Ad Age covered a private roundtable at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where marketing leaders talked about what brands are craving these days.
The one-word answer: More!
They want more impact, more content, more everything. Here’s the breakdown:

Brands Want More Bang from Content

“This isn’t just about user-generated content anymore,” said Keith Bendes, Chief Strategy Officer at Linqia. “It’s not enough for content to live in-feed.”

“Creators are being briefed not just to produce organic posts, but to develop assets that can be repurposed across paid, owned, and earned media. Brands are now hiring influencers to produce modular, high-performing content that travels far beyond Instagram,” he said.

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If this sets in, creators can forget getting paid for one-and-done Instagram posts. Brands are going to be requesting multipurpose content they can put some miles on.

Brands Want More Content

In addition to wanting content that can show up more places, brands are starting to expect content that achieves more.

“The new mandate is full-funnel—meaning performance across the journey, from awareness to conversion,” said Bendes.

Linqia is helping clients approach creators not just as content partners, but as “mini creative agencies,” according to Bendes.

Sounds like creators are going to be expected to work harder—and their content is too.

Brands Want More Input

“We’re asking creators for insight, not just output,” one marketer shared. “They know their communities and what resonates.”

Another attendee noted that their best content often comes from creator-led ideation. “We give them problems, not solutions,” she said. “What we get back is better than anything an agency could script.”

Brands want to make creators feel like partners or collaborators. At least, that’s the spin in the article. When really, what it appears brands are trying to do is milk outsiders for ideas, expertise, and creativity they likely lack in-house.

Bendes emphasized that this model of collaboration unlocks “better business outcomes.” The question is—for who?

Who Really Benefits?

If the information from this roundtable really represents the direction things are going, creators will be acting as consultants, strategists, and content powerhouses—offering more, more, and more.

Clearly, brands will reap rewards.

And I certainly hope creators are getting more for providing more.

But I’m skeptical that these changes are equally beneficial, given that the article says “several attendees” are “experimenting” with creator equity programs and revenue-sharing models.

That suggests:

1. The rate of change in what brands are requesting is outpacing the change in what they’re offering.
2. Brands feel empowered to pursue their wants without a plan, policy, or commitment on compensation.

Scope Creep Strikes Again

This ties into a topic I recently explored: scope creep.

When creators are asked to do more—strategy, ideation, multi-channel content—for the same or marginally better pay, that’s a dangerous slope.

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Potential Ripple Effects

The ripple effects could hit the industry hard and extend to freelancers.

As creators take on roles traditionally split among multiple creatives, there’s a potential reduction of work for others.

Some creators who become mini agencies, as Bendes said, might be willing to subcontract parts of their growing workload. But will the budgets support it?

And if there is enough money for subcontracting, will creators do it? Or will they try to do it all so they can keep it all?

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