- Since brands pay upfront for the services, creators are paid within 30 days
- Aims to simplify campaign management, performance tracking and payments
.jpg "Shermaine Wong, co-founder and CEO of Cult Creative (Left) and Lina Esa, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Cult Creative")
“Content creators are now the modern storytellers as they resonate with Gen Zs and millennials especially,” said Shermaine Wong, co-founder and CEO of Cult Creative. Consumers are always searching for experiences with different creators and types of content, she adds.
According to a 2022 report by Cube Asia Research, Southeast Asia’s social commerce is estimated to be worth US$42 billion (RM186.65 billion)
In tandem, a report ‘E-commerce influencer marketing in Southeast Asia’ was published in Oct by Impact.com in collaboration with Cube Asia, revealing that by 2027, social commerce in the region could reach an impressive US$125 billion (RM555.49 billion)
Moreover, within the report, results of a survey consisting of 400 Malaysian adult respondents (above 18 years) indicate that celebrity and mega influencers hold significant sway over Malaysian consumers’ purchasing decisions by 62% and 61% respectively.
To address the rising demand of UCG, Cult Creative has beta launched its Creator Platform, – an all-in-one solution designed to streamline and optimise UGC marketing campaigns for content creators.
“Cult Creative’s efforts aim to position Malaysia as a regional hub for the creator economy with the launch of Creator Platform to tap into the growing trend of influencer-driven storytelling,” Shermaine said.
Lina Esa, co-founder and chief marketing officer of Cult Creative said that the creator economy is about building genuine connections. “Through the platform, we help brands grow their audiences, get the quality UGC that we can provide them, while ensuring creators have an easy way to manage their campaigns and scale their earnings.”
In the last 12 months, Cult Creative has paid over US$157,514 (RM700,000) to 2,800 creators, with brand partnerships such as Grab, Hotlink, Astro, Farm Fresh and Marriot Bonvoy Group.
Emphasising its commitment to serve creators and assist them on the business side of matters, Cult Creative has emerged as one of the quickest paymasters in its space. “We are one of the only companies that pay creators within 30 days, whereas most of our competitors pay within three to six months, which is an industry standard,” said Shermaine. It is able to do this as brands pay upfront for the work they wish creators to deliver for them.
Furthermore, depending on a creator’s reliability and quality of work, creators can also obtain a form of certification known as “Cult Certified”, which allows them to obtain their earnings within 24 hours.
The platform operates on a pay-per-use model, charging brands for UGC campaigns based on creator engagement with additional services like activation fees, platform margins and support.
Brands can also opt for annual agreements with continued platform use or tailored campaign management for more customised solutions.
Key features
While still in its beta stage, the platform’s key features include:
- Professional Media Kits: Creators can automatically generate “media kits” that link their social media profiles and display relevant audience insights, such as engagement rate.
- Discover New Campaigns: The Discovery page is where creators find their brand deals. To opt in for a campaign, creators can submit a text or video ‘pitch’ to get noticed.
- Personalised Campaign Matching: A data-matching algorithm connects creators with brands that align with their content and audience.
- Automated Workflows: Admin such as creator agreements and creator invoices are done for them. Tasks are automatically generated to give time back to creators to stay creative.
- Streamlined Communication: An integrated chat feature keeps all campaign-related conversations organised, which eliminates the need for multiple messaging platforms and switching between different chat groups.
- Feedback Management: Creators can track changes and confirm drafts in one place to ensure efficient feedback processing.
The platform aims to simplify campaign management, performance tracking and payments that is aligned with Cult Creative’s mission to empower creators with tools to elevate content creation and brand partnerships.
Down the pipeline
It had taken ten months to build the platform with the tech support venture firm Nexea Ventures, which served as Cult Creative’s tech consultant. Nexea is an investor in Cult Creative.
Shermaine declined to disclose how much it has cost to build the platform.
However, when the tech collaboration with Nexea ends by January, Shermaine will grow Cult Creative’s in-house tech team.
Cult Creative expects its 2024 revenue to hit US$405,026 (RM1.8 million), a fivefold increase over 2023.
Creators can sign up and try their hand at pitching for brand deals and earning through their content via www.cultcreativeasia.com.