With 10 years and 1700+ creator campaigns under our belts, we’ve learned a thing or two about what it takes to be successful in the creator marketing space. We’ve consistently pushed the boundaries of traditional creator content, taking it beyond social media to create more impactful campaigns for brands. Now, we have another exciting opportunity to expand those boundaries.
New Engen has acquired Donut Digital, a leading creative-led performance marketing agency. This acquisition enhances our capabilities, allowing us to offer even more flexible and creative solutions. Donut Digital’s in-house creator studio enables the rapid production of high-quality, trend-driven content that integrates seamlessly with Acorn-powered campaigns. Clients will now have the option to incorporate user-generated content (UGC) alongside the creator content that already drives brand success.
User-generated content (UGC) refers to content that feels organic and in line with the trends and styles popular on social media. It has the authentic, relatable nature of creator-generated content while still maintaining the professional quality and consistency that brands rely on. UGC has become increasingly vital in today’s marketing landscape, as it captures the look and feel of real customer experiences, bridging the gap between brand marketing and consumer trust. According to a study of consumers influenced by UGC,
65% of consumers have purchased fashion or fashion items
53% have purchased beauty, health, or wellness products
42% have purchased home or sporting goods
52% have made travel plans.
While creator content involves creators promoting products to their dedicated audiences, UGC is less about the individual and more about the content itself. Both offer unique strengths that work together to amplify campaigns:
Creator Content: When a creator speaks to their audience, they bring the trust and credibility they've earned over time. Their reach is either vast (across audiences) or deep (within a specific niche), and their endorsement can significantly impact how consumers perceive a product.
UGC: UGC allows brands to scale content production without sacrificing quality. Donut Digital’s team can script, shoot, and produce net-new UGC-style content in-house, including everything from short-form social videos to high-polish CTV commercials. This flexibility offers unmatched turnaround times while maintaining a consistently high-quality bar, ensuring brands can always keep pace with consumer expectations and market demands.
Brands have relied solely on social media platforms for too long to distribute their creator and UGC content. While these platforms are excellent for engagement, they also limit the full potential of creator marketing. Typically, creators post their content on their social channels, and brands invest further in paid social media ads to amplify that reach. However, this approach confines the content to the “walled gardens” of social media platforms, limiting its exposure. It’s like having a hit song but only playing it in one venue. Why not showcase it on bigger stages where it can reach more people?
This question became especially urgent for Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands that are often required to meet specific ad spend requirements with retailers, making it difficult to try innovative strategies beyond social platforms.
Enter Canopy, Acorn’s proprietary solution that breaks down these barriers by distributing creator content and UGC across premium placements such as display ads, mobile platforms, and Connected TV (CTV). With Canopy, brands can finally unlock the full value of their creator partnerships. No longer confined to the limitations of social media platforms, your content can now connect with audiences in spaces they already frequent, such as their favorite mobile apps or streaming services. Think of it as giving your brand a larger stage to perform, expanding the impact and visibility of your content far beyond the confines of a social media post.
💡 Learn more about the power of CTV in creator marketing
Reaching the right consumers at the right time is crucial to campaign success, and this is where Canopy’s data-driven approach shines. Through its integration with retailer and third-party data, Canopy ensures that UGC and creator campaigns are precisely targeted to connect with the most valuable audiences.
For example, with Walmart Connect’s DSP integration, brands working with Acorn can leverage first-party audience data, such as Walmart’s proprietary customer segments, alongside complementary third-party data. This ensures your content reaches the most relevant consumers—those who are most likely to engage and convert. In fact, with 90% of the U.S. population living within 10 miles of a Walmart store, combining retail and CTV targeting represents a key opportunity to amplify reach and drive higher returns on ad spend (ROAS).
By combining UGC with Canopy’s optimization capabilities, brands can create agile and high-performing campaigns. UGC's authentic feel resonates with consumers, while Canopy’s precision targeting ensures that your content is seen by the right audience at the right time. This synergy allows brands to meet both top-of-funnel awareness goals and bottom-of-funnel conversion objectives.
Plus, in an era where brand safety and transparency are top concerns, Canopy guarantees peace of mind. UGC, created in-house by Donut Digital, ensures on-trend, trusted content, while Canopy offers brand-safe ad placement with less than 1% Invalid Traffic (IVT), meaning your ads are seen by real people in trusted environments. This level of transparency ensures the integrity of your campaigns and builds long-term trust between brands and audiences.
New Engen’s acquisition of Donut Digital empowers Acorn’s clients to create more agile, authentic campaigns by blending UGC with creator content.
Donut Digital’s in-house production ensures high-quality, trend-driven UGC that aligns perfectly with creator strategies.
Canopy amplifies UGC and creator content beyond social media, using retailer and third-party data to deliver targeted, high-performing campaigns across the digital ecosystem.
Brands can now benefit from a comprehensive, full-funnel approach, from top-of-funnel awareness to bottom-of-funnel conversion strategies.
