Brands prefer creators over celebrities: Monk Entertainment's Viraj Sheth

As per Viraj Sheth, Co-founder and CEO of influencer marketing agency Monk Entertainment, brands prefer working with content creators as it helps them get more content and have a better chance of going viral.

"When brands work with creators, they usually get a couple of videos, and the creator would also try getting the narrative into the video," said Sheth at a panel discussion at the Mumbai edition of YourStory's TechSparks—India's most influential startup-tech summit.

On the other hand, he believes that a celebrity may not give enough time, and the content may not go viral for brands.

Sheth started Monk Entertainment, a creator management firm, in 2018 with his college senior Ranveer Allahbadia—popularly known as BeerBiceps on social media. The firm manages many viral content creators, including comic Niharika NM, music composer Yashraj Mukhate, and food content creator Sanjyot Keer.

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To this, entertainment company Only Much Louder CEO Gunjan Arya said brands should consider creators as creative directors. "We've always maintained that artists are not just for celebrity endorsements. We now have an opportunity to bring them on the creative front because they have a voice, and that is a huge opportunity," she added.

In the last two to three years, due to exponential digital adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic-led lockdowns, social media marketing became the top priority of every brand.

This presented a prime opportunity for brands to capture the user's attention on social media by having creators talk about a brand's product. It became a fruitful way of marketing. Currently, there are about eight crore creators in India.