Social Rocket
Creator marketing is growing faster than the commercial rules behind it. New industry figures show that many advertisers cannot fully trace how their creator budget is split between talent, agency, technology, production and paid amplification.
For German brands, this is not a fringe topic. A recent European study by Kolsquare shows that 89,3 percent of surveyed German brands and agencies plan to increase their influencer budgets over the next twelve months.
Only 42 percent say creator agency fees are fully transparent
Digiday reports on a survey by Responsible Marketing Advisory among members of ISBA's Media Leaders Group and Creator Forum. 42 percent described their creator agency fees as fully transparent, while 21 percent described them as partially transparent. 37 percent did not know exactly how transparent their compensation was.
The problem is not that agencies charge for their work. Creator search, negotiation, contract management, approvals, production and campaign management all incur real costs. It becomes critical when all of these components disappear into a single flat fee and the client can no longer judge what they are paying for.
Digiday also points to ANA data showing that in the US, too, a large share of compensation models are not fully transparent or remain unclear to clients.
Bundling makes creator deals hard to compare
A creator deal often consists of several economically distinct components: talent fee, production, usage rights, agency services, technology and possibly additional media budget.
Usage rights in particular can change the price significantly. Srocket has therefore already explained separately why creator usage rights drive prices. When these items are bundled with agency fees and paid media into one total, it becomes hard to tell whether a higher campaign price comes from the creator, from expanded rights or from additional intermediary costs.
Germany is already scaling creator marketing significantly
The Kolsquare study "The Future of Influencer Marketing 2026/2027" was conducted by B2B International among 1.123 marketing decision-makers in seven European markets. In Germany, 40,2 percent described their influencer strategy as established. 31,5 percent work in a hybrid model with an in-house team and an agency.
According to the study, 38,4 percent of German respondents spend more than 200.000 euros per year on influencer marketing. 44,9 percent rely on long-term creator contracts. This shows why transparency around fees is becoming increasingly relevant: for many companies, creator marketing is no longer an experimental side budget.
Across Europe, the share of organisations working with at least 100 creators per year has doubled since 2024, from around 18 to just under 37 percent.
How quickly such programmes can grow is shown by our example of Microsoft's creator marketing with 42 creators and 69 assets in six weeks. The larger such rosters become, the more value an agency can deliver – and the more important a traceable remuneration model becomes.
Which breakdown brands should demand
A sensible invoice should show which part of the budget goes to the actual talent fee, which usage rights are being purchased, which production costs arise, which agency service is charged, and whether media or platform costs are included in addition.
This does not mean every campaign must be negotiated individually. Especially with large roster models, a retainer or a flat management fee can be more efficient. What matters is that the economic mechanism remains traceable.
This becomes especially important when creator marketing is planned more like classic media buying. The creator economy is already testing upfront models, while publishers and creator companies are simultaneously building their own marketing infrastructure. Morning Brew's acquisition of Express Checkout is an example of this professionalisation.
Transparency is not the same as low fees
A high agency fee can make economic sense if it brings better creator selection, lower talent prices, faster production, less risk or measurably better campaign results. Conversely, a low fee can be expensive if it produces duplicate work or poor deals.
The central point is therefore not "cut agency fees", but separate costs and performance and make them measurable. Only then can a marketing team judge whether convenience, technology and management are worth the premium.