Creator revenue, brand investment, senior salaries: 5 interesting stats to start your week
We arm you with all the stats you need to tackle the week ahead.
· Marketing WeekBy Emily Manock 21 Sep 2026 2:10 pm
UK creator revenue to surpass £1bn for the first time
UK creator revenue is set to exceed the £1bn mark for the first time, rising 26% to £1.22bn in 2026 – building on growth of 20% in 2025, new research reveals.
Last week, IAB UK published the first-ever study measuring the UK creator partnerships market with the Institute for Advertising and Media Statistics (IRM), which finds creator partnerships are one of the fastest-growing areas of UK digital advertising.
In 2025, creator partnership revenues reached £966m, up 20.1% from £804m in 2024. This growth was more than twice the 9.6% growth recorded for digital advertising investment excluding creator partnerships, making influencer marketing one of the fastest-growing areas of the market.
Creator partnerships were also estimated to add £966m to the UK digital advertising market in 2025, equivalent to around 2.4% of the official £40.5bn ad spend figure.
Source: IAB UK
No CMOs on top board of any FTSE 100 company, study finds
Across the UK’s top 100 publicly listed companies, there are no marketing directors or CMOs on the main board.
This is a drop from the 14% that had marketing at the top table in 2007, according to new research from agency The Marketing Directors, which analyses the position of marketing in the FTSE 100.
The findings are compared against a 2007 study from Professor Malcolm McDonald and Cranfield School of Management, which found 14 board level marketing officers operating.
Despite no traditional CMOs sitting on the boards of the FTSE 100, marketing leadership remains present, just in a different way. The majority (70%) of companies have “meaningful” marketing, customer and brand expertise within their boards, the study found.
Around 10% of FTSE 100 chief executives have a background in marketing or customer leadership, such as Tesco’s CEO Ken Murphy who was previously chief commercial officer at Walgreen Boots Alliance.
Source: The Marketing Directors
Gucci scores as UK’s most recommended brand
Gucci is the UK’s most recommended brand, according to a new report from YouGov. The brand has a 90% ‘positive recommend’ score among its current customers, with its customers also giving the brand exceptionally high scores for quality (92.6%) and satisfaction (93%).
The recommend metric from YouGov asks consumers whether they would be likely to recommend a brand to a friend or colleague or tell them to avoid it.
MoneySavingExpert came in second place with a score of 87.6%. Customers pointed to its comparison and switching tools, its in-depth financial education, and the trust generated by founder Martin Lewis as reasons for the high score. British Airways takes third place with its success driven by the flight experience and the reputation of its parent airline.
There are clear themes of entertainment and travel among the remaining top ten, including the British Film Institute (fourth), Minecraft (fifth), Final Fantasy (sixth), John Lewis (seventh), Jet2holidays (eighth), Grand Theft Auto (ninth) and Assassin’s Creed (tenth).
Travel is also a key sector in the rankings of most improved brands. ScotRail has secured the top spot as the UK’s most improved brand for consumer recommendations, boosting its score by 8.6 points from 41.8% to 50.4% over the last year. This progress follows the scrapping of peak ticket pricing in September 2025, which streamlined fares and sliced selected ticket costs by nearly 50%.
Source: YouGov
Budget constraints persist despite finance’s belief in brand
Both marketing and finance leaders believe that investing in brand-building activities drive growth, with 94% of finance leaders and 97% of marketing leaders agreeing that it is a meaningful driver of commercial success.
This has also been reflected in budgets. Around four-fifths of both marketing and finance leaders (83% and 80% respectively) say that they have seen an increase in brand investment in the last twelve months, according to research from Tracksuit.
Alongside this, six in 10 marketing and finance managers say that they are having regular conversations about the strategic importance of brand.
However, the data shows that almost two-thirds (60%) of senior marketing leaders say their brand investment budget has been cut or significantly reduced by finance in the last two years, with around a third 35% saying more than once.
Factors given for this by marketing leaders included: Competing priorities from other budget areas across the business (39%), an overemphasis on short-term activation, (22%), and difficulty demonstrating ROI to finance or leadership (18%).
Source: Tracksuit
Senior salaries up 40% outside capital as London wages flatline
Salaries for ‘head of’ roles in the North and Midlands have risen 40% year-on-year, while equivalent London roles have remained flat, according to recruitment business Michael Page’s 2027 Salary Guide.
Head of social, media and content roles have increased by 19% in the last year, while creative director salaries have grown 40% outside London, the report suggests.
The majority (60%) of marketers in the UK are actively looking for their next role, compared with the national average of 50%. Just over half (52%) are satisfied with their current role.
Source: Michael Page