Creator Economy Ad Spend Projected To Hit $37B This Year, IAB Report Says

The creator economy ad market will hit $37B this year, growing at four times the rate of the overall media industry, according to a new report on the sector.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)’s 2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report forecast the massive growth in the sector in the U.S. this year, up 26% year-over-year.

The figures point to marketers and advertisers increasingly treat contenting creators as distinct channels, rather than elements of social media campaigns, the IAB report claimed.

Spend included in IAB’s report includes direct partnerships and their paid amplification, along with ‘content adjacencies,’ defined as brands investing “intentionally run ads adjacent to creators with whom they do not have a direct partnership.”

For context on the 2025 figure, media as a sector overall grew 5.7%, per a separate IAB study from September. Further to that, you can see the rate of growth in that IAB noted the overall creator economy ad spend for 2021 was $13.9B, rising to $29.5B last year. IAB projects the 2026 figure will be $43.9B, up another 18%.

“Leveraging the creator economy to connect with audiences is no longer experimental for marketers – it’s essential,” said David Cohen, CEO at the IAB. “The significant growth we’re seeing reflects a deepening commitment from brands to invest in creator-driven strategies. However, with that maturity comes a need for clear standards, better measurement, and tools to navigate an incredibly fragmented ecosystem.” 

The IAB itself has had to pivot due to the tilt toward creators. The organization puts on the annual NewFronts in New York, a series of showcases to ad buyers dominated by streaming. As traditional NewFronts companies like YouTube, Amazon, NBCUniversal and Hulu have fallen out or shifted toward the traditional broadcast and streaming upfronts in mid-May, the IAB has branched out to gaming and creator events.

Breaking the 2025 stats down, the most ad spend came from retail ($12.3B), followed by consumer packaged goods, finance, apparel, tech, auto, telecoms, travel, home, health and wellness, and media and entertainment the only vertical below $1B at $400M.

IAB’s report showed marketers were most keen to pact with content creators who were managed by social media platforms such as YouTube BrandConnect and TikTok Creator Marketplace, followed by creators managed by media companies such as web publishers and TV networks and then direct outreach. Creator-specific representation agencies, which have been springing up at a significant rate, was the sixth-most popular route. Working with talent agencies such as UTA and WME and sports rep agencies, including the sports units of the Big Three, were least favored.

It’s also expected AI will take a central role in creator-led campaigns with 46% of respondents currently using it for content creation and work processes and another 29% planing to do so in the next year.

The stats come as TV and film companies continue to wrestle with their relationship with the creator economy. With thousands out of work following huge layoffs at media and tech giants over recent years, there has been a growing acceptance of content creators and more professionals exploring how they can apply their expertise to the creator world.

IAB’s U.S. Creator Economy reaches its stats through an ad spend projection that measures the ad dollars brands invest in creators through direct partnerships.

Earlier this week, credit card provider Visa released a report projecting the creator economy would hit $500B by 2027.

Dade Hayes contributed to this report.