Creator marketing has become a mainstream and growing investment for Australian brands, and now the industry needs to build discipline, with strong support for measurement standards and better governance, according to a report from the Australian Influencer Marketing Council (AiMCO) and the Marketing Association of Australia.
Unveiled yesterday at an exclusive member event, AiMCO and the Marketing Association of Australia unveiled the State of Creator Marketing Australia 2026 report, which shows how Australian brands currently invest in, manage and measure creator marketing.
The report reveals five key themes: investment is widespread and increasing; brand building and culture are the key creator marketing measures; there is strong support for measurement standards and certification; moves towards stronger governance and brand safety; and that creator marketing is set to expand into events, co-creation and communities.
Key findings
Investment in creator marketing is growing, not one organisation plans to decrease spend
Investment in creators is significant and growing with just over eight in 10 (84 per cent) organisations surveyed currently investing in creator marketing, and 77 per cent planning to increase their investment over the next two years. None said they expected to decrease their investment in creator marketing.
Despite the strong demand, only a quarter of organisations have a dedicated creator budget, with most of the funding coming from brand budgets (63 per cent) or PR and communications budgets (39 per cent).
Brand building and culture key measures for creator marketing
Creator marketing is a brand and culture instrument first, the report reveals, overwhelmingly used for brand building (80 per cent) and culture relevance (76 per cent). Performance and sales measures rank fifth at 51 per cent.
Nearly all organisations (92 per cent) use platform analytics, along with creator-supplied reporting (58 per cent), which are convenient, but self-reported and bounded by individual platforms. Most organisations looked to engagement quality (65 per cent) and media efficiency (57 per cent) as the metrics most influencing whether investment is maintained or increased.
Measurement standards will facilitate further investment
When asked what would make brands invest more in creator marketing, respondents turned repeatedly to measurement – most wanted clearer evidence of effectiveness, benchmarking and a demonstrable return on investment.
According to the report, 64 per cent of organisations surveyed see shared measurement standards as the number one priority for industry bodies, with seven in 10 believing a recognised certification framework would significantly lift market confidence.
Compliance monitored, while governance matures
Governance is maturing but is uneven. A majority of respondents (58 per cent) have a formal policy for working with creators, but a further 42 per cent are either still working on policies or lacking any at all, mainly due to the rapid growth of the industry.
Brand safety is also a challenge for some – 29 per cent said they had experienced brand safety issues, while 98 per cent of organisations monitor creator compliance with disclosure standards and 90 per cent always encourage it. Respondents called for continued investment in vetting, contracting and monitoring to keep pace with the evolving risk landscape.
Creator marketing gets physical: expanding to events, co-creation and communities
Three quarters of the industry already uses AI, with 46 per cent using AI for creator discovery, reporting (43 per cent) and brand safety checks (41 per cent), while only four per cent use virtual influencers.
The report also delved into the next phase of the industry, with most viewing it as increasingly physical and relational. More than half (58 per cent) of organisations believe the sector will see live events and experiences as where the next phase of creator impact will emerge, followed by product co-creation and community building (both 45 per cent).
“Australian creator marketing is growing, and growing with conviction, with eight in 10 organisations investing in it, and more than three quarters expecting to increase that investment over the next two years. Against a backdrop of tighter marketing budgets almost everywhere, that is one of the strongest growth signals in influencer marketing today,” said AiMCO managing director, Patrick Whitnall.
“We commissioned this study because a market moving this quickly deserves better than anecdotal evidence. We wanted to know where influencer marketing genuinely sits, where it is heading and what it needs from us.
“Our members have told us exactly what they want us to focus on and we’re taking action over the next 12 months. We are relaunching the AiMCO metrics and measurement committee, working with the Marketing Association of Australia, our members and our partners, and we will repeat this study each year so the sector gets a trend line rather than a snapshot.”
“Creator marketing is now an essential growth engine for Australian brands, but confidence will depend on the discipline behind it. The industry needs shared measurement standards, stronger governance and transparent attribution, alongside rigorous vetting that goes beyond basic compliance. Its next wave will be built through co-creation, community and real-world experiences, and the Marketing Association of Australia will work with AiMCO, marketers and creators to build the trusted frameworks needed to scale responsibly and demonstrate commercial impact,” concluded Marketing Association of Australia CEO, Josh Faulks.
