Vendor reportCreatorIQ, 2025
Most added creator budget came out of paid and digital ads
Budget allocation
| Budget source | Mid-market brands (%) | Enterprise brands (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Digital or paid advertising | 64% | 62% |
| Owned social media | 57% | 54% |
| Increased budget pool due to cost-cutting measures using AI | 46% | 54% |
| Email marketing | 44% | 51% |
| Events | 42% | 46% |
| Print or broadcast advertising | 33% | 39% |
| Net new budget | 30% | 41% |
| Direct mail or gifting/seeding | 30% | 33% |
| Changes in software stack | 22% | 41% |
| Agency retainer fee | 20% | 26% |
Sources of increased influencer marketing budget, mid-market vs enterprise brands
- Reader Note:
- This table asks brands where increases in influencer marketing budget predominantly came from, with multiple selections allowed. Digital or paid advertising is the top source for both mid-market brands at 64% and enterprise brands at 62%, followed by owned social media at 57% and 54%, and increased budget pool due to cost-cutting measures using AI at 46% and 54%. The report summarizes this as nearly two-thirds of increased influencer investment being reallocated from digital and paid channels. The exact sample for each brand cohort is not stated.
- Evidence:
- Self-reported behaviour
- Vendor interest:
- High — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
- Sample:
- Survey of 1,723 respondents: 747 brands, 676 agencies, and 300 creators across 17+ industries and 9+ regions, conducted by Sapio Research in July 2025, with additional CreatorIQ research in August 2025.
Good for
A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.
Not for
- Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
- This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
- The source says how much it looked at, but not how any of it was chosen.




