40 Brand Partnership Statistics for 2026

75%

of brands now use creator partnerships in their marketing strategy

$7.14B

Total US brand spending on influencer partnerships in 2024

25%

of brands allocate 10-20% of marketing budget to creator partnerships

89%

of DTC brands actively use creator marketing

67%

of brands plan to increase creator partnership budgets in 2025

8.2x

Average ROI on creator partnerships according to brand marketers

92%

of marketers believe creator partnerships are effective

51%

of marketers say creator content outperforms brand-created content

82%

of consumers are highly likely to follow a creator's recommendation

61%

of consumers have purchased something after seeing a creator's post

42%

of brands now use influencer platforms to find creators

55%

of brands prioritize engagement rate over follower count

78%

of brands plan to work with smaller creators (under 100K) in 2025

63%

of brands will use AI tools for creator discovery by 2025

12%

of brand pitches from creators receive a response

35%

higher response rate for pitches sent directly to decision makers