Proving the ROI of creator marketing has become one of the most important and nuanced challenges facing modern marketers. As creator programs scale and budgets grow, brands are moving beyond surface-level metrics to understand how creators drive impact across the entire marketing funnel.
To see how leading organizations are tackling this today, we spoke with marketing leaders across brands and agencies at CreatorIQ Connect LA. Their approaches vary, but one thing is clear: creator ROI isn’t a single number—it’s a multidimensional story.
Here’s how today’s leaders are measuring creator impact right now.
For global brands like Dove, ROI starts with recognizing that creator marketing doesn’t live in a silo. It spans platforms, audiences, and objectives, often all at once.
Dana Paolucci, Head of PR & Influence, Dove North America, shares that their creator strategy is built around multiple pillars, including large-scale, 360° campaigns supported by paid media. These programs are designed to generate content that works across the funnel—from highly shareable moments that spark organic conversation to targeted media assets optimized for specific audience segments.
With that level of complexity, success can’t be defined by a single KPI. Instead, Dove evaluates creator programs through a broad mix of metrics—often more than ten per campaign. Organic reach, talkability, shares, and saves are considered alongside paid performance indicators.
“To understand creator ROI, you have to look at the whole picture—not just what converts, but what resonates.” Dana Paolucci, Dove
Organic and paid performance can’t be separated. To understand true ROI, brands need to evaluate how creators drive impact across business and marketing objectives—amplifying reach, fueling engagement, and supporting performance together.
For Leah Walker, Director Social Media Strategy at Adobe, proving creator ROI means committing to a full-funnel measurement mindset.
Rather than isolating awareness or conversion, her team evaluates creator impact from brand reputation and share of voice all the way through to conversion and annual recurring revenue (ARR) influenced by creator content. This approach reflects the reality that creators don’t just drive clicks—they shape perception, trust, and long-term demand.
By mapping creator efforts across the entire funnel, brands can more clearly connect early-stage impact to downstream business results. The result is a more credible, defensible view of ROI—one that aligns creator marketing with broader business goals.
“Creators don’t just drive conversion—they shape reputation, trust, and long-term demand.” Leah Walker, Adobe
Brian Manning, Head of Influencer Marketing at Wayfair, is clear-eyed about the reality: ROI is difficult to measure in any channel, and creator marketing is no exception.
Instead of searching for a single “perfect” metric, his team focuses on triangulation. That means combining multiple measurement approaches—from proprietary multi-touch attribution models to conversion lift studies for boosted creator content, alongside classic upper-funnel signals like reach, impressions, and engagement.
Each method has limitations on its own. Together, they provide directional clarity—helping teams decide where to invest, where to pull back, and how confidently to scale creator programs.
“Each measurement method has limitations. Together, they provide the clarity teams need to make smarter investment decisions.” Brian Manning, Wayfair
When certainty is elusive, triangulation delivers confidence.
Kate Brady, Senior Director, Marketing Transformation, Global Head of Creative & Content Transformation at PepsiCo, is candid about where the industry stands: proving creator ROI is one of the defining challenges of the year—and many brands are still evolving their approach.
Her team is partnering closely across marketing science and insights functions to push measurement forward. While foundational metrics like impressions and engagement still matter, they’re increasingly evaluated alongside audience growth, compounding impact, and brand equity.
Brand equity, in particular, is a growing focus. Creator marketing isn’t viewed solely as a performance lever—it’s a long-term investment in brand health that builds value over time, not just immediate returns.
“Creator marketing isn’t just a performance lever. It’s a long-term investment in brand health.” Kate Brady, PepsiCo
The work is ongoing, but the direction is clear: future ROI models will balance short-term outcomes with long-term impact.
Across every perspective, one truth stands out: proving the ROI of creators today requires a shift in mindset.
Leading brands are moving beyond single-metric definitions of success and embracing holistic, full-funnel frameworks. They’re pairing quantitative performance data with qualitative signals like authenticity, brand equity, and audience resonance. And they’re accepting that while measurement may never be perfect, it can still be powerful when viewed through the right lens.
Creator ROI isn’t about finding one answer—it’s about asking better questions.
To hear these perspectives firsthand and dive deeper into how today’s leaders are rethinking measurement, tune into the full compilation episode. You’ll get the complete conversations, added context, and practical takeaways shaping the future of creator ROI—all in one place.