Irish consumers are happy to discover and research products through creators, but they are much less willing to trust the moment a post is commercially funded. That is the central tension in The Creator Effect, new research from IAB Ireland and RED C Research released on 10 September 2026.
For performance marketers, the data is a practical warning. Creator budgets can drive upper-funnel action, but closing the sale depends on credibility signals that many paid partnerships currently fail to deliver.
The funnel is real, but conversion is fragile
According to the study, 38% of Irish adults have researched a product or brand further after seeing creator content, 36% have discovered a new brand that way, and 19% have purchased as a result. Discovery and research sit close together; purchase runs at roughly half the research figure.
That shape matters for measurement. The release does not specify whether these are lifetime or recent-period actions, so teams should treat the numbers as directional rather than as platform-comparable conversion rates.
Trust drops when sponsorship appears
The sharpest finding is the gap between what audiences say they want and what they see in paid creator posts. While 72% of Irish adults say authenticity is important, only 17% consider sponsored creator content authentic. On transparency, 68% say it matters, but only 21% feel creators are open about commercial relationships.
What builds trust? The study ranks four factors:
- Honest reviews that include positives and negatives — 47%
- Independence and not appearing over-commercialised — 32%
- Clear disclosure of paid partnerships — 32%
- Long-term relationships with brands — 27%
The uncomfortable insight for brands is that the top driver, balanced criticism, is exactly what a tightly controlled brief tries to remove. Trust is highest when the creator has room to be negative, and that requires a different approval process.
The stakes go beyond surveys. Australia’s competition regulator fined PhotobookShop and Hismile in 2026 over concealed paid partnerships, and a US class action filed against Sephora on 4 September puts undisclosed creator compensation at the centre of a consumer-protection claim. If only 21% of adults see creators as open about commercial ties, that is compliance exposure, not just a perception problem.
AI disclosure is now a legal and trust issue
The research also finds 72% of Irish adults say it is important that creator content is human-generated, and four in five want clear disclosure when AI is used to create or substantially modify content. This lands in the middle of a regulatory shift: Article 50 of the EU AI Act became applicable in Ireland on 2 August 2026, with penalties up to €15 million or 3% of worldwide annual turnover.
Trade groups have warned of engagement trade-offs. IAB’s AI transparency framework cited a 31.5% click-through drop when ads disclose generative AI. But consumer sentiment and regulation are both moving toward disclosure, so marketers should build AI disclosure into creator contracts before enforcement forces it.
What to do next
Treat creator partnerships as credibility contracts, not just reach buys. That means briefs that allow genuine product criticism, fewer simultaneous brand deals, standardised sponsorship labels, and longer relationships with a smaller creator set.
Gavin Costello, Research Project Manager at RED C Research, put the opportunity directly: “Creators have real influence across the consumer journey, particularly when it comes to discovery and consideration.” The challenge is protecting that influence through sponsorship, not despite it.
Source: PPC Land
