The Big Shift: Always-On Over Campaigns
In 2023, 80% of our revenue came from campaign-based projects. Big shoot, big delivery, done. In 2026, 65% comes from retainer relationships. Brands are not buying campaigns anymore. They are buying continuous content production. Monthly shoots. Weekly deliveries. Always-on social feeds.
The economics drove this change. A brand that runs 4 campaigns per year has content gaps between them. Their social channels go quiet for weeks. The algorithm punishes inconsistency. A brand on an always-on production retainer never has a content gap. The cost is lower per-asset and the performance is higher over time.
Video Budgets: 80% of Total Spend
Photography is not dead. But it is now 20% of the average content budget, down from 50% in 2022. Video takes everything else. Short-form vertical video (under 60 seconds) accounts for 50% of total video budgets. Long-form (2-10 minutes for YouTube) takes 20%. The remaining 10% goes to emerging formats .. 360-degree content, interactive video and live streaming.
For production teams, this means every shoot is a video shoot that also produces stills. Not the other way around. Gear choices, crew composition and shooting schedules all center on video capture. Stills are pulled from video frames or shot in gaps between video takes.
Platform Allocation
Instagram still takes the largest single share: 35% of distribution budgets. But it is declining. TikTok is at 25% and growing. YouTube (including Shorts) is at 20%. LinkedIn is the surprise at 10% .. luxury B2B brands discovered that decision-makers spend more time on LinkedIn than Instagram. The remaining 10% splits between Pinterest, X and emerging platforms.
The smartest brands are not choosing platforms. They are creating content systems that produce platform-native versions of every piece. One shoot. Five platform outputs. That requires a production team that understands every platform's specific requirements .. aspect ratio, pacing, text placement, sound design, caption style.
Creator Versus Agency Spend
Among our clients, creator-led production now captures 70% of social content budgets. Traditional agencies retain TV, print and large-scale event production. The hybrid model .. creator teams for social, agencies for above-the-line .. is now standard at brands like Marriott, Hilton and Emirates.
What surprised us: luxury brands are spending more per creator than mass-market brands. Aman and Four Seasons pay premium rates for creator teams that understand their standards. The "cheap content" narrative around creators was always wrong. The value is not lower cost. It is higher performance at any budget level.
What Is Coming in 2027
Three trends we are betting on. First, episodic content. Brands moving from isolated posts to serialized content with recurring formats and narratives. Second, creator-owned IP. Brands licensing content from creator teams rather than commissioning it. Third, real-time content operations .. production teams embedded within brand marketing departments, producing and publishing same-day.