Loopsider vs Viral Nation

Creator Economy Splits into Media Buys and Mega Partnerships

The creator economy is bifurcating into two distinct models. Top-tier creators like MrBeast, Alix Earle, and Druski are increasingly engaged as creative partners in long-term brand collaborations, akin to traditional upfront deals with major media companies. In contrast, nano and micro creators are being treated as scalable media buys, with brands running programmatic campaigns across a long tail of smaller influencers. Zach Blume, co-founder of Portal A, explains that this is not an either-or proposition; both segments are seeing growth as brands increase investment. Large influencer marketing agencies like Influential, Whalar, Viral Nation, and Billion Dollar Boy are acting as media agencies for the creator economy, primarily executing scaled programmatic buys across channels. This reflects a maturation of the space, where creator marketing is becoming more integrated into traditional media planning and buying.

• The creator economy is splitting into two models: high-profile creators as creative partners and nano/micro creators as media buys.
• Zach Blume, co-founder of Portal A, shared insights on the Digiday Podcast.
• Brands are making upfront-style deals with top creators, similar to traditional media upfronts.

Viral Nation launches AI Discovery a social-first GEO offering

Viral Nation launches AI Discovery, a social-first GEO offering, on August 20, 2026.

Creators Power Brands’ AI Search Visibility

Brands and agencies are increasingly asking creators to help surface brand mentions inside AI chatbots and LLM-powered search results, a practice referred to as AI visibility. Agencies like Trevant and Crispin are auditing creator content and tracking citations in LLM outputs to optimize campaigns, while creators are building AEO (answer engine optimization) sites and making captions machine-readable so models can ingest them. Measurement linking creator-driven content to sales remains immature, but marketers view correlation with AI citations as a strategic reason to invest in creator-led AEO approaches. Examples include Zoom testing creator-led storytelling with journalist Nayeema Raza.

• Marketers are asking creators to improve brand visibility in AI chatbots and LLM-powered search (termed “AI visibility”).
• Zoom tested a creator-driven campaign featuring creator-journalist Nayeema Raza to build authority and credibility in AI search results.
• Agencies such as Trevant and Crispin audit creator content and track LLM citations to optimize creator campaigns.