Branding Like a Creator, Not a Company

The most successful brands today humanize their identity, sharing behind-the-scenes moments, employee stories, and customer experiences in order to connect with new customers. These authentic touches help bridge the gap between company and consumer, turning followers and fans into consumers and customers. In order to engage with the user and create a community, brands must stop thinking like marketers and start thinking like creators. This means producing content that educates and/or entertains instead of just trying to sell an idea or concept. Generative AI allows us to further develop campaigns centered around engaging storytelling. We take those “stories” and identify how your audience is engaging with ads, where your audience is engaging and we make the connection. In today’s changing technological world, ads are often lost because viewers quickly skim their devices and even though ads are reaching the target audience, the content is not perceived as relevant. Bringing lifestyle-focused content into your strategy builds credibility and emotional connection. 

Brands are rethinking their marketing strategies to keep up with how society is identifying with the 1,000+ messages people receive each day. 92% of companies are shifting their budget away from traditional ads toward brand-led storytelling - and it’s not hard to see why. Building trust within consumers is arguably one of the most important tactics to selling a product. In fact, brands that collaborate with creators and build stories see 3x better results than those that don’t. Social media platforms also reward this approach by prioritizing organic, engaging content over static, sales-driven ads. Treating your brand like a creator - telling stories, sharing values, and building community - has become essential for staying relevant.

A powerful example of creator-style marketing with real results is the FDA’s “The Real Cost” anti-vaping campaign, aimed at discouraging teen e-cigarette use. Instead of relying on traditional PSAs, the campaign leaned into short-form, creator-style content, mimicking TikTok trends and meme culture. It deployed interactive Snapchat filters, YouTube Shorts with embedded polls, and even in-game ads in mobile games popular among teens - turning educational messaging into engaging, gamified content. The results spoke volumes: engagement rates jumped five times above industry benchmarks, and interactive mobile ads held user attention 3.2 times longer than standard video pre-rolls. By adopting the formats, tone, and platforms native to its target audience, “The Real Cost” proved that even public service campaigns can thrive when they think like creators. Treating their brand as a creator humanized their marketing tactics and led to dramatic growth within the company.