Creator marketing is growing up—and Europe is leading the charge. Back at CreatorIQ Connect Europe, we explored why EMEA has emerged as the global model for creator marketing maturity. From deep cultural nuances to a creator-first mindset, Europe is setting the pace for how brands everywhere can harness the power of creators to drive trust, scale, and impact—no matter the market conditions.
EMEA outpaces US in key creator marketing sectors
While the U.S. has long been the power player in creator marketing, EMEA is stepping up as the new frontrunner by spend across many key categories. In his keynote presentation, CreatorIQ’s CEO Chris Harrington unpacked the global creator marketing spend by industry and region, revealing that EMEA markets are outspending the U.S. in critical sectors like beauty, fashion, CPG, and automotive.
In beauty alone—creator marketing’s top sector—our research revealed that five out of the top 10 global beauty brands by EMV are headquartered in EMEA: L’Oréal Paris, Huda Beauty, Dior, YSL, and Charlotte Tilbury. But Europe’s dominance isn’t just about brand headquarters—it’s about how these brands are turning cultural nuance into competitive advantage.
From 2023 to 2025, EMEA’s creator-led beauty content has outpaced the U.S. across the board, driving:
- 2.3x more impressions
- 1.7x higher engagement
- 1.4x more Earned Media Value (EMV)
Notably, EMEA brands didn’t outperform the U.S. by simply working with more creators, but by prioritizing creators who generate more, higher-impact content. This quality-over-quantity approach is proving far more effective than chasing scale alone.
Overall, this shift signals that Europe isn’t just following the U.S. playbook—it’s rewriting it, proving that a creator-first, culturally nuanced approach delivers impact and scale in even the most competitive markets.
As Chris puts it, “Europe is building the playbook for how to manage complexity and drive growth and innovation at scale.” So what exactly are EMEA brands doing to drive this growth? Here’s what we learned from leaders at Beiersdorf, Huda Beauty, DECIEM, ghd, and CEW during CreatorIQ Connect Europe.
Define what good looks like, globally
EMEA has a complex ecosystem made up of hundreds of markets and thousands of languages. According to CEW’s Sallie Berkerey, “Understanding these intricate cultural nuances is absolutely key to building relevance and connection with customers.”
But before diving into local relevance and cultural adaptations, it’s important to first understand what good creator marketing looks like from a global perspective. That way, no matter how varied local strategies become, global teams can rest assured that everything is built upon a shared vision and expectations for operational excellence.
Left to right: Hassan Daoud and Antoine Héry, Beiersdorf
"The first step is to make sure that we're all on the same ship, going in the same direction." — Hassan Daoud, Beiersdorf
In fact, many of EMEA’s most mature creator programs like Nestlé and Beiersdorf are creating formalized “centers of excellence” in their organizations to ensure all regional teams are speaking the same language when it comes to creator marketing. Whether that’s defining a “micro” vs. “macro” creator or agreeing on KPIs like EMV, Beiersdorf’s Hassan Daoud, global head of social media and influencers, explains how these global standards serve as a North Star that ensures their team of 20,000 employees across 100 countries are “on the same ship, going in the same direction.”
Lean into local relevance
With this global foundation in place, brands can then lean into local relevance. But resonating with local consumers does not mean “losing your brand’s voice,” says Sarah Staniford, formerly the GM of Huda Beauty. “It’s about picking the right culturally relevant moments to talk about your brand and make it fun.”
"It's not about losing your brand's voice. It's about picking the right culturally relevant moments to talk about it and make it fun.” — Sarah Staniford, previously Huda Beauty
Lizi Aston, senior director of DECIEM’s global communications and collaborations, shares how rather than following a standard “new market playbook,” her team strives to understand the true needs of local consumers through platforms like TikTok and Reddit: “We sit in the DMs, we sit in the captions.” For example, when launching The Ordinary, a solutions-focused skincare brand, in India back in 2022, the team learned of local consumers' concerns around skin congestion and under-eye circles, and quickly pivoted their original launch plan and product lineup to focus on addressing those specific needs.
Left to right: Sarah Staniford (previously Huda Beauty), Mary Shiels (ghd), Lizi Aston (DECIEM), Sallie Berkerey (CEW)
Empower on-the-ground teams
For global brands operating in multiple markets, it can be challenging to know how to resonate with consumers in specific regions. The key to doing this authentically, effectively, and efficiently? Empower your local teams.
Mary Shiels, global communications director at ghd, emphasizes how trusting your local teams is paramount to showing up authentically in local markets: “They are the experts in local relevance and what’s culturally trending in their region, so it’s about empowering them to make the right decisions and choose the right influencers to communicate your brand message in the right way in those regions.”
Left to right: Sarah Stanisford (Huda Beauty) and Mary Shiels (ghd)
Beiersdorf leader Antoine Héry echoes this idea in his panel discussion, stating that “top-down” directives from the global team don’t work: “You have to do it with the [local] markets as a joint effort.” Many panelists noted how having a consistent feedback loop between global and regional teams around what works—and what doesn’t—is crucial for learning and actioning on insights.
Trust creators as cultural translators
In addition to trusting your local teams, it’s also key to trust the local creators. “We give full creative control to our creators,” says Lizi, explaining how creators aren’t just brand amplifiers, but “cultural translators” who know their audience “way better than any central brand ever will.” As such, DECIEM educates creators around their brand DNA and product benefits, before inviting them to create the content that’s most authentic to them and relevant to their followers.
"Creators are not only amplifiers, they're cultural translators. They know their audience way better than any central brand ever will.” — Lizi Aston, DECIEM
Antoine shares that while Beiersdorf used to be “control freaks” about their content, they’ve learned to loosen the creative reins and give creators more freedom in how they communicate their brands’ messages.
Left to right: Hassan Daoud (Beiersdorf), Antoine Héry (Beiersdorf), Brit Starr (CreatorIQ)
Additionally, Hassan shared how paying attention to the ways in which creators organically talk about their brands and products online revealed some unexpected learnings—like how people were using their micellar water as haircare, and aftershave balm as a makeup primer—that they could then tap further into: “Learning to lean into and live in those moments has been a way to have a feedback loop with creators.”
Creators offer a proven path forward
EMEA is leading the charge in creator marketing maturity, but no matter your market or industry, creators offer a proven path forward for brands today. In an era where marketers must do more with less, Chris Harrington underscores that creator marketing is “one of the most efficient, most resilient channels in your marketing and financial toolkit.”
"Creator marketing is one of the most efficient, most resilient channels in your marketing and financial toolkit." — Chris Harrington, CreatorIQ
Brands like DECIEM are dedicating 90% of their strategy to earned media, while Beiersdorf is allocating 20–30% of their digital spend to creator partnerships—because creator content simply works better, everywhere. And the numbers back it up: According to our Aberdeen Research study, brands that invest most in creator marketing see a $4.70 return on ad spend, 51% profit margin improvement, and 4.9x year-over-year improvement in brand sentiment.
Whether you’re in EMEA or beyond, one thing is clear: the brands that lean into the power of creators will be the ones that thrive—no matter the climate.
To learn more from our panelists and explore all of the insightful discussions from CreatorIQ Connect Europe, head over to our session replay hub.
