Narrative creates Board of Influence to navigate burgeoning creator landscape

As part of a brand refresh designed to highlight its experiential, event PR and creator marketing capabilities, Narrative has introduced the Board of Influence, a forum of creators who will guide the earned-first agency through the evolving landscape.

The board will advise Narrative on utilising creators for specific campaigns, targeting audiences and pay negotiations—much like a board of directors would, said Gigi Ouf, VP of celebrity and influencer marketing and strategic partnerships at Narrative. 

The agency will then share those best practices with clients who may only speak to creators while negotiating deals, giving board members an avenue to share insights outside these fixed moments when tensions can make brands less receptive to learning about macro trends.

In return, board members can learn what brands expect regarding creator pay and KPIs.

“Creators want to have more of a voice in these partnerships,” Ouf said. “We came up with the idea of providing our clients with insights from creators, letting them directly be open about what they’re looking for in partnerships instead of us being the ones saying ‘this is what creators want.’”

Narrative will open the board to new members at the start of every year. Current members will have the opportunity to stay on, but the agency plans to cycle through talent to continually get fresh and diverse perspectives.

Narrative’s first cohort began in June and will stay on until January. Ouf, who’s spearheading the board, is still deciding how many members it will have but says it will likely fluctuate each year. 

Members will be required to attend meetings and engage with the press.

The board will focus on the US market for now but may expand globally in the future, Ouf said.

The Board of Influence launches as the creator economy peaks, poised to reach half a trillion dollars by 2025, according to an estimate from Goldman Sachs. Brands expect to increase their influencer marketing budgets by nearly 46% year-over-year in 2024, bringing that spend to $24 billion, according to a survey from Influencer Marketing Hub.

Publicis Groupe recently made its biggest move into creator marketing yet by agreeing to acquire Influential for $500 million by the end of August.

“Creator marketing is at this exciting turning point where consumers are ready for something fresh and creators are also really eager for a new wave of creativity,” Ouf said. “There’s sponsored content and TikTok Shop fatigue … meanwhile, creators are in Super Bowl ads and are stepping off platforms to do real-life executions and partnerships. It felt like a really special time to get as close to creators as possible.”

As part of its rebrand, Narrative conducted a survey with Storyclash which found that 90% of creators stress the importance of long-term collaborations with brands when building an audience.

Despite momentum, racial inequities continue to plague the creator economy. On June 4, talent management firm SevenSix Agency published a report that showed that creators with dark skin earn 45% less than those with light skin. Black creators generally earn 34% less than white creators, according to the same report.

“Now more than ever, creators are their own businesses,” Ouf said. “They have managers and agents and they’re represented by big companies. These agents and managers are born and bred to negotiate, so it’s really important for us to understand creators’ worth and pay them fairly while ensuring we’re getting what we need from them.”