In 2021, even when LinkedIn was making waves locally as the go-to platform for professionals seeking new opportunity, there was still a gap for some groups of professionals, particularly the creatives. So the idea of Cult Creative, a platform that connects creatives from any industry to opportunities out there.
Creatives on the platform can attach their work for showcase and at the same time, connect with like-minded creators or even those from different industries to pursue collaborations. Even coming in the form of an app, Cult Creative offered further features that highlighted workshops, mentorships and discussion events as well as a job section.
The team founded by Shermaine Wong, the late Manisha Jagan and Lina Esa continued to thrive, benefitting creatives, offering more than one way towards greater heights.
Despite achieving many milestones and having played an important role in aiding many creatives who lost their jobs during the pandemic, the team came to a decision late last year to shut down its app while announcing a pivot at the same time.
In a chat with Shermaine, the Chief Creative Officer of Cult Creative shared that the gradual move from its identity of a job platform began in May 2023. With an aim to play a more involved role, the shift focused more on the creator economy and has offered additional tools and products for users.
“We pivoted because the previous business model was not viable and sustainable. We decided to speak to our customers again to find ways to add value further. Traditional advertising is on the decline. Today, influencers are stepping up as modern storytellers.
“They create genuine connections, especially with Gen Z and millennial audiences. Consumers are not monogamous as most seek diverse experiences from multiple influencers across various platforms and types of content,” Shermaine tells Disruptr.
8 out of 10 surveyed consumers have also purchased a product or service because an influencer recommended it, yet brands, agencies and creators were not equipped to work together.
With Cult Creative’s collective experience with the creative and marketing industry, Shermaine and her team saw a gap in creating an end-to-end solution to become enablers of effective UGC ecosystems.
Shermaine also points out that with the global shift toward the creator economy, Cult Creative developed a creator marketing platform that enables brands to reach and grow their audiences effortlessly through UGC campaigns. This will also allow creators to focus on what they love most and continue to develop and grow themselves while receiving fair and timely compensation for their work.
Leading The Market WIth A Long-Term Vision
Cult Creative’s new shift is integrating a long-term vision to position itself as an upcoming leader in the market and at the same time, create meaningful value for its creators and brand community.
Shermaine tells Disruptr that by focusing on impact and earnings, Cult Creative is forging its new path through community empowerment, global accessibility , revenue growth and market leadership.
“We want to foster a diverse ecosystem for brands and creators to connect, collaborate and grow. This new shift will also ensure equitable opportunities for creators worldwide and we will be targeting a 10x growth through innovative brand partnerships and creator monetisation tools,” she said.
Shermaine also added that the new direction can contribute to increasing Malaysia’s creative sector’s contribution to GDP by fostering a sustainable ecosystem for creators and brands, and elevating its GDP contribution in the coming years.
Primary Focus
“Our primary focus is on UGC creators with nano-to-micro followings (1,000 – 50,000 followers) and a 2-4% engagement rate, ensuring quality content output for our brands,” Shermaine shares.
“These creators often need more visibility and access to brands, and they need help monetising their work, so we provide support through mentorship programmes, brand collaborations, and comprehensive tools that make content monetisation and project management more effortless,” she added.
Cult Creative will soon be launching the Creator Academy, an initiative which services both an academy and community, covering curated educational resources and events to help creators refine their craft and build sustainable careers.
To further strengthen the community and foster a sense of empowerment, the team is prioritising building and maintaining relations between their client success team and creators through all processes and workflows.
“As part of this commitment, we developed a chat feature within our platform to facilitate a smoother workflow and minimise communication issues for successful brand collaborations. We will host in-person community-building activities including the Brand Strat Summit for brands and agencies, and the Creator Academy which empowers creators continuously,” she tells Disruptr.
The current revenue model on the other end involves charging brands for UGC campaigns based on the number of content creators involved. Creators are then compensated with standard rates, supplemented by cost-posting fees, paid ads usage and product value.
In the coming year, Shermaine and her team further plan to expand their revenue streams by transferring their internal software into a SaaS tool for creators to use in their own campaigns. Additionally, Cult Creative aims to initiate financial services by offering cash flow solutions to content creators.
Tackling Challenges and Growing Constructively
“In my industry, the major challenges revolve around keeping up with algorithm changes, staying on top of evolving social media trends and combating trend fatigue, measuring impact in a fragmented landscape, dealing with competition from major players, scaling operations, and providing ongoing value throughout the creator cycle,” Shermaine shares.
In order to tackle these challenges effectively, she believes that it is crucial to partner with social media experts and data analysts to stay on top of algorithm changes, utilise tools to monitor new trends and create an analytics dashboard to gauge campaign effectiveness.
Furthermore, Cult Creative is also establishing standard processes and aims to maintain high standards through regular feedback while scaling operations. The team proactively gathers feedback through Product Discovery meetings with their creators and brands.
“It is paramount to provide ongoing value throughout the creator cycle. Strategies to achieve this include adding features for creators as they grow and offering different service levels and prices to match their evolving needs, ensuring sustained engagement and support.”
The Future Of The Creator Economy
E-commerce market data and insights platform, Cube Asia predicts that social commerce in the region could skyrocket to a staggering $125 billion by 2027. With traditional advertising waning and more influencers jumping on the storytelling trend, it only goes to show that today’s consumers seek diverse experiences from multiple influencers across various platforms and content types.
“Cult Creative is strategically positioned to capitalise on these trends by prioritising community-driven growth and developing tools that enable creators to produce deeply resonating content for their audiences.
“As part of our upcoming features, we are developing creator affiliate vetting and activation features to unleash creators’ potential in selling products and driving business,” Shermaine concluded.
Wondering how brands and agencies can benefit from the new shift? Cult Creative offers a comprehensive solution for successfully executing influencer marketing, providing services such as influencer discovery, campaign management, performance tracking, optimization, contracting, and payments.
● The new platform utilizes a data-matching algorithm to connect creators and brands, offering a more personalised approach to campaign searches. A Client Success Manager supports each campaign to ensure high-quality UGC content at scale, which provides brand, creator, and audience safety.
● After completing deliverables, invoices and agreements are automatically generated. Cult Creators are paid within 30 days, compared to competitors, who pay over 90 days
● Creators can create a professional Media Kit, showcasing their real-time insights and customising the information they want to share with brands.
● The Discover feature suggests campaigns that best suit the creators, but they can still explore campaigns outside their niche if they wish to try dierent areas.
● To simplify communication, a chat feature streamlines interactions between creators and the cult creative team regarding campaigns, addressing the issue of managing multiple chat platforms like WhatsApp, email, and Instagram DMs.
● The platform facilitates the draft and feedback process, making it easier and more streamlined to collect and confirm feedback on drafts.