How the Creator Economy Has Changed Marketing and 'Democratized the Launch of Consumer Products'

"The mobile internet democratized the launch of consumer products. You no longer needed to have tens of millions of dollars of a paid media campaign to launch a consumer product. We were in the kids business and we were in the young adult business, and we saw how they interacted with this medium."

"Susan was one of the O.G. makeup influencers. She has a channel on YouTube called Mixed Makeup, and she launched Naturium in the summer of 2020, in COVID. Three years later, she sold it to e.l.f. Beauty for $350 million - with nothing but an influencer marketing campaign."

Dolphin Entertainment, founded in the mid-1990s as a production company behind Nickelodeon series, evolved into a leader in celebrity and influencer marketing. CEO Bill O'Dowd repositioned the company to capitalize on the creator economy after recognizing the power of online communities and social media platforms. The mobile internet fundamentally transformed product launches by removing traditional barriers that previously required tens of millions in paid media spending. Influencers now leverage their audiences to build consumer brands directly. Beauty influencer Susan Yara exemplifies this shift, launching Naturium skincare in 2020 and selling it to e.l.f. Beauty for $350 million within three years, demonstrating the commercial viability of influencer-driven product development.

Read at Variety