Brands are treating creator marketing like a lottery ticket

Steven Vigilante, founder of Olipop, has a blunt take on how brands are handling creator partnerships. He says most companies are misreading the playbook. They’re treating a single viral video like a test. If one post doesn’t blow up, they assume the creator isn’t worth it. That’s the wrong move.

Vigilante’s point is that creator marketing isn’t a lottery. It’s a relationship. You don’t buy one raffle ticket and walk away when it doesn’t hit the jackpot. You build something. Brands that get this are the ones that actually get results.

The problem is that most companies are still measuring creator marketing like they’re measuring a TV ad. One metric. One moment. If it doesn’t spike, they cut the budget and move on. But the people who are winning are the ones treating these partnerships like long-term investments. They’re giving creators room to breathe. They’re not demanding instant ROI on a single post.

This isn’t just about Olipop. It’s about how the entire industry is approaching creator work. Companies want the viral moment without doing the work to build the relationship. They want the cousin who runs the side business to suddenly deliver a full campaign with zero support. That’s not how it works.

The brands that are figuring this out are the ones that understand creator marketing is a conversation, not a transaction. It’s not about one video. It’s about showing up consistently. It’s about trust. It’s about letting the creator be themselves instead of trying to turn them into a corporate mouthpiece.

Why this matters for us: If brands keep treating our community’s creators like disposable content machines instead of real partners, they’ll keep getting mediocre results while the people who actually build relationships win.