Make an impression: how video is reshaping the consumer journey

From entertainment to empowerment

Jeff Greenspoon, CEO of the Americas at Kantar, presented new research showing how video has evolved from a brand awareness tool into something far more influential across the funnel.

“There’s no other platform where you can build emotional resonance like video,” he said. “It’s not just for entertainment any more. It’s shaping how people learn, shop and decide. When creative hits that emotional mark, it predisposes people to buy – sometimes up to four times more than standard exposure.”

Kantar’s findings showed that 69% of US consumers prefer video to any other format when learning something new, and 70% watch how-to videos before trying a product. Greenspoon added that trust is increasingly concentrated around creators: “About 88% of Gen Z say YouTube has the most trusted creators – and 86% say the content those creators produce is the most trustworthy.”

The marketer’s new reality

For Travis Freeman, chief media officer at Inspire Brands, this shift has forced a rethink of how brands plan and buy video.

“The media mix has flipped,” he said. “We’ve gone from being TV-heavy to streaming-first, and YouTube is now a core part of that. Around 90% of our impressions on YouTube appear on TV screens, so it’s not just a mobile play any more – it’s part of the living room experience.”

Freeman said his teams are now creating “sequential and contextual” video journeys designed for different screens and audience behaviors. “The big change is learning to let go,” he said. “We used to give creators scripts. Now it’s just five or six bullet points. You have to let them speak in their own voice – otherwise it comes off as fake.”

Creators as the new studios

That sentiment was echoed by Sydney Morgan, a YouTube creator who has built a following of millions and a fully fledged business behind her.

“The idea that creators are just filming in their bedrooms is outdated,” she said. “I employ seven people. I have a public studio in Orlando. My last competition show had 75 crew members – writers, lighting, camera, production – just like a TV set.”

Morgan says the creator economy has matured into a professional, data-driven content industry. “Creators are the new Hollywood,” she said. “We’re building studios, hiring staff, and producing episodic series. But what still matters most is authenticity.”

She described one campaign where a client didn’t trust her instinct for how to hook her audience. “They asked me to remove the intro I knew would work,” she said. “So we tested both versions. The one I created got 10m views; theirs got 200,000. That’s why brands need to trust their creators – they know what resonates.”

A new kind of trust economy

Trust was a recurring theme across the panel. Morgan said her relationship with followers is built on consistency and honesty. “I post every day. I test products and I say when something doesn’t work. That’s how I keep trust. My audience sees me as a friend, not an ad.”

For brands like Inspire, that trust has a measurable impact. Freeman said that creator content typically delivers “two to three times higher ROI” than standard brand ads – and up to four times higher purchase intent.

Greenspoon backed that up with Kantar data showing that 80% of YouTube users feel more confident buying a product after seeing it on the platform. “Marketers underestimate how much of the buying journey happens inside video,” he said. “It’s where inspiration, consideration and conversion now collide.”

How marketers should respond

The panel’s closing advice was unanimous: marketers need to stop thinking of video as a “channel” and start treating it as the connective tissue of the consumer journey.

“Video will keep evolving – formats, screens, everything – but its emotional power won’t change,” said Greenspoon. “What needs to evolve is how we measure it, how we use creative signals and how we react in real time.”

Freeman put it more bluntly: “Be less precious with your brand. Let creators speak in their own voice.”

And for Morgan, the takeaway is simple: “If you trust your creators, your audience will trust your brand.”