By Caroline Levere, SVP Performance Creator, New Engen
For years, brands have treated creative as a volume game.
More content. More variations. More output. The assumption was simple: if you produce enough, something will work. Platforms would sort it out. Performance would follow.
That model is breaking down.
We are entering a phase where algorithms are no longer just distributing creative. They are actively evaluating it. And increasingly, they are deciding what counts as distinct, what counts as credible, and what gets ignored entirely.
Meta’s Andromeda rollout is a clear signal of this shift. It does not reward repetition. It penalizes it. If multiple ads look and feel the same, they are effectively treated as one. Production volume without true differentiation is no longer an advantage. It is wasted effort.
This forces a fundamental change in how brands think about content.
The question is no longer how much you can produce. It is how many genuinely different perspectives you can bring to the table.
And that is where most strategies fall short.
Too often, brands are still optimizing around surface-level variation. A different hook. A slightly altered script. A new edit on the same idea. But from the algorithm’s perspective, these are not distinct. They are duplicates. If we are honest, as humans, we’d agree. Sure, the very best systems automate results. But the human factor is crucial to quality outcomes.
Real diversity comes from people.
Different voices. Different lived experiences. Different ways of interacting with a product. This is not a creative preference. It is becoming a performance requirement.
At the same time, there is growing pressure to shortcut that process, perhaps through our growing reliance on systems at scale. Sure, AI-generated content offers speed and scale, and on the surface, it can look convincing. But platforms and regulators are moving in the opposite direction.
The FTC has made it clear that testimonials must reflect real experiences. Consumers are becoming more sensitive to what feels manufactured. And platforms are increasingly capable of detecting patterns that signal inauthenticity.
A feed filled with synthetic content may not just underperform. It may actively erode trust.
What is emerging in response is a new kind of creator economy. One that is less about influence in the traditional sense and more about credibility.
We are seeing increased demand for what could be called “expert creators.” Doctors, nutritionists, dermatologists, veterinarians. Individuals with clear, established authority who can speak to a product from a place of knowledge and experience.
Brands are willing to pay more for these voices because they do something that scaled content cannot. They reduce skepticism. They signal that the brand understands its audience. They create a level of reassurance that generic content simply cannot replicate.
But expertise alone is not the answer.
There is a tendency to conflate creators with influencers, and the distinction matters more than ever. In paid environments, follower count is often irrelevant. What matters is alignment. Does the content feel like it belongs in the audience’s world? Does it reflect how real people talk, evaluate, and decide?
Relatability, not reach, is what drives performance.
This is why the most effective creator strategies are not built around a single type of content or a single type of person. They are constructed as systems.
A mix of expert voices and everyday users. High-intent testimonials alongside broader storytelling. Different creators speaking to different use cases, objections, and motivations.
The goal is not to check a box. It is to build a creative ecosystem that reflects the full range of how a product is actually experienced.
For brands starting from scratch, this does not require a massive overhaul. In many cases, the most valuable creators are already there.
Existing customers are often the most credible advocates. They have real experience. They understand the product in context. And their perspective tends to resonate more than anything produced in a controlled environment.
From there, the approach should be measured. Start with a small number of creators. Focus on quality and fit. Observe what works. Then scale intentionally.
The same applies to distribution. Creator content should not sit in a silo. It should be integrated into paid media as a core creative engine, not treated as an add-on or a separate strategy.
Because ultimately, this is not about creators as a channel. It is about creative as infrastructure.
The brands that win in this environment will not be the ones producing the most content. They will be the ones producing the most distinct, credible, and contextually relevant content.
And increasingly, that is not something you can manufacture at scale.
It has to be built through people.
