DTC marketing has flipped its playbook, and Q1 2027 hiring shows it. For years, DTC growth meant one thing: buy more ads, optimize CAC, repeat. That model has hit a wall, and the brands we work with are already moving on. Honestly I am personally excited to see this ! Creator ad spend is set to reach $43.9B in 2026, up 18% from $37.1B in 2025. It is growing about 4x faster than total media spend. Social now drives more than 60% of DTC product discovery, ahead of Google. 91% of brands run their creator programs always-on instead of in campaign bursts. 80% are raising creator budgets this year. 92% run creator content as paid social ads. Content is now...
