Why ESPN Is Hiring Influencers, And What Brands Can Learn From It

ESPN recently hired Katie Feeney, a sports and lifestyle creator with more than 14 million followers on social media.

Instead of partnering with her in a series of campaigns,Feeney has joined ESPN as a fully integrated member of ESPN’s in-house team.

Her new role as a Sports & Lifestyle Content Creator includes contributing to Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, and College GameDay. She’s also leading the refreshed SportsCenter on Snapchat, a channel that has become a magnet for younger sports fans.

This hiring decision reflects ESPN’s effort to reach younger audiences, expand across new channels, and inject fresh energy into legacy programming. But, more broadly, it’s a sign that media is changing and the influencer economy is growing.

A study in the International Journal of Sport Communication notes that social media has pushed reporters to act more like creators, curators, and on-camera personalities. Traditional journalists may have once controlled the narrative, but now they're competing with influencers who often tell the same stories from a fan’s perspective, in faster, more relatable ways.

Today’s fans also don’t wait for content to come to them. They go where the story feels most alive. And, for many, that’s on social media, directly in the feed of their favorite creator. Katie Feeney’s 14 million followers are proof of where sports fans are giving their attention. As ESPN’s SVP of Digital, Social, and Streaming Content put it, “Katie has built an impressive and authentic connection with sports fans.”

For brands (in any industry), the smart move isn’t to compete for attention but to collaborate with popular creators by bringing them inside the organization. Let’s talk about how.

5 ways brands across industries can integrate creators into their owned content strategy

1. Embed creators into your content team

With the attention creators command and the influence they hold, it no longer makes sense for brands to borrow it occasionally. The smarter play is to bring them in-house (like ESPN did) and give them a permanent role within the content ecosystem. Doing so gives brands direct access to built-in audiences, faster creative output, and an authentic voice that traditional marketing teams often struggle to replicate.

Here are a few ways this kind of collaboration can take shape:

• Creator-in-residence: This rotating role places a creator inside the brand’s team for a few months to develop series, formats, and community touchpoints.
• Head of creator partnerships: This hybrid role combines influencer strategy with editorial leadership. The person in this position identifies creator talent, co-develops brand storytelling, and makes sure each partnership supports a broader owned-content vision.
• Brand correspondent: This creator becomes the on-camera voice of the brand across social channels. They host live events, share behind-the-scenes content, and offer commentary that makes corporate updates feel human and relatable.
• Social storytelling lead: This role focuses on designing and producing vertical-first content that translates the brand’s core stories into native formats for TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or Reels.
• Community editor: This creator bridges brand content and audience feedback. They respond in real time to trends and fan conversations, helping the brand stay culturally fluent and approachable.
  

2. Shift from campaign briefs to creator-led formats

If you’re hiring a creator for their creativity and authenticity, it doesn’t make sense to hand them a rigid brief that dictates every move.

Instead, share brand guidelines, key themes, and objectives. Then, let them run with it. The goal is to give creators enough context to stay on-brand while leaving space for the spontaneity that makes their content work in the first place.

Here are some examples of creator-led formats:

• Behind-the-scenes POV drops: Creators take audiences into the process, showing what happens before, during, or after a moment your brand is known for. Think: a chef walking through prep before a new menu launch or an athlete vlogging from warm-ups.
  
  
• FaceTime-style micro vlogs: These quick, casual clips feel like direct conversations with followers. They work well for sharing updates, reactions, or small brand moments that don’t need heavy production.
  
  
• First-person storytelling: Creators narrate experiences from their own perspective, explaining what something feels like instead of describing it like an ad. This creates intimacy and trust.
  
  
• Unfiltered commentary or “unhinged storytelling”: A creator shares authentic takes on topics that align with the brand’s world. It keeps audiences engaged because it feels spontaneous, not rehearsed.
  
  
• Recurring creator segments: Let creators turn one-off successes into repeatable franchises. For example, a fitness brand might greenlight a weekly “try this trend” segment or a food brand might build a short-form “test kitchen” series around a creator’s signature style.

3. Give creators ownership of audience growth

Creators understand platforms and audience behavior, especially when it’s their own audience. Successful creators often know when to post, how to frame a hook, and what signals trigger engagement. 

Remember when Duolingo’s social team gave its creator-led account free rein to experiment with trends and humor, the brand gained millions of followers and became part of internet culture? The success came from creator instincts and not corporate directives.

Here’s how to make this work:

• Set shared goals: Focus on engagement quality, follower retention, and community growth.
  
  
• Share the data: Give creators access to analytics so they can adapt strategy based on what’s resonating.
  
  
• Encourage experimentation: Let creators use new platform features like TikTok stitches, YouTube Shorts, or polls to build two-way engagement.
  
  
• Treat growth as creative work: Audience expansion isn’t a reporting metric—it’s a creative process that depends on curiosity, testing, and trust.
  

4. Extend creator storytelling across owned channels

We’ve talked a lot about how ESPN hired Katie Feeney for her audience. But let’s go deeper. She’s also an incredible storyteller. That’s one reason people follow her in the first place. Now she’s breathing new life into ESPN’s existing channels (not with her follower count, but with her voice).

When you’re looking for a creator, don’t focus on follower count alone. Look at how they tell stories and how they make people care. Then hire them to bring that same energy and personality to the channels that need it most.

How to do it:

• Audit your existing channels: Identify where engagement or creativity has stalled and where a fresh perspective could make a difference.
  
  
• Hire for storytelling: A smaller creator with a distinct voice often builds deeper trust than a big name with broad but passive followers.
  
  
• Blend formats: Let creators adapt your existing content—like newsletters, livestreams, or podcasts—into something that feels conversational and human.
  
  
• Keep the tone consistent: When creators contribute across platforms, their personality ties everything together, giving your brand a recognizable, unified voice.
  
  

5. Build owned channels that the creator can grow into a franchise

The sky’s the limit when you combine a brand’s resources with a creator’s imagination. Once they’re on board, don’t stop at one successful campaign or format. Give them space to pitch new ideas, test new platforms, and expand their storytelling under your brand’s halo. You might be surprised by what they can build when they have full support, rather than starting from scratch.

Here are some ideas:

• Recurring series: Develop a branded segment that audiences come back to every week or month. It could be a “creator reacts” format, a brand challenge, or a behind-the-scenes look that grows its own fan base over time.
  
  
• Weekly show: Create a consistent, personality-driven show anchored by your creator. Think of it as your brand’s late-night or morning show equivalent, something audiences can count on and share.
  
  
• Mini-doc format: Give creators the freedom to explore deeper stories connected to your brand’s world. This might be a short documentary about innovation, community, or craft, told through their perspective.
  
  
• Podcast crossover: Invite creators to host or co-host a branded podcast where they interview industry experts, fans, or other creators. It is an easy way to extend your brand voice into a new medium.
  
  
• Event coverage or live series: Let creators own recurring event coverage or a livestream series around key moments for your brand, such as product launches, festivals, or cultural events.

The way forward

Imagine what happens when you stop fighting for attention and start partnering with the people who already have it. The future isn’t brands competing with creators. It’s brands hiring them.