BRENT SMART, IMOGEN HEWITT, LIANA DUBOIS & MORE
B&T Magazine | ADVERTISING | Published on: 31st May 2024 at 9:00 AM
Some of Australia’s most important CMOs and Adland CEOs (and B&T‘s Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham) gathered for another Compadres Campfire event in Redfern to discuss the “Future of the Creatorverse.”
Hosted by Compadres founder, Clive Burcham, the event delved into the future landscape of the creator economy over the next one to five years; the predictions and trends, the opportunities and everything in between.
First Nations music artist and founder of We Are Warriors, (as well as B&T Award winner) Nooky delivered a virtual Welcome to Country Ceremony, leading into presentations and discussions including:
- The Power and Importance of Creators by Colin Daniels, managing director of SXSW and co-founder of Handsome Tours, who highlighted the pivotal role of rainmakers in helping creators realise the full potential of their ideas.
- A Founders Story by Compadres Alex Reid and Tom Maynard, co-founders of Amplify. Maynard had a newborn baby and only $100 in his bank account, while Reid had just left a very safe agency job to both set up Amplify at a time when people did not take social media creators seriously. Fast forward five years, they’re now running a thriving business with seven offices across APAC, and just recently opening their doors in Los Angeles. Alongside this growth, Amplify employs over 100 people globally and has seen its revenue double year on year.
- Future Creatorverse Discussion: Technology, Media, Entrepreneurialism, and more – the opportunities and the threats featuring all speakers: Burcham, Dubois, Reid and Maynard, together with Imogen Hewitt chief media officer, Publicis Groupe and CEO ANZ, Spark Foundry.
“There is a history of creators across music, the arts and all culture. With the Creatorverse, we are talking about yet another shift in the democratisation and freedom to create. This distance between an idea in your head and its execution is literally in your hand. The Creatorverse is fuelling a brand new economy that is growing in Australia and around the world 20 per cent per annum. There is a wave of new businesses, income streams and of entrepreneurialism,” said Burcham.
“Amplify and Creators have similarities to traditional media companies – chasing engagement of people’s eyeballs, yet it is nuanced by individualised creativity and authenticity, to marco and micro communities, into
cultures previously attainable via one creative brief.
“This event was the epitome of what I set out to create with Compadres Campfire: connecting our incredible community of diverse creative entrepreneurs, CEO’s and CMOs to inspire great ideas that positively impact our industry and the world; a space for inspiration, education, discussion and debate.”
Reid and Maynard meanwhile said they we are “on the verge of the next billion-dollar brand being built by a creator.”
“We see a culture emerging around the side hustle becoming increasingly relevant, especially in Australia. While this trend has long existed in other markets and cultures, the concept of having a second job has recently taken off in Australia, driven by the cost of living crisis. Many people are turning to becoming creators, seeking to grow second businesses by building online audiences. This represents an exciting opportunity, as more creative individuals turn to social media to monetize their platforms. The next billion-dollar brand is most likely going to come from a creator, not a traditional multi-product company.”
Liana Dubois, CMO of Nine added: “It’s one thing to launch a product and make noise with creators, but what is also really interesting to consider is the long term sustainability of that product or brand and how that engagement evolves.
“We certainly find in our business that creators on social platforms can be really fertile ground to uncover and find some of the next generation of talent. Often, particularly in genres like reality TV, for example, we will work with creators that have profiles to bring an audience to that particular show and genre – so it can be a really exciting intersection.”
Hewitt said: “Creators can be a potent channel, no doubt. When considering the use of creators we need to use the same rigour we’d use in any other partnership decisions. Does the brand have an authentic link to the creator? Is the audience there to support return on investment? Do we have a clear role for the channel in terms of communication, objectives, and contribution? In short, the media fundamentals need to apply so we can be sure to make considered decisions about the how, where, when and why of our investment recommendations. In that sense creators as a channel should be subject to the same interrogation, the same checks and balances.”
