Humility, intelligence, and passion: the keys to the creator economy

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Creators hold the keys: CMOs, embrace humility! The people making videos for you online know what they’re doing, and CEO of Later Scott Sutton explains why.

Scott Sutton is the CEO of Later, an influencer and social media services company that helps brands and creators work better together by combining powerful technology and expert guidance. We sat down on the Brew Deck at Cannes Lions to talk about the real difference between influencers and creators, what brands are still getting wrong about ROI, and why the future of search might run through your favorite content creator. Here are a few highlights.

On the influencer vs. creator debate

There are two distinct lanes, and Sutton thinks the distinction actually matters. “There’s a cohort that their primary passion is creating content and connecting with an audience. They view the content first. And then there’s another interesting lane of influencers whose entire ethos is about moving people’s opinions and being tastemakers. Content creation isn’t as much the goal as it is creating culture. I view that as a more positive spin on influencer.”

On the metric most marketers are sleeping on

Full attribution is finally possible in the creator economy, and most brands haven’t caught up. “Marketers are sleeping on ROAS because they haven’t had a way to measure it in the creator space. The intelligence level that we’re able to get now...they can tell you every dollar spent on a creator, for what exact post, the audience that saw it, who clicked, how many clicks, what they then bought, every item in the cart, and the price for every single item...fully attributed back.”

On what he’d tell a CMO right now

He’s got two words for them. “Humble yourself. The creator is sitting there talking to your core audience and ICP everyday. Take a minute, listen, and then try some things, reserve judgement for a bit and let it prove itself out.”

You can watch our entire conversation from the Brew Deck above.