As audiences split their time between TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, newsletters, and podcasts, July made one thing clear: creator partnerships are now central to modern PR. The most effective campaigns this summer didn’t just target journalists – they built relationships with creators who act as trusted editors and community hosts, delivering stories directly to the audiences brands most want to reach. The result is PR that feels less like an announcement and more like a conversation people want to join.
This shift isn’t about chasing the largest follower counts – it’s about trust. When a creator shares a brand’s story in their own words, audiences connect with it because it comes from someone they know and value.
For brands working with a digital PR agency UK, adding creator outreach to traditional media can be a powerful way to strengthen a campaign. This might mean building a media list that spans both news desks and niche creators, and preparing press assets tailored to each – from publisher-ready copy to formats for Shorts, Reels, and YouTube. Timing the launch so that headlines and creator content complement each other ensures both channels work together rather than compete for attention.
Why Creator Partnerships Are Gaining PR Traction
More PR teams are turning to creator partnerships because they offer reach in the spaces where audiences already spend their time – but they also deliver something rarer: continuity. A single newspaper hit can be powerful on launch day, yet a creator’s video, newsletter, or blog post often continues to surface in search results, platform recommendations, and ‘watch next’ queues months later. Adobe’s long-running collaborations with design YouTubers and its Creative Residency are a textbook example. Instead of a single splash of attention, Adobe benefits from a steady stream of tutorials that journalists reference and users bookmark, earning the brand ongoing authority rather than just a brief spike in mentions.
For brands working with a PR agency in the UK, creator partnerships are also valuable in building trust. By elevating real customers and micro-influencers early on, Glossier turned everyday content – swatches, ‘get ready with me’ videos, and honest reviews – into resources reporters could reference when covering product launches and category trends. This credibility was built over time through consistent creator collaborations, and it continues to strengthen the brand with every new campaign.
Micro-Creators: Smaller Followings, Bigger Persuasion
Gymshark shows why small doesn’t mean insignificant when it comes to influencer collaborations. By working with fitness creators of all audience sizes, the brand produces a steady stream of authentic content. From coaching clips and training diaries to event vlogs, this content keeps customers, potential buyers, and the wider fitness community engaged long after launch day. For a digital PR agency UK, this is a strong example of how sustained creator partnerships can extend a campaign’s reach well beyond its initial press coverage, building familiarity and trust over time.
The same approach works in other industries. Notion, a popular productivity and note-taking platform, partners with creators worldwide who publish tutorials, templates, and workflow ideas that make the tool easy to understand for specific groups, from students to software teams. Journalists often reference this content because it demonstrates real-life use in a way brand marketing rarely can.
Micro-creators are powerful because they speak directly to the audiences a brand most wants to reach. To the media, that focus signals expertise and authority. In search and social, it reflects intent. And when it comes to results, it drives the metrics that matter: genuine comments, saved posts, newsletter sign-ups, and visitors who stay on the site longer.
Blending Creator Content with Media Coverage
The most effective July campaigns used creator content and traditional coverage in tandem, with each adding context, credibility, and momentum to the other. Ryanair is a prime example. Known for its quick-witted TikTok presence, the airline’s posts have become cultural reference points that creators love to remix. When Ryanair announces a new route, launches a fare promotion, or drops a cheeky response to a trending topic, the creator ecosystem is already primed to respond. That back-and-forth keeps the brand active in both news cycles and social feeds, with journalists often embedding the same posts creators are reacting to. For a digital PR agency, it’s a textbook example of how a well-managed social voice can spark creator engagement that fuels traditional media coverage. This helps us to create stories that feel current, entertaining, and that are naturally shareable.
Longevity and the Creator Effect
One of the biggest advantages of creator partnerships in PR is how long their content stays relevant. A review, tutorial, or behind-the-scenes video made for a campaign doesn’t disappear after launch week. It remains searchable, shareable, and quotable for months or even years. This gives journalists material they can return to when covering follow-up stories, and allows audiences to keep discovering it long after the initial buzz has faded.
GoPro’s ongoing collaborations with adventure filmmakers illustrate this perfectly. Their content keeps the brand visible between launches, providing the media with a steady flow of authentic material to reference. For a UK brand working with a digital PR agency UK, that kind of sustained visibility can turn a one-day story into one that earns coverage again and again.
Relationships, Not Transactions
The strongest creator-led PR wins come from long-term programmes, not one-off posts. For example, Sephora’s Squad turns influencer work into a structured, year-round partnership. Members receive training, early access, and insight into the brand’s plans. In return, Sephora gains credible voices ready to add context to news, create educational content, and answer community questions. Meanwhile, Red Bull’s decades-long work with athletes-as-creators delivers a similar outcome from a different angle – a steady pipeline of stories and stunts that attract coverage because they are genuinely worth watching.
For brands partnering with a digital PR agency UK, this kind of sustainability comes from reciprocity. Strong campaigns offer early access, involve creators in planning, and respect their creative independence. When a story breaks, these partners already know the facts and can communicate them in ways their audiences trust.
Guardrails, Governance, and Trust
With influence comes responsibility, and the best campaigns reflect that from the start. ASOS, for example, maintains a strong compliance framework with clear policies on influencer conduct and ethical marketing standards. This proactive approach – covering how creators label content, verify claims, and follow regulations – builds long-term credibility with audiences. This helps campaigns feel like genuine stories rather than ads.
The Role of a Modern PR Partner
A digital PR agency UK can turn strong governance and creator relationships into a strategic advantage. Barbour, the British heritage clothing brand, has worked with influencers from modern artists to fashion storytellers, extending its classic image to new and highly engaged audiences. When those creative collaborations are timed alongside earned media releases, each amplifies the other.
Heathrow Airport has taken a similar approach with its ‘Heathrow Signs’ campaign. This campaign reimagined airport signage as playful, light-hearted messages across TV, outdoor advertising such as billboards and airport displays, and social media. The campaign earned national media coverage, and its reach grew further when travellers shared those moments online.
When creator-led storytelling is paired with earned media, it delivers more than a burst of visibility. It keeps the story alive. Journalists quote creators their audiences already trust, and editors embed creator content because it matches how people now consume information. The result is coverage that keeps the story in circulation, sparking fresh engagement well beyond the initial announcement.
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