Creator economy gains ground as influencers increasingly command premium over celebs

A structural shift is underway in India’s advertising ecosystem, with influencers increasingly outpacing celebrities on both pricing power and campaign relevance, as brands pivot toward multi-creator strategies to drive engagement and conversions.

Contracts reviewed by exchange4media reveal a striking trend: influencers, in several cases, are commanding higher fees than celebrities while delivering fewer assets. In contrast, celebrity endorsements continue to demand a broader set of deliverables, even as their pricing comes under pressure.

Industry estimates suggest that A-list film stars still charge between ₹5 crore and ₹7–8 crore per campaign, while mid-tier celebrities command ₹1–3 crore. However, agency executives indicate that pricing dynamics are rapidly evolving in the digital ecosystem, where creators with highly engaged audiences are increasingly setting premium rate cards.

Read more: Creators drive social commerce

The shift has been underpinned by a broader reallocation of advertising budgets. Celebrity endorsement volumes fell 22% in 2025, marking the steepest annual decline, as marketers redirected spends toward influencer-led campaigns, according to TAM AdEx data.

India’s creator economy, on the other hand, has scaled rapidly, with over two million active content creators influencing more than $350 billion in consumer spending — a figure projected to exceed $1 trillion by 2030. This surge is prompting brands to move away from reliance on single celebrity faces while shifting towards diversified networks of creators.

Global FMCG major Unilever exemplifies this transformation. The company is reworking its traditional advertising playbook, building a distributed network of influence that replaces singular brand ambassadors with hundreds of thousands of advocates. CEO Fernando Fernandez recently said Unilever’s advocate base has expanded from around 10,000 two years ago to nearly 300,000 individuals recommending its brands across markets.

D2C brands and direct creator deals

Rohit Agarwal, Founder of Alpha Zegus, said the pricing inversion between celebrities and influencers is becoming more frequent. “The idea that celebrities are charging less than influencers is happening more often than before. Mid-tier film or TV celebrities, singers and even some OTT actors, are becoming more flexible on pricing to stay relevant in a digital-first brand ecosystem. They are offering competitive rates and are willing to diversify their mediums (TV/Insta/YouTube/Snapchat) knowing that the market is tough,” he said.

At the same time, top-tier digital creators are pushing the upper limits of pricing. “Many mega and big digital creators with highly engaged audiences are commanding premium rates. For example, creators in the mid-large tier are charging ₹16 lakh for one reel, or ₹20 lakh for one public appearance. While they have a high engagement audience, their rate cards are being set by big screen talent market standards,” Agarwal added.

Broadcasters court creator economy

For brands, this evolving dynamic is creating a more efficient and flexible talent market. “Earlier, celebrity endorsements were largely top-funnel and expensive, while influencers were used for engagement. Now, the lines are blurring. If a brand can access a celebrity at a more rational price point, they get aspirational value, wider recall and credibility, while still maintaining budget efficiency. At the same time, they can layer influencers for depth and conversion,” Agarwal said.

This has led to the rise of hybrid campaigns, where celebrities are used to drive awareness while creators amplify engagement and action—without the earlier cost imbalance that made such strategies unviable.

Experts note that the core differentiation still lies in content style and audience connection. Celebrities typically deliver high-production, campaign-led assets such as brand films and polished shoots, which may lack platform-native appeal. Influencers, by contrast, produce format-driven, platform-first content that blends seamlessly into user feeds, fostering authenticity, repeat engagement and higher trust.

While some celebrities are adapting by embracing short-form formats, reels and behind-the-scenes content, influencers continue to hold an edge in speed, relatability and consistency. Celebrities, however, still bring scale and aspirational value.

Sandeep Goyal, Managing Director, Rediffusion Brand Solutions, said the correction in celebrity pricing was inevitable. “Most celebrities have priced themselves out of the market. Top bracket ones ask for ₹8–10 crore a year with at best one day of shoot time and eventually want a script that is more about themselves rather than the brand. So there had to be a backtrack at some point. Maybe the dip will be more severe in the days ahead till celebrity costs cool down to more realistic levels,” he said.

The growing sophistication of influencer marketing is also being driven by data-led selection and campaign planning. Vikas Chawla, Co-founder of Social Beat, said, “Most creators still get brand deals through agencies. There are talent management agencies that manage creators exclusively, and then there are agencies like us that are data-driven. We work with a wide roster of creators and use data to determine the right fit. Depending on the brief and the brand, we identify which creators have the highest brand fit score and build the right pool accordingly.”

Campaign budgets in influencer marketing vary widely from ₹5–10 lakh for smaller initiatives to ₹4–5 crore for large-scale programs. Individual creators can charge ₹20–30 lakh, meaning multi-influencer campaigns can quickly scale up in cost, though outlier deals exist at higher levels.

Crucially, brands are shifting toward always-on creator strategies rather than one-off bursts. “What is also changing is that brands are moving towards always-on creator strategies. Instead of using influencers only during launches, more mature brands are engaging creators continuously across categories and moments. This helps them stay relevant and top of mind throughout the year, rather than relying on short bursts of activity,” Chawla said.