Brands will soon spend as much boosting creator posts as paying creators to make them
An eMarketer forecast reported on October 19 projects U.S. brands will spend $14.15 billion in 2027 amplifying creator posts — exactly what creators will earn from sponsored content that year.
For creators who live on brand deals, a second line of money is growing beside their fee. Brands are projected to spend $14.15 billion in 2027 boosting creator posts on U.S. social platforms, the same sum creators will earn from sponsored content that year, according to an eMarketer forecast published in April 2026 and reported by Parasocial Magazine on October 19. In 2028, the amplification money pulls ahead.
Buyers are already moving that way. eMarketer, citing IAB data, reported that 57% of ad buyers name influencer ads and partnerships their top investment priority for 2026, up from 48% in 2025. The performance explains it: Forbes reported TikTok data showing creator ads drive a 70% higher click-through rate than non-creator ads at the same media cost. The creator sells the asset once; the brand then runs it as media.
The holding companies have followed the money. Forbes also reported that WPP bought the influencer agency Goat, Publicis Groupe bought Influential, and Omnicom runs its influencer work through Creo, while Linqia data put 49% of enterprise marketers now working with specialist influencer agencies, up from 28% a year earlier. The growth, the forecast says, sits in the distribution layer — not in the fee paid to the creator.
Source: Parasocial Magazine · October 19, 2026. Summarised by Vera Ríos for the Pangea+ desk, in our own words — a pen name; the numbers aren't.