R$ 1.57 billion waste: brands lose two-thirds of their budget by investing in creators without technology support

Imagine ordering a pizza over the weekend, waiting anxiously for food, and when you open the box, you only come across one-third of the slices?This is an analogy for the situation the advertising market faces when it comes to investing in campaigns with creators, according to one study conducted by BrandLovers. 

According to the survey, based on the platform database, of the total R$ 2.18 billion per year handled by the sector & according to data released by Kantar Ibope Media and Statista & ESTA 0, up to R$ 1.57 billion may be being thrown away. “In today's reality, in which influencer marketing has consolidated itself as one of the main digital advertising strategies in Brazil, identifying this loss should serve as a wake-up call for” brands, reinforces Rapha Avellar, CEO of BrandLovers. 

From the broad base of the platform, which today has more than 220 thousand creators and makes an average of four payments per minute, the survey analyzed campaign data with nano, micro and macro content producers to make the diagnosis. Thus, in addition to identifying the amount lost by advertisers and marketers, it was possible to identify the root of the problem.“More a data-driven approach, technology and scale 

Avellar points out that many brands still make decisions based on subjective perceptions or the mere popularity of creators, without an in-depth analysis of impact and performance. He points out the urgent need for a more structured model, based on data and technology. “Influence media is so central to demand generation in 2025 that it needs to be treated as real media 5 an exact science game, not a game of flare.” It reinforces that this change of mindset could maximize return on investment, ensuring that a significant portion of budgets is applied more strategically and efficiently.

The 3 big causes of waste

The research went beyond the identification of the problem in the budget and sought to understand the causes behind it. There are three main factors of inefficiency in working with creators, which contribute directly to the waste scenario:

1. Improper choice of creators profile

The choice between nano, micro or macro creators, based on the size of the profile (in number of followers), has a direct impact on the efficiency of the campaigns in relation to the potential of reach and cost-benefit. The survey shows that, for the same campaign, with a budget of R$1 million, the micro creators present an average cost per visualization (CPView) of R$ 0.11 and generate, on average, 9.1 million views. Macro creators have CPView of R$ 0.31 and reach about 3.2 million views.

This means that campaigns using micro creators achieve a more efficient 65% reach per dollar invested, maximizing the impact of the campaign without increasing the budget.

2. Lack of Individual and Multifactorial Pricing

The absence of a multifactorial method for pricing creators is one of the main causes of the inefficiency of investments in influencer marketing. Although the number of followers is a relevant metric, it needs to be analyzed together with other factors to ensure a fair and efficient pricing. Currently, much of the market still defines values based only on this isolated metric, disregarding essential indicators such as impact, effective reach, audience segmentation and optimization of cost per view.

This pricing model creates three major problems:

1. Pay per unit of creator, not for impact and reach
   Many brands price creators based on follower ranges and average engagement. However, this simplified approach often causes a creator of 40 thousand followers to receive the same value as one of 35 thousand. The same happens with creators of 60 thousand followers, where one can have 6% of engagement and another only 4%, but both receive the same payment. This practice destroys media optimization and reduces the efficiency of investments.
   
2. Excess of intermediaries between brand and creator
   Agencies are strategic partners in brand communication, but there are poorly designed payment chains that have as many as 4 or even 5 intermediaries and can dramatically increase costs.In some structures, the same creator can cost up to 6 times more, due to tax inefficiency and margins added by unnecessary intermediaries. This cost-transfer model reduces the amount allocated to what really matters: buying the media, delivering impact and generating genuine conversations about the brand.
   
3. Paying the wrong amount for lack of option
   Finding the right creator can become a bottleneck, and in the pressure to decide quickly, many brands end up choosing suboptimal creators. Without access to a large volume of qualified options, campaigns can end up paying the same amount for creators that deliver less result, hurting the return on investment.

A comparative analysis demonstrated the impact of the change to a pricing model with a more efficient algorithm:

• Before: A traditional campaign based solely on the number of followers resulted in a cost per view of R$ 0.16, generating 3.1 million views.
• Then: Applying a smart pricing model that considers multiple factors (actual impact, segmentation and media optimization), the cost per view dropped to R$ 0.064, allowing you to reach 7.75 million views with the same budget.
• Result: An increase of +150% in the campaign reach, optimizing the investment in more than 60%.

The data makes it clear that pricing errors not only increase costs unnecessarily, but also limit the potential of influencer media as a strategic channel of awareness and consideration. Adjusting the way brands buy this media can bring exponential gains, ensuring that every real investment generates real and maximized impact.

3. Wrong segmentation 

Another critical error identified is the choice of creators whose audience is not aligned with the objectives of the action. The research revealed that campaigns with low fit between the creator and the brand result in a CPView of R$ 0.30, while those with high fit reach a CPView of only R$ 0.09. That is, poorly targeted campaigns are 3.33 times less efficient.

In addition, the cost increase can become even more critical when the creator audience is not aligned with the campaign target audience. This problem occurs because many brands still choose creators with an image association mindset, rather than with a strategic media planning approach. The creator who appears to be the “cara of your brand” may, in practice, have an audience that does not reflect the profile of your ideal consumer, dramatically reducing the effectiveness of the campaign.

Lack of alignment, therefore, can mean a waste of up to 72% of the budget of some campaigns. This if the segmentation is not made based on concrete data on the audience profile, real engagement and brand affinity.

How to avoid losing budget?

“Brands need to adopt a more analytical mindset in influencer marketing, just as they already do on other media fronts”, says Avellar.“What we see today is that many decisions are made based on subjective factors, without a deeper assessment of the impact potential of each creator.”

To avoid an analysis based on a single criterion and the damage caused by this practice, the study indicates the adoption of a plan made from well-structured data and criteria.This includes:

• Data-driven decisions beyond followers and engagement & O EMP Utilize technology for predictive analytics that identify the most effective creators to optimize critical KPIs, such as impacts, reach, and frequency.
• Think like media & Set the campaign target before selecting creators, prioritizing delivery of results rather than choices based on image association alone.
• Strategic and efficient pricing & Efficient pricing & Prevention of cost distortions that increase investment without proportionality in return, ensuring payments are optimized to maximize the scale and impact of campaigns.

“The key to the future of influencer marketing lies in the accuracy of”, concludes Avellar. “Brands that know how to use technology and data at the heart of their strategies will be able to avoid waste. More than that, they will be able to maximize the real impact of their activations with creators. In the end, the success of influencer marketing depends not only on investing more money, but investing more intelligently”.