Next in Media spoke with Conor McKenna, partner at Luma Partners, about what's held ad tech back from exploiting the creator economy, and why creators themselves - along with a new competitive dynamic among the tech platforms - may lead the industry in a whole new direction.

💡Takeaways:

• Creator Economy's Spending Gap 🤯: Despite excitement and increased brand activity, there's a significant gap between time spent with creator content and advertising spend in that area.
• Media Consumption Convergence 📺📱: Major platforms like Spotify, Meta, YouTube, and CTV are increasingly converging around video formats and distribution, with creators at the core. YouTube is a prime example, competing with both TikTok (YouTube Shorts) and traditional TV (YouTube app on smart TVs).
• Shifting Platform Dynamics 💪: Creators, especially mega-creators, are gaining more leverage over platforms as platforms compete for their presence. This reduces the ability of platforms to control creators as much as they once did.
• Creators as Cross-Platform Marketers 🌐: Creators are strategically moving their audiences across different platforms and monetizing them in various ways, using short-form content as a top-of-funnel strategy to drive engagement on other channels like podcasts or Substack.
• Challenges in Creator Ad Buying ⚖️: Buying creator content at scale is difficult due to workflow complexities, the need for authenticity, and challenges in measuring ROI compared to traditional ad channels.
• AI's Role in Creator Measurement 🤖: AI is expected to create more opportunities to measure creator spend in unique ways, such as tying it to user acquisition costs or understanding content context for better value.
• Evolution of Creator Monetization 💰: Creators are increasingly demanding a larger share of monetization directly, rather than relying solely on platform payouts, which could drive demand for new tools and technologies.
• Brands Driving Change 📈: Major brands like Unilever are significantly increasing their investment in social and creator content, pushing the industry to figure out better measurement and integration for these channels.

🎙 Guest: Conor McKenna
🎤 Host: Mike Shields
📺 Sponsor: VuePlanner
🎬 Producer: FEL Creative