South Africa's creator economy just keeps on growing — and that means hard questions about value, structure and sustainability need to be answered. While brands are investing more into creator partnerships, many are still grappling with how to structure pricing and measure impact.
Pieter Geyser, Commercial Director at Humanz, offers a grounded perspective on what needs to change behind the scenes. In Part Two of this Q&A, Geyser considers how procurement is reshaping creator partnerships, why creators must be repositioned internally and what a future-proof business model for creators looks like in 2026.
How are procurement teams influencing creator marketing strategies?
Most procurement teams aren't marketers, they're used to paying creative agencies for hours spent producing brand assets and they're used to paying media agencies for teams to run their campaigns, but they have no idea about these creators or how their billing works.
With that being said, there are some companies who are making a giant leap forward and moving from cost to value.
Procurement is moving beyond simple "savings" to focus on margin expansion and growth as part of their mandate.
They are prioritising long-term creator-brand relationships over "one-and-done" contracts to reduce onboarding costs and improve content turnaround.
How should agencies reposition creators internally — from "content distributors" to what you call "Attention Engines"?
Agencies must stop viewing creators merely as "mystical entities that cast 'trust' spells" or as simple "walking billboards". They should be repositioned as specialists in the "Hook," focusing on capturing initial attention, while the agency or brand retains responsibility for the core "Brand" narrative.
Furthermore, they should be utilised as strategic attention engines: to drive Active Attention on "High Ceiling" platforms like YouTube or to effectively navigate the rapid, 1.5-second "hook-or-die" environment of platforms like TikTok.
As a market leader in South Africa's creator economy, what structural changes are needed to ensure long-term sustainability?
Sustainability for the creator economy requires moving past misleading metrics like "ghost impressions" and unprofessional "shaky-cam" branding.
The industry must first clearly distinguish between Active Attention, where a user consciously engages, and Passive Attention, as only the former leads to deep brand recall. This professionalisation also means stopping the practice of "hiding and blending in" and instead using creator-led strategy to speak widely to the mass market rather than just deeply into a niche.
Furthermore, a long-term shift is needed away from follower numbers as the primary indicator for reach (which algorithms no longer prioritise) toward engagement and attention planning.
For accountability, brands must leverage technology to holistically manage, track and report on creator content across platforms, making view duration and branded engagement non-negotiable for ROI.
Finally, sustainability is driven by leveraging AI for learning by working with creators to quickly produce and test creative iterations, playing with different hooks, angles and calls to action, to build test-and-learn loops that provide immediate, actionable responses.
What does a sustainable revenue model for creators actually look like in 2026?
The sustainable model for creators is shifting from transactional to entrepreneurial: creators are prioritising IP ownership and building businesses that "outlive platforms".
Models now include a flat fee for initial production plus a performance-based element to align incentives, with brands paying creators for ideation, strategy and consulting, rather than just for a post on their feed.
Crucially, creators must shift from follower-based rate cards to attention-based ones.
A creator who is able to hook and hold attention is worth significantly more to a brand than one with a million followers whose content is never seen.
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*Image courtesy of contributor and Canva