In early June, Whalar Group announced it was selling its brand marketing business, Whalar, to Accenture Song for an undisclosed amount. Waller and his co-CEO James Street, will continue to run Whalar Group, which includes the talent agency business and the Lighthouse creator studios. You can watch the full WP Studio interview above.
This interview has been edited and condensed. This interview was part of a partnership with Whalar Group.
Sara Goo: There’s a lot of buzz about this sale to Accenture. What does this sale mean for the creator economy? What does it mean for Whalar?
Neil Waller: At first we were processing what it meant for us as a company. And now as we’re seeing the reaction, they way it’s been perceived as kind of a watershed moment. From the advertising perspective, when we started Whalar 10 years ago, 95 percent of creators we worked with weren't even full-time creators. They were people just creating content. Brands were doing very one-off moments. Fast forward to now, that 95 percent are full-time, building media companies. And we're here in Cannes Lions and the intersection of creators and advertising and creativity ecosystem is really huge. [The acquisition by] Accenture Song just demonstrates how strong the creator economy is as part of growth and brand building. It’s not a “nice to have” anymore. I don’t think we could have dreamt of this.
The journey has been that creators are more than just advertising businesses. They are media and entertainment companies.
SG: Three years ago, you decided to open these creator campuses called Lighthouses, spaces for creators to create content. As a creator marketing company, why did you decide to do that?
NW: [It’s] about building proximity. We are no crystal ball readers. We have ideas, but it’s through this proximity to creators in the market that we’re able to see and learn on the ground what are the needs, what are they trying, what's succeeding, where do they need help to try these things. They need both money and infrastructure to take the next leap. Lighthouse Studios was born as a way to provide operational support and funding.
SG: So does this mean you’ll be doing more direct investment in creators going forward?
NW: Exactly. Another opportunity is which creator has an incredible audience and incredible business. What company can be bought and builds in ever greater opportunities? We’re going to see these creators turn into these greater media and entertainment companies.
SG: How do you ensure brand safety with the creators you work with?
NW: One of my biggest pet hates in working with creators is the notion that you have to give all freedom to the creators to create content. At the end of the day it’s a partnership between two brands: the creator is a brand and the brand has their objective. And the partnership has to come to an area of respect. Creators are not publishing anything without it being reviewed. It’s not to say mistakes can’t happen, but you put in place the processes, infrastructure and team. I just don’t think it’s an issue. It's just a professional process. The professionalization of creators and their businesses in the last five years has been the most staggering thing.
SG: What do you think of all this bad AI content on social media?
NW: The trend of the last few years has been an algorithmic feed, where it’s not based on who you follow, you’re just being fed this stuff. But I do think because of this there's going to be a return to trusted brands and trusted accounts. It’s going to be a tremendous opportunity for those that are established who have that trust.
It’s something that the platforms will have to work out, attribution and will have to label what’s real and what’s not. You see this return to analog, return to IRL. For example, we just had lunch with Max Klymenko, of Career Ladder, he’s on a 130-destination world tour.
SG: Given all the convergence in the creator economy, between talent agencies, ad agencies, traditional media, creators and social media, where is all this going for the creator economy? What’s your outlook for the next several years?
NW: It’s this professionalization of creators. Now, I’m talking about the top one percent of 50 million creators, which is still a lot. They will start using the word "entrepreneur" and start thinking this way. I now have an opportunity to build a business for myself. It will be interesting to see what companies get bought, what creators do big partnerships with big brands. Is a creator going to be the next big Hollywood studio? Having just sold the agency to Accenture, [someone said] I’ve never seen you more excited about the future of creators. [My co-founder and I], we've got enough money to not have to do anything again. But we could not be more excited by what's possible in the future of the creator economy. I’m excited by what I don't know what it’s going to look like in 10 years because I just think it’s going to be so much bigger than it is now.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the co-founder of Whalar Group alongside Neil Waller. It is James Street.
This Q+A is part of Verified, a newsletter that is published by Washington Post Creator, a new business outside The Washington Post’s newsroom that is focused on the creator economy and content partnerships with independent creators. Learn more about Washington Post Creator.
