Cannes Lions 2025 spotlighted one of the most pressing topics in digital marketing: influencer compensation and equity in the creator economy. At the heart of this conversation was Charlotte Stavrou, founder of the 7-6 Agency, who unveiled insights from The Influencer Pricing Report 2025. Her agency, which blends talent management with influencer marketing, has been on the forefront of this issue since 2021 — advocating for transparency, equity, and sustainability in creator-brand relationships.
From Transparency to Accountability. The core message of this year’s report is clear: the industry is confused and divided. From creators to brands and agencies, no one agrees on standard pricing or valuation. While some influencers are overpaid based purely on follower count, many — particularly creators of color and underrepresented backgrounds — continue to be grossly underpaid or only offered “gifting” as compensation.
Stavrou stressed that gifting should never replace fair financial compensation. Her call to action: it’s time for the industry to stop talking about the problem and start building tools to fix it.
The Uncomfortable Truths: Disparities Persist
The 2025 report builds on four years of data and reveals:
- Persistent pay gaps based on race, skin tone, age, and ability.
- A growing trend of creators accepting inadequate payment, due to lack of education or support.
- Brands often operate without pricing strategies, leading to chaos in negotiations and inconsistent valuation.
- Usage rights are frequently ignored, with creators not compensated for how their content is used across campaigns.
Notably, last year’s (2024) report began analyzing skin tone and hair texture, adding new dimensions to the discussion around bias and representation.
Creators Are Asking for Fair Rates — Not Luxury. As prices shift, some marketers claim that creator fees are “too high.” But Stavrou challenged this by asking: Are prices rising, or are creators finally pricing in their value, usage, time, and production quality? She pointed out that many creators are delivering content at the same quality level as professional studios — at a fraction of the cost — yet their value remains unrecognized.
The Creator vs. Brand Disconnect
From the brand and agency side, three major issues emerged:
- Rising fees vs. tight budgets.
- Inclusive casting by agencies being rejected by brands.
- No standardized measurement of success, making ROI comparison — and therefore pricing — nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, creators face:
- Tight turnaround times (as little as 2–4 days).
- Late payments, with some being paid 120+ days post-delivery.
- Lack of pricing knowledge, especially among those without representation.
The Urgent Need for Tools, Frameworks & Respect. The influencer marketing industry still lacks basic tools to guide pricing and protect creators.
Stavrou’s plea to the industry includes:
- Building shared pricing frameworks.
- Respecting rate cards and negotiating fairly.
- Educating creators on pricing and licensing.
- Standardizing usage compensation, as is done in other media industries.
What’s Next?. While Stavrou acknowledged that she doesn’t have all the answers, she urged marketers, agencies, and platforms to come together to create long-term, equitable systems. Her parting message: Influencer pricing can’t be standardized, but it can be made fairer.
The 2025 Influencer Pricing Report will be available for free. It’s a living, collaborative tool — open to contributions and dialogue. As Stavrou puts it, “We don’t want to own this. We want to build it with the industry.”
