ARM’s Takeaways: 2025 IAB Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report

The 2025 IAB Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report gives us clear insight into how creator-driven media is reshaping how brands build attention, trust, and performance.

For those operating in or around audio, the implications are significant. Here are ARM’s key takeaways:

Creator ad spend is now the fastest-growing line in the media plan.

This growth isn’t just a shift in budget – it’s a shift in consumer behavior. Audiences increasingly prefer content delivered by voices they trust, in formats that feel personal and participatory. Audio has long been built on that foundation. As creator investment accelerates, channels that are inherently intimate (think podcasts, host-read segments, and creator-driven audio ads) stand to benefit.

Brands are categorizing creators alongside CTV and search – not social.

This reclassification is profound. It signals that creator media is now viewed as a performance engine, not a “social extension.” For audio, that changes expectations around attribution, measurement, omnichannel alignment, creative sophistication, and data-supported audience insights. Audio strategies that integrate creator thinking will be better positioned to compete for modern performance budgets.

Key verticals fueling growth (retail, CPG, finance, tech, wellness) map directly to audio’s strongest performance categories.

These sectors lean heavily on both trust and measurable outcomes. The fact that they are also the biggest drivers of creator investment strengthens the case for creator-led audio and host-driven activations. Where creators grow, audio often follows.

Yet brands consistently cite difficulty identifying the right creators.

Despite increased investment, precision remains a challenge. What defines a “high-quality” creator? How do you balance authenticity with scale? How do you validate audience alignment? What metrics matter most for performance? These questions are especially critical in audio, where the creator’s voice is the medium. As brands seek more accountability in creator selection, audio partners who provide clarity, structure, and data will become even more valuable.

AI is booming (but 95% of advertisers fear losing authenticity)

That tension will shape the creator ecosystem in 2025. AI can streamline workflows, personalize at scale, and enhance creative, but the market is clearly signaling that it cannot replace human connection. Few channels protect authenticity as effectively as audio, where tone, delivery, and personality matter as much as message. The result: audio emerges as a natural counterbalance to AI-driven creative automation.

Fragmented budgets create real competition AND real opportunity for channels that can demonstrate synergy.

Influencer, audio, performance, and social budgets still often live in different pockets. The brands finding the most efficiency are the ones proving how these channels work together. The creator economy doesn’t replace audio – it amplifies it. And vice versa, audio elevates creators. As budgets diversify, demonstrating channel complementarity becomes a strategic advantage.

The bottom line is the creator economy’s rapid maturation is not an adjacent trend – it’s directly connected to audio’s next phase of growth. The channels that thrive will be the ones that integrate creator trust, audio intimacy, and measurable performance into a unified strategy.

Ready to take your audio plan to the next level with creators? Contact our experts today.