Erin Chin, Logitech G: Creators Are Business Partners, Not Marketing Channels | Cannes Lions

In this episode of The Business of Marketing, John Horsley sits down with Erin Chin, Global Head of Brand Marketing at Logitech G, live from Cannes Lions, for a wide-ranging conversation about brand, creators, fandom and the changing media landscape.

Erin explains why Logitech G treats creators as business partners, not marketing channels, and how its “design by collaboration” approach brings gamers, esports professionals and creators directly into the product development process.

They discuss why brands need to stop over-engineering creator partnerships, the importance of giving creators genuine freedom, and why the ambition shouldn’t be to control every expression of a brand, but to build something communities actively want to make their own.

The conversation also explores:

• Why creator authenticity matters more than tightly controlled brand messaging

• How Logitech G co-creates products with gamers and esports professionals

• Why fandom can become one of a brand’s strongest competitive advantages

• Supporting creators beyond the commercial relationship, including mental health and underrepresented communities

• The huge shift in Gen Z media consumption towards TikTok, YouTube and creators

• How brands should measure creator impact beyond traditional engagement metrics

• Why share of search can reveal whether creator activity is genuinely driving interest

• How AI search and answer engines are changing brand visibility, earned media and content strategy

• Why brand remains a competitive moat that competitors and “dupes” cannot easily replicate

• What marketers can learn from the best work at Cannes Lions about keeping ideas simple

Erin also shares lessons from a career spanning Goldman Sachs, P&G, Diageo, Proximo Spirits, PepsiCo and Mountain Dew, and explains why deep consumer understanding remains at the heart of great marketing.

A conversation about what happens when brands stop treating audiences as targets and start building products, stories and communities people genuinely want to participate in.