Colin & Samir on the CMO’s Guide to the New Creator Economy

Описание: Marketing is colliding with a creator economy that looks more like television, community, and culture, rather than what we used to think of when we think of social media.
In this episode of Frontier CMO, Josh Spanier, VP of AI & Marketing Strategy at Google, sits down with Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry, creators and hosts of Colin & Samir, to unpack how the creator landscape has fundamentally changed, and what CMOs can do to get creator partnerships right.
They explore why attention without connection is a dead end, how creators have become the arbiters of taste, and why brands must stop treating creator partnerships like performance ads and start building long-term, value-aligned relationships.
A practical, forward-looking discussion on creators, community, and the shift from attention to connection.

00:00 — Brands as a “plus one” at the party (creator/brand fit)
00:35 — Intro: Winning in 2026 means connection over interruption (Josh sets the frame)
01:43 — The “Hollywood hierarchy” vs. creators: why the bias still shows up
02:37 — What people still misunderstand about “influencers” and creator value (Colin)
03:23 — YouTube’s early moment: “If I have a good idea, I can just make it” (Samir)
04:48 — Creators as the evolution of reality TV (and why it matters for brands)
05:16 — Is marketing in a creativity crisis… or a taste crisis? (who decides what’s “good”)
08:03 — Marketers: be an audience member first (and find the pockets that matter)
09:05 — “We’re creators” + the inside-out translation of the creator economy
10:14 — Published Press: creator discovery and why it matters to marketers
10:59 — How Colin & Samir actually use AI in production (Autopod, Gemini, workflow)
12:01 — The creator economy shift: long-form, CTV, and creators as showrunners/studios
14:02 — The thread that never stopped: making content with the audience (community)
15:15 — From one-offs to deep sponsor relationships (series, categories, exclusivity)
16:49 — Creators aren’t just talent: they’re distributors + studio execs (bring us in early)
18:16 — First brand deal (for $0): why “free” isn’t the point—but the learning is
19:57 — Why treating creators like performance ads breaks the model (and what replaces it)
21:39 — The “golden rules” for brands working with creators (success, community, format)
23:29 — Attention economy → connection economy (41M views vs “memorable minutes”)
26:10 — How brands build connection: audiences, emotion, and where communities live
28:43 — Measuring connection: watch time, comments, returning viewers (not raw views)
31:04 — 2028+ frontier: interactive media, custom feeds, and “playable” brand universes
32:31 — Scripted YouTube is coming—and brands can be the studios (product placement 2.0)
33:39 — The real CMO challenge: pace (spend trails culture, and “being late” is irrelevant)
34:44 — “Hire a chronically online person” (and actually listen to them)
36:06 — Rapid fire: “make it go viral” + scripts + learning to be braver
37:52 — Josh’s 3 field notes: attention→connection, unfair advantage, audience as CEO