Observed Signal · Sep 25, 2026 · Panel Discussion · Source: The Drum · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Kraft Heinz creator strategy: brand effectiveness over engagement metrics
At The Drum Live, Kraft Heinz, Google, and Kantar discussed the evolving creator marketing landscape. Kantar's analysis of 15,000 creator activations found that platform metrics like likes and views align with brand effectiveness only one in three times. Will Cooke of The Kitchen @ Kraft Heinz emphasized focusing on 'uncommon creativity' and giving creators a meaningful role, as seen in the successful Flavours campaign. Google's Khalid Almashgari highlighted creators as a gateway to cultural relevance and announced Open Call, a tool connecting creators with brands. The session stressed the importance of clear briefs and measuring success against marketing objectives rather than short-term engagement.
The article provides insights into creator marketing effectiveness and platform tooling, with Google launching Open Call to streamline creator-brand partnerships, which is moderately relevant to the AdTech industry.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Kantar analyzed 15,000 creator activations and found platform metrics align with brand effectiveness only one in three times.
- Kraft Heinz's 'Flavours' creator film outperformed all other content metrics in the past 18 months.
- Google mandates a 50:50 split of creator and brand assets in paid media, resulting in a 2X year-on-year increase in brand lift.
- Google launched 'Open Call' at YouTube Festival to connect creators with brands.
- The panel discussion took place at The Drum Live event.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“Kraft Heinz and Google joined Kantar in conversation at The Drum Live....”
“Khalid Almashgari, head of creative business development and AI activation at Google UKI, discussed creator marketing and announced Open Cal...”
“Kantar's analysis of 15,000 creator activations found platform metrics align with brand effectiveness only one in three times....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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