Creator budgets are still competing with other channels

This enterprise-brand chart ranks where marketing money comes from: email marketing (51%), events (46%), net new budget and changes in software stack (both 41%), then print or broadcast advertising (39%) and direct mail or gifting/seeding (33%).

The useful part is not the ranking itself. It is the structure underneath it: creator spend is still being funded from existing marketing lines, not from some endless separate pool.

When budget has to be reallocated, creator programs become a harder sell. That is exactly why a validation-first workflow matters before a team commits to long-term paid creators.

Related read: From 750+ Applications to 15 Long-Term Creators: A Green Dots Select Case Study