5 stats marketers should act on this week: effectiveness, creator marketing, and AI usage
Use these numbers to make better budget, channel, and AI decisions this week. Short, sharp insights with clear next steps.
1) Budget is eight times more likely to drive effectiveness than ROI
New IPA analysis finds budget explains 89% of the variation in profit payback, while ROI explains 11%. Bigger budgets are eight times more likely to drive effectiveness than chasing efficiency.
Yet 65% of senior marketers say ROI is the top driver, and only 35% point to budget. Since Covid, ROI is up 4% while net profit is down 11%, and 56% of marketers are targeting sub-segments instead of reaching all potential buyers.
- Protect reach: set minimum effective reach/frequency; don't cut budget then expect the same outcomes.
- Measure profit, not just ROI: report on profit payback and diminishing returns by spend level.
- Go broad first: test broad reach vs. sub-segmentation; use segmentation for messaging, not for excluding buyers.
2) Influencer marketing ROI rivals TV short term and beats paid social long term
Across 220 campaigns, influencer marketing delivered a short-term ROI index of 99 (vs. all-channel average 100), comparable with linear TV at 97. Short-term sales contribution was 4.5% for influencers vs. 32% for TV, but efficiency held up.
Long term, influencers score an ROI index of 151 vs. 77 for paid social, with the highest long-term multiplier across channels at 3.35 (TV at 3.27). Translation: creators can compound brand effects over time.
- Plan for brand impact: use creators for memory structures and distinctiveness, not just quick sales.
- Integrate with TV and retail: TV for mass reach, creators for credibility and content flywheel.
- Measure properly: include creators in MMM and long-term KPIs, not only last-click dashboards.
3) 79% of marketers increased spend on AI-powered creator content-but consumers are split
Brands are shifting budget into AI-assisted creator work: 79% increased spend; 77% are diverting from human-only creator content and from other channels. 81% say AI makes collaborations more cost-efficient; 73% see better performance, and 85% of creators say AI has increased earnings.
Consumers are mixed: 40% of 25-34s prefer AI-powered creator content, but overall preference is down 44% vs. 2023. Use AI, but be smart about disclosure, creative quality, and audience fit.
- Test the blend: run A/B tests on human-only vs. AI-assisted vs. fully AI to isolate incremental lift.
- Be transparent: label AI use where it matters; monitor trust and sentiment alongside performance.
- Set guardrails: brand voice, visual rules, claim checks, and rights management for synthetic assets.
Upskill your team on AI for marketing
4) Colgate leads consideration; Vaseline surges with Gen Z
In UK personal care, Colgate tops consideration at 45%, followed by Dove at 37%, then Nivea and Oral-B at 34%. Vaseline is the fastest mover, up to 27% overall-and 49% among Gen Z.
A valuable segment emerges: "youth conscious Brits" (13% of the population), with 66% using products to prevent skin aging. That's a clear creative and product positioning cue.
- Prioritize mental availability: consistent assets on high-reach channels; own simple, repeatable cues.
- Lean into prevention benefits: speak to "keep skin young" outcomes with proof and routines.
- Activate Gen Z: creators plus retail moments (bundles, minis, refills) to drive trials and repeats.
Source: YouGov brand consideration
5) 1 in 10 marketers use AI secretly; tool sprawl and compliance slow adoption
Ten percent are using AI behind policy; another 10% don't know where to start. Barriers include tool sprawl (28%), weak integration (18%), and data privacy/governance concerns (19%).
- Publish a clear AI policy: approved use cases, tools, data rules, disclosure, and review process.
- Consolidate your stack: pick core generative tools, connect them to analytics and DAM, and retire redundancies.
- Train for outcomes: prompt frameworks, QA checklists, and bias/safety reviews tied to performance metrics.
Your one-move plan for the week
- Recalibrate your planning: set budget floors based on reach, add creators to long-term brand plans, run one AI content test with disclosure, and tighten AI governance. Small changes now compound over the quarter.
Your membership also unlocks:
