The creator marketing landscape is constantly evolving, and recently, the value of deals between brands and influencers has shifted.

While creators have achieved significant growth in creativity, reach, and influence, marketers continue to rely on outdated technology. With influencers outpacing marketers, the dynamic between brands and influencers is broken. The reality is, brands don't want to overpay for content that may not perform, while influencers face financial instability, restrictions on creativity, and a potential loss of trust with their audience due to inauthentic promotions.

Brands need to reliably track and report influencer campaigns to make high-level decisions. Interestingly, the evolution of tracking, reporting, and other new marketing tools benefits creators as much as brands. When reporting and tracking tools provide clear insights into a campaign's success and which influencers drove it, high-performing creators are given more opportunities to form recurring partnerships and receive recognition for their creativity.

But it's not just reporting and tracking that need to change; the entire infrastructure needs a reboot. The evolution of tracking is only one example of the serious need for modern marketing tools.

This is exactly why we built RoarOS.

Why Brand Deals are Turning off Some Creators

The best influencer campaigns are those in which influencers authentically integrate a brand or product into their content. Their creativity allows them to disguise a promotion as an everyday TikTok, Reel, or post. The value of authenticity is rising, especially among Gen Z (born 1997–2012) and Gen Alpha (born 2013+), the next generations of customers. Don't believe me? Well, let's listen to the data. According to Earnest & Young Consulting, authenticity is the most important value for Gen Z, surprisingly even more important than future plans and obtaining wealth. Brands know that making an early impression on these groups is imperative for the sustainability of their business.

It’s Not Just About Surviving, but Thriving

Gen Alpha is now shifting its attention toward creator-led brands and creator-driven products. It would be an overstatement to say that creator-led brands will replace well-established corporate brands, but there is evidence that creator brands are taking a meaningful share of the market. Brands that learn to work with creators in a way that feels genuinely authentic to Gen Alpha's interests and values will thrive, while others will struggle to survive.

For Gen Alpha, top influencers are viewed as peers who foster a sense of community, underscoring the importance of authenticity and reliability in marketing. Interestingly, 55% of Gen Alpha says they would make a purchase if their favorite influencers were using or consuming a product. Additionally, 49% of Gen Alphas look to influencers as a source of truth for product recommendations as much as they do to their family and friends. If this doesn't highlight the value of identifying authentic creators for your campaign, I don't know what will.

Gen Alpha is being influenced right now. Authenticity is the price of entry. RoarOS helps you track what converts. Try RoarOS for free today.

Ambiguity, the Forbidden Word of Influencer Marketing

The real problem for brands that leaves them clueless is ambiguity in their data. Inconsistent metrics and attribution obscure what actually drove outcomes, which influencers have the right audience, and whether a partnership is even valuable. As a result, brands are pushed to focus more on "vanity metrics like follower count and reach, overlooking deeper engagement metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and brand recall," says marketreportanalytics.com.

The Missing Piece - Reporting

Influencer Marketing isn't broken because creators lack authenticity or brands aren't interested in making relatable content; it's broken because brands lack reliable, consistent, and clear reporting. Without clear attribution and consistent performance metrics, brands rely partly on guesswork and vanity metrics, leaving creators undervalued or overlooked entirely.

As Gen Z and Gen Alpha continue to not only value but also demand authenticity, the stakes for brands figuring out influencer marketing are at an all-time high. Fixing reporting is not simply a technical upgrade, but the foundation to a future of sustainable, data-driven, and creator-friendly marketing. Until reporting evolves, influencer marketing will remain ambiguous.