Industry Research

The Rise of Organic Media Buying

A new category in digital marketing is emerging. As paid advertising costs rise and effectiveness declines, forward-thinking brands are discovering a different approach: buying guaranteed organic reach through coordinated creator networks.

01 — The Challenge

Traditional Digital Advertising Is Facing Structural Headwinds

Three converging trends are forcing marketers to rethink their approach to reach and engagement.

42%
of internet users use ad blockers
Ad blocking adoption continues to grow, particularly among younger demographics that brands want to reach most.
8sec
average attention span on ads
Users have developed "banner blindness" — the ability to unconsciously ignore ad-like content entirely.
184%
CPM increase since 2020
Competition for attention has driven costs up dramatically while organic reach on branded content approaches zero.
02 — The Research

Not All Creator Marketing Is Equal

A 2024 study analyzing 46 influencer marketing campaigns with 2,808 creators revealed a striking pattern: celebrity and macro-influencer partnerships consistently deliver negative ROI.

The data shows that micro and mid-size creators — those with 1K to 500K followers — generate significantly higher returns. These creators invest more effort in authentic promotion and maintain stronger audience trust.

This finding underpins the Organic Media Buying model: rather than paying premium rates for celebrity reach, coordinating networks of high-performing smaller creators delivers both better economics and better results.

Source: NP Digital, November 2024 — Analysis of 46 influencer marketing campaigns with 2,808 influencers.
ROI by Influencer Type
+13.98%
+36.71%
-59.43%
Celebrities
1M+ followers
-12.04%
Macro
500K-1M
Mid-Size
100K-500K
Micro
1K-100K

OMB's network of 1,900+ creators is strategically composed of micro and mid-size influencers — the segment that research shows delivers positive ROI.

03 — A New Approach

What Is Organic Media Buying?

Organic Media Buying is the practice of purchasing guaranteed organic views by coordinating large networks of content creators to feature a brand naturally in their content.

Unlike traditional influencer marketing, which relies on individual creator negotiations and unpredictable performance, Organic Media Buying treats creator content as a media channel with fixed pricing and guaranteed delivery.

"Instead of buying ad impressions that people skip, brands can now buy organic views that people actually watch — at a predictable cost per thousand."

The key innovation is the aggregation model: by coordinating hundreds or thousands of creators simultaneously, providers can guarantee specific view counts while maintaining the authenticity that makes organic content effective.

Characteristic Paid Ads Influencer OMB
Pricing Model Auction-based Per-creator Fixed CPM
Delivery Guaranteed Variable Guaranteed
Content Type Brand-created Creator-made Creator-made
Ad Blockers Affected Bypassed Bypassed
Viewer Intent Interruption Chosen Chosen
Typical CPM (US) $12–25 $15–40 $6–9
04 — Evidence

Data From 70+ Campaigns

Aggregated performance metrics from organic media buying campaigns across retail, CPG, technology, and telecom sectors.

1B+
Total views delivered
100%
Delivery rate
1,900+
Creators in network
0
Missed targets
Brands using organic media buying
Lidl Adidas Pepsi ASUS A1 Perwoll

Interested in Learning More?

Organic Media Buying is being pioneered by OMB (organicmediabuying.com), which has developed the infrastructure to deliver guaranteed organic views at scale.

Visit organicmediabuying.com