UK creator revenue is set to exceed £1bn for the first time in 2026, rising 26% to £1.217bn — and ISBA has responded with the first creator economy framework designed to help marketers scale their influencer activity.

ISBA developed the framework in partnership with the Responsible Marketing Advisory. It is intended to help marketers decide who should own creator marketing in their business, whether they should build in-house teams, and how to prove its value to key stakeholders. As brands spend more on creators, the framework gives them a structured way to manage that investment.

The guidelines set out three operating models. The first is 'bolt-on', a flexible approach that activates creators around specific campaigns and moments. The second, the 'channel' model, reflects an always-on presence in the marketing mix, often supported by a retained agency. The third, a 'core' approach, treats creators as a structural part of how the brand goes to market, measured alongside every other channel on equal terms.

Diagnostic questions throughout the paper help marketers assess where they stand today. The framework also shows how measurement can move beyond reporting to become an organisational capability that informs better investment decisions.

Alice Brady, chief strategy officer at Responsible Marketing Advisory, says the goal "isn't for every business to adopt a one specific creator governance model", but for brands to "create the right one for their needs, building in the flexibility to evolve the model and adopt new technology to support future growth".

Bobi Carley, ISBA's director of media and advertising relations, argues creator marketing "now commands serious budgets", but the "structures around it haven't kept pace". Ownership, she says, happens "by default and value is hard to prove".

"Partnering with Responsible Marketing Advisory let us combine our Creator Marketing Forum's insight with real operating model expertise, giving members a practical way to make those choices deliberately," Carley says.

The framework was developed with members of ISBA's Creator Marketing Forum and Media Leaders group, who together represent over £1.75bn of annual UK advertising spend.

ISBA research underpinning the work reveals the scale of the governance gap: 48% of brands still manage creator marketing in an ad-hoc way, while only 9% treat it as core to their strategy. Ownership within businesses is equally unclear. In almost a quarter of businesses, responsibility is scattered across several teams, and not a single business in the research gave creator ownership to its media team.

Measurement confidence reflects that disorganisation. ISBA found 59% of brands say they can assess creator ROI only "somewhat confidently", which they attribute in part to the absence of set frameworks and ownership within their business.

The framework arrives amid broader professionalisation of the influencer marketing sector. In July, ISBA and the Influencer Marketing Trade Body announced a formal partnership to combine their focus on the creator economy. In May, IAB UK launched the UK's first industry-backed creator qualification.

For brands allocating a growing share of budget to creators, the framework offers a decision structure to match — the question now is how quickly the 48% managing influencer activity ad hoc will formalise their approach as spend climbs toward that £1.217bn mark.