Hi Reader,

I’m Justin and I write Brand Credential—a platform where I share insights on personal branding and marketing from my 12+ years in the industry, including leading marketing teams at startups and now a 5,000+ person tech company.

This week, I’m diving into a growing trend in the creator economy: the rise of in-house creators.

🔍 This Week’s Insight: Being a Creator Is Becoming a Corporate Job

AI is showing up everywhere in marketing right now.

But instead of simply going all-in on automation, major brands are also doing something very human in contrast: they’re hiring creators to become employees.

These in-house creator roles blur the line between employee and influencer. And they represent an interesting evolution of influencer marketing that is gaining traction in B2C and has major potential in B2B.

By in-house creator, I mean engagements like:

• Starbucks’ “Global Coffee Creator in Residence.”
• Morning Brew’s full-time social media talent, like Toby Howell.
• ​Ulta Beauty’s employee-driven creator program.

These in-house roles go beyond short-term brand collabs or one-off influencer posts. These companies are embedding a human voice inside their brand presence.

It’s a twist on influencer marketing that presents stability for both creators and brands.

And it’s opening up two big opportunities:

1. For creators – new full-time paths to monetize your skills without relying on short-term brand deals.
2. For employees – a chance to turn informal ambassadorship into a formal, compensated role or additional compensation—aka getting paid to post at work.

We’re entering a phase where personal branding skills aren't just how you promote yourself—they are becoming job skills companies are hiring for.

In this week’s article, I break down:

• What in-house creator roles actually look like (with real-world examples).
• How these roles benefit both brands and creators.
• Where this trend is going next—including the B2B space and new compensation models for creators.

👉 Read the full article on my website and Substack.

That’s it for this week! As always, thank you so much for reading.

Talk soon,

Justin

More Ways I Can Help

If you’d like more personal branding and marketing tips in the meantime, here are more ways I can help:

• Explore more articles on my website Brand Credential​
• Check out my latest Medium writing​
• Get my free LinkedIn Personal Branding Checklist​
• My book: The Personal Brand Blueprint