cited by 51%. This shows that direct commercial outcomes matter, but they are not always the main reason a campaign is launched.
That helps explain why creators are becoming increasingly valuable to brands looking to connect with specific communities. A creator can bring credibility, personality and cultural context that traditional advertising may struggle to reproduce. For many companies, that makes creator partnerships useful even when the result cannot be reduced to immediate transactions.
Measurement Is Still One of the Industry’s Biggest Weaknesses
Creator marketing budgets are increasing, but measurement systems have not necessarily evolved at the same pace.
The report found that 92% of organisations rely on platform analytics, while 58% use reporting supplied directly by creators. Those tools can provide useful campaign data. However, they often exist across separate platforms and use different definitions, making it harder for brands to compare performance consistently.
Clearer evidence of effectiveness remains one of the main things marketers want from the industry. Respondents highlighted better benchmarking, stronger attribution and more reliable return-on-investment measurement as factors that could help unlock additional spending.
The appetite for shared standards is especially strong. Around 64% of organisations identified common measurement standards as a major priority for industry bodies. Furthermore, seven in 10 respondents said a recognised certification framework could help strengthen confidence in the market.
Governance and Brand Safety Are Becoming More Important
As creator campaigns grow in value, brands are paying more attention to how partnerships are managed.
The report found that 58% of organisations already have formal creator marketing policies in place. The remaining organisations are either developing policies or still working without a formal framework. This suggests governance remains uneven across the industry.
Brand safety is another concern. Around 29% of respondents said they had experienced brand safety issues. This reinforces the need for better creator vetting, clearer contracts and more structured approval processes.
Compliance appears to be receiving greater attention as well. The study found that most organisations monitor whether creators follow disclosure requirements. This reflects the growing expectation that creator campaigns should operate with the same level of accountability as other professional marketing channels.
AI Is Becoming Part of Everyday Creator Marketing Workflows
Artificial intelligence is already being used widely across Australia’s creator marketing sector.
Three-quarters of surveyed organisations said they use AI in some form. Around 46% use it for creator discovery, 43% use it for reporting and 41% use AI for brand safety checks.
Those figures suggest AI is being adopted mainly as an operational tool rather than as a replacement for human creators. Brands and agencies are using it to speed up research, analyse campaigns and identify potential risks. However, the actual relationship between creators and audiences remains central to the marketing model.
Virtual influencers, by comparison, remain limited. Only a small share of respondents reported using them. This shows that human creators still dominate despite the rapid development of generative AI and synthetic media.
Live Events Could Become the Next Major Creator Marketing Opportunity
Creator marketing may have grown through social platforms, but Australian organisations expect its next stage to extend well beyond digital posts.
The report found that 58% of respondents believe live events and experiences will become an important part of creator marketing’s future. Product co-creation and community building were also highlighted as significant opportunities.
That shift could fundamentally change the way brands work with creators. Instead of hiring a creator for a single sponsored video or campaign, companies may increasingly involve them in events, product development, launches and long-term community engagement.
For creators, that could mean deeper partnerships and more varied revenue opportunities. For brands, it creates more ways to build loyalty. However, it also makes measurement more complicated because the value of a creator relationship may extend far beyond clicks, views or conversions.
Industry Bodies Want Stronger Standards and Better Measurement
The organisations behind the report have indicated that measurement and governance will remain major areas of focus.
AiMCO Managing Director Patrick Whitnall said the organisation plans to relaunch its metrics and measurement committee. They will also continue working with members, the Marketing Association of Australia and other industry partners.
The report is also expected to become an annual study. This would give the Australian creator economy a recurring benchmark that can track how budgets, technology, campaign priorities and industry practices change over time.
Marketing Association of Australia CEO Josh Faulks also pointed to stronger governance, transparent attribution and more consistent vetting as important steps for the industry as creator marketing continues to mature.
Australia’s Creator Marketing Industry Is Entering a More Mature Phase
The State of Creator Marketing Australia 2026 report shows an industry that has already secured a place inside mainstream marketing.
Brands are spending more, creators are being used for broader strategic goals and AI is becoming part of campaign management. At the same time, companies are asking harder questions about accountability, safety and measurable outcomes.
That pressure is likely to shape the next phase of the sector. Creator marketing no longer needs to prove that brands are interested. The next challenge is proving exactly what those partnerships deliver. Standards that allow marketers to compare results with greater confidence are also needed.
About the State of Creator Marketing Australia 2026 Report
The research surveyed 92 organisations across Australia’s creator ecosystem. This included brands, advertisers, media agencies, public relations firms, creative agencies, creator and talent agencies, platforms and creators.
The study collected one senior response from each participating organisation, giving the findings an organisational rather than individual perspective. Half of respondents operate globally, while a further 38% operate across Australia.
Sources
Content+Technology — New State of Creator Marketing Australia Report
https://content-technology.com/media-business/new-state-of-creator-marketing-australia-report/
Australian Influencer Marketing Council
https://aimco.org.au/