There’s an easy way for brands to experiment with the Creator Economy. It doesn’t require a major investment of time or resources. In fact, brands can do it all inside in a single month.
That’s what this article is about.
A quick bit of background first:
The Creator Economy is the emerging sector of our economy underpinned by Web3 and other enabling technologies (blockchain, crypto, NFTs, etc.) that’s attracting billions in capital and growing attention from brands like LEGO, Lush, Stella Artois, IKEA and more.
In fact, each month brings news of cool initiatives in the Creator Economy.
Why the uptake? It’s about the economic opportunity. A useful way to think about the Creator Economy is that it’s similar to Web 2.0 when social media channels became ubiquitous in the lives of consumers – and therefore brands. The same thing will eventually happen with Web3, and as part of the Creator Economy, millions of people will have the ability to properly monetize their creativity, often in partnership with brands.
We wrote about why brands should tap into the Creator Economy earlier this year:
Brands can build entirely new business models, create digital products that were unthinkable only a few years ago and drive new revenue streams. Marketing, innovation and even talent acquisition are about to be disrupted in ways that will create remarkable competitive advantages for first-moving companies.
So, how do brands experiment? What’s an easy way to test it out?
Start having conversations with creators right now.
Creators and brands can test out the Creator Economy together
Start your explorations of the Creator Economy by setting up actual discussions with creators. They’re not new to creative work but they are navigating this new world just like you are. There’s an openness to discussions about what’s possible, and co-creating the world of the Creator Economy together.
That’s because the Creator Economy is an evolving space. The rules of the road are still being defined. There are some core principles that have traction – like equitable sharing of value and a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion – but true brand-creator partnerships are the foundation of the Creator Economy, from everything we’ve learned in our work in the space.
That’s why we’d recommend setting up five initial conversations with creators over a one-month period.
If you approach these conversations with an open mind and genuine interest, it’s an easy way for your brand to learn a LOT about a creator’s expectations, goals and capabilities without making a long-term commitment to the space. And marketers and strategists will get plenty of ideas for future campaigns and initiatives. All for the cost of a few hours of zoom calls.
Your brand should consider talking with:
- Creators who you would be interested in partnering with or who have done something interesting your team has noticed; even if you don’t know exactly what the partnership would look like
- Influencers with a creative focus
- Creators who share your organizational values
- Your followers on social who might respond to a general call-to-action about the Creator Economy; many are doing cool, creative things
Ultimately you can cast as broad or narrow a net as you want.
We’d recommend discussing the following topics:
- What kind of work are the creators doing? What are their passions?
- Who are their followers? How engaged are they with them?
- What do they wish they could do with/for their followers?
- How are creators thinking about the Creator Economy?
- What are their career goals – is creativity a sideline or a full-time job? Or one that leads to another? What help do they need to make the jump?
- Why do they do what they do? What motivates them to create?
- Are they into making NFTs, founding DAOs, launching their own crypto tokens, or are they just looking to drive some revenue from their work?
- What kind of partnerships are they looking for? Is there an overlap of interests with what your brand is doing?
- Are they interested in upskilling opportunities or incubators your brand could sponsor?
- What communities do they spend their time in?
Ultimately, as you explore the Creator Economy, we’d encourage you to go in with a sense of curiosity and experimentation. Test out ideas, build some new relationships, learn what you can and iterate as you figure out what best serves your brand.
Want help navigating the Creator Economy? IOVIA can help.
If you’re looking for a broader and deeper view of the Creator Economy or help defining your strategy, please reach out to IOVIA at info@iovia.io.
We’d be happy to hop on a call to discuss how we can help.