The news: Consumers increasingly view creators as mainstream cultural figures that rival traditional entertainment personalities in reach, according to a YouTube and NRG report.

• 77% of respondents said “lots of people” seem to be into YouTube creators, just below Hollywood celebrities (79%).
• 63% said that it is more true now than five years ago that they watch content or follow creators that everyone they know is also engaged with.
• Another 63% agreed that they feel successful when the influencers they’re fans of experience success.

The findings suggest that creators are cultural mainstays with deepening audience influence—raising the stakes for brands to partner with creators aligned with their products and values.

Zooming out: Creators’ growing influence is translating into greater prominence across media consumption and marketing budgets.

• Creators now account for 26% of time spent with TV and video, representing about 1.7 hours daily, per Media Dynamics, showing that creator content is now a distinct category.
• Creators have outsized influence with younger demographics, acting as primary discovery sources. Forty-one percent of Gen Zers discover new products through social media influencers and bloggers, on par with search engines (42%) and above product reviews (37%), according to YouGov.
• Momentum with key consumer groups has heightened creators’ importance in marketing plans. Forty-eight percent of US marketers now describe creators as a “must-buy” investment, trailing only social media and paid search, per IAB.

Combined, the data shows that creators are now a core part of the modern cultural and commercial fabric, with significant influence over how brands connect with consumers and how retail experiences are shaped.

Recommendations for brands: As creators take on a larger cultural role, brands need to be more deliberate about what creator partnerships look like.

• Not all creator content is equally effective. Consumers are most likely to make a purchase due to creator reviews (40.9% of social media users), demonstrations showing the product in use (32.6%), and side-by-side comparisons with competing products (24.6%), per EMARKETER and Viral Nation.