Korva is a scroll of the internet’s best ideas.
UGC buys cheaper views, less trust
Prices climbed
Influencer marketing got more expensive over about two and a half years. It became popular, creators got agents, and creators learned how valuable they are. Finding deals at a $1 or $2 cost per thousand views got a lot harder in the last six months, and prices skyrocketed.
The appeal of UGC
UGC grew in those same six months because it brings that cost down again. The aim is as many people as possible seeing the app for as little as possible. The work is copying formats, seeing what works, and doubling down on the winning format, and the creators can be unknown people who are just getting started.
Running both
Cal AI is moving in that direction. A creator named Dawson, who already had a good personal brand, posted UGC on the app's page at the start. That stopped once the influencer deals got cheap, and in the last few weeks the team has been looking into it again. Running both at once gives cheaper views from UGC and the trust of a well-known influencer that people follow.
Why do creator prices climb as brands compete?
Creator attention is limited, and every brand wants the same top creators. When many brands compete for a few slots, prices rise, much as they do in advertising auctions with more bidders. Agents accelerate this by running offers against each other. The influencer marketing industry has grown for years as brands moved budgets from traditional media.
Why does a trusted face convert better?
Followers have usually watched a creator for months, which builds familiarity. A stranger in an ad video has no such history with the viewer. Carl Hovland and Walter Weiss found in 1951 that messages from trusted sources produced more immediate opinion change than the same messages from sources people trusted less.
How did UGC become an advertising format?
User-generated content first meant what ordinary people posted on forums, blogs, and wikis in the 2000s. Time magazine named You its 2006 Person of the Year to mark that shift. Brands later began hiring everyday people to film product videos in the same casual style. The result looks like a customer's post and costs less than a campaign with a famous creator.