Paying creators only when content performs sounds attractive. It reduces some upfront risk, gives creators an incentive to post, and feels cleaner than paying one influencer a large fee before knowing whether the video will work. For founders dealing with rising CAC, that model is easy to understand.
But a performance-based UGC platform is not the same thing as a managed creator engine. That is the difference between MediaMaxxing and 8x. MediaMaxxing helps brands run creator campaigns where creators can get paid based on performance.
8x helps brands build a managed UGC creator engine: dedicated creator accounts, consistent posting, creator ops, QA, performance tracking, and repeatable creative learning. If you only want pay-per-view creator distribution, MediaMaxxing may be useful. If you want a repeatable system for app user acquisition, TikTok marketing for apps, DTC creative testing, and UGC content for paid ads, 8x is the stronger fit.
The Short Version
MediaMaxxing is a performance-based UGC platform. Its public site focuses on creator campaigns, creator matching, viral templates, pay-per-view incentives, real-time tracking, and scaling across creators and platforms. 8x is a managed creator engine.
The core product is not a dashboard or a creator bounty. The core product is creator-led UGC at volume, operated for the brand through dedicated TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube accounts. The difference matters because views alone do not solve creative fatigue.
Growth teams need to know which hooks, creators, markets, and product stories can be repeated. 8x is built around that learning loop.
What MediaMaxxing Does Well
MediaMaxxing is appealing because the offer is simple: brands submit a campaign, creators make content, performance is tracked, and creators are paid based on the results their content generates. That can work well for brands that want:
- A performance-based UGC platform
- Creator campaigns with lower upfront risk
- Pay-per-view creator incentives
- Viral-template style creative direction
- Creator matching from an existing network
- Real-time performance tracking
- More short-form posts across platforms
For teams that already know what they want to test, this model can add useful creator volume. The key question is whether the brand wants a campaign mechanism or a managed growth system.
The Problem With Paying Only for Views
Pay-per-view sounds clean, but it can pull the team toward the wrong metric. Views matter. Nobody wants UGC that nobody watches.
But consumer apps and high-margin DTC brands need more than view delivery. They need to know:
- Which creator type drives the right audience
- Which hook creates qualified interest
- Which app demo creates installs
- Which product story can become a Meta ad
- Which market responds with useful signal
- Which format is worth briefing again
- Which account should keep posting
A video can get views and still fail as a growth asset. A smaller video can reveal the exact hook that helps lower CAC in paid channels. That is why 8x does not treat UGC as a view-buying exercise.
8x treats UGC as a creative testing system.
Why 8x Is Better for Consumer Apps
UGC for consumer apps needs more precision than generic creator posting. An app video has to show the product quickly, make the use case obvious, and give the viewer a reason to download. That is hard to do with one angle or one creator type.
An education app may need student routines, study hacks, exam-prep content, and parent-facing trust angles. A wellness app may need routine videos, transformation stories, skeptical first-use clips, and market-specific hooks. An AI app may need fast demos, before-and-after workflows, and clear proof that the tool is useful.
8x is built for this kind of app growth marketing. Instead of only matching creators to a campaign, 8x builds a creator account system around the app. Creators post consistently, the team tracks which formats work, weak angles are removed, and winning patterns are repeated.
That matters when the goal is not just views. The goal is repeatable app user acquisition.
Why 8x Is Better for DTC Brands
DTC brands need creative volume, but they also need product clarity. A skincare brand needs routines, objections, texture shots, trust builders, and before-after framing. A supplement brand needs education, habits, simple demos, and credibility.
A pet product needs proof, owner reactions, and repeatable daily-use content. A UGC platform can help create more creator participation. 8x is stronger when the brand needs the whole operating layer: creator sourcing, briefing, cadence, QA, performance tracking, and paid-ad reuse.
For high-margin DTC brands, this matters because the best UGC videos often become performance assets. They can be tested in Meta ads, TikTok ads, landing pages, organic brand channels, and retargeting flows. That is the real value.
Not just "more creator posts." More reusable creative winners.
Viral Templates vs Brand-Specific Learning
MediaMaxxing publicly emphasizes proven viral templates. Templates can help creators start faster. They reduce blank-page syndrome and make it easier to produce content at scale.
But templates are not strategy. The strongest UGC system learns from the brand's actual audience. It tests different product stories, different markets, different creator types, and different levels of explanation.
That is where 8x is stronger. 8x is not trying to force every brand into one viral format. 8x is trying to find the formats that work for that specific app, product, buyer, market, and acquisition problem.
If Meta ads creative fatigue is the pain, the answer is not only more template-based posts. The answer is a repeatable creative learning loop.
Dedicated Creator Accounts Change the Outcome
MediaMaxxing is useful if a brand wants creators to join campaigns and produce performance-based content. 8x takes a different approach: dedicated creator accounts for the brand. Dedicated accounts make the content system more consistent.
They help the brand test recurring formats, keep creator output focused, build account-level learning, and create a more durable short-form presence across TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. This is important for brands that do not want UGC to be a one-off burst. They want it to become a channel.
When MediaMaxxing May Be the Better Fit
MediaMaxxing may be better if:
- You want a performance-based creator campaign
- You want creators paid by views or engagement
- You already have internal strategy and creative direction
- You are comfortable with a campaign/platform workflow
- You want to test viral templates quickly
- You do not need dedicated creator accounts
- You have someone internally managing learnings and next steps
That can be a valid choice for some teams.
When 8x Is the Better Fit
8x is better if:
- You are a consumer app or high-margin DTC brand
- You need managed UGC creators, not just campaign access
- You want dedicated TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube accounts
- You need more UGC content for paid ads
- Your Meta ads are showing creative fatigue
- You want to lower CAC through better creative supply
- You do not want to manage creator sourcing, QA, cadence, and iteration
- You care about reusable content assets, not only views
This is where 8x wins. It is built for teams that want creator-led growth without becoming a creator management department.
The Real Decision
MediaMaxxing asks: "How do we connect your campaign to creators and pay for performance?" 8x asks: "How do we build a managed creator engine that keeps finding better creative for your brand?" Both questions matter. But for app founders, Heads of Growth, and DTC operators, the second question is usually more valuable. If your team needs performance-based creator posts, MediaMaxxing may help.
If your team needs a full UGC creator engine that publishes consistently, learns from performance, and turns winning videos into reusable growth assets, 8x is the better fit.
