The rise of DIY media buying is challenging traditional agencies, with brands directly partnering with influencers.
The traditional upfronts are being replaced by creator-led events, where creators like MrBeast headline their own media showcases.
Major brands, such as Unilever, are shifting significant portions of their marketing budgets to social and influencer strategies.
Once upon a time, advertisers flocked to upfronts to hear networks unveil shiny new content lineups. NewFronts came next, acting as more of a showcase for digital media platforms to attract advertisers.Â
“You’d go to the upfronts and they were pitching their content lineup — what’s new,” explains Nate Challen, CMO of Brandistry. “You’d go to the NewFronts and they were pitching their business models — how they were going to track and justify attribution. That was critical in the digital space back then. Now? Creators are closing the loop.”
Media and message: And as creators take on the role of both media and message, the relative importance of the traditional upfronts has dropped significantly. What’s replacing them is something entirely new — and entirely creator-led.
The rise of the CreatorFront: At a recent event that caught Challen’s attention, YouTube stars like MrBeast, Dude Perfect, and Rebecca Zamolo didn’t show up under a network umbrella. They headlined their own version of a media showcase — the kind that once belonged exclusively to television networks or digital platforms.
“I don’t even know if ‘CreatorFront’ is an established term yet,” Challen says. “It’s just something I threw out there to describe what’s happening. It’s a different model. MrBeast doesn’t have to wait for Google to present him, for example, he could go direct.”
New media reality: Creators are the publishers Now. And increasingly, they’re skipping the middlemen. Spotter, the company behind the creator-led event Challen refers to, acts as a connective layer between talent and advertisers. But unlike legacy players, they’re not simply a platform — they’re a production partner, sales team, and amplifier rolled into one. “You’re talking to their reps instead of Google’s reps or ABC’s reps,” Challen says. “Yes, Google might still be a distribution channel, but creators are building their own representation.”
Follow the money: This isn’t just a cultural change — it’s a financial one. On the buy side, big brands are moving fast. “Unilever, one of the top three advertisers in the world, just announced they’re shifting 50% of their marketing spend to social and influencer,” Challen points out. “That tells you everything about where this is going.”
Live sports may still dominate for mass reach, but after that, social platforms — and the creators who thrive on them — are second in line. Brands now face a choice: buy ads through platforms like Meta and TikTok, or partner directly with creators who have already earned trust and attention.
DIY media buying: The disruption doesn’t stop with media formats. Agencies are feeling the squeeze too. Challen shares the example of a startup he advises. Their social manager scouts influencers personally, skipping agencies altogether. “He’s just DMing them, getting a sense of whose content and voice fits, and working out deals directly,” Challen says. “Why pay an agency that’s not doing it any better?”
This DIY approach is becoming more common. “Every agency I worked with in Canada had an influencer offering,” Challen says. “But half of them were outsourcing it anyway. And none of them were that much better than someone in-house doing the work.”
That doesn’t mean agencies are dead — but the winners will look different. Challen points to firms like Viral Nation and Spotter, which are explicitly built to bridge creators and brands.Â
What comes next: Does this mean the death of the upfront? Not necessarily. Challen believes there’s still value in concentrated showcase events — the kind that bring buyers and sellers together efficiently, whether in person or online. “I remember the benefit of the NewFronts,” he says. “You could meet ten companies in a week, see different approaches, take business cards, follow up. That’s efficient. There’s still a model for that.”
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