The creator economy is entering its next chapter— one defined less by scale and speed, and more by ownership, intention, and trust. In 2026, creators will no longer be treated as campaign line items or distribution channels, but as autonomous media businesses, cultural partners, and community builders with long-term value. In this trend report, marketing communications leaders share how creator autonomy, sustained partnerships, AI-powered cultural intelligence, and community-driven strategies are reshaping how brands collaborate with talent.
Long-Term, Community-Driven Strategy to Build Relationships & Trust
Jenny Tsai | CEO, WeArisma
“One of the biggest trends we’re seeing as we move into 2026 is brands asking deeper questions about campaign performance and overall brand impact. They’re no longer just focused on traditional metrics such as Earned Media Value, Impressions, Engagements or Views. Instead, they want to understand how talent and creator content truly resonates, the sentiment it generates, and why certain stories connect more than others. This points to a more nuanced and meaningful way of defining what effective creator marketing looks like.”
Lauren Marfoe | Head of Influencer Marketing, Small Girls PR
“As DTC brands continue to disrupt legacy categories, the challenge on both sides is the same: growth now requires trust and relevance, not just reach. New brands need to build belief faster, while legacy brands must earn their way back into culture to drive sales. In 2026, smart marketers will recognize influencer marketing as one of the few channels that, when it's treated as more than a one-off activation, can solve for both brand and business. Long-term creator partnerships build credibility over time, and when that earned influence is structured to travel across platforms, search, and AI-discovery, it becomes a powerful driver of consideration and demand.”
Leora Novick | Founder, Persephone Social
“In 2026 I expect influencer partnership to be heavily informed by community management. In the past, brands and agencies would research and identify influencers and then reach out to those that fit within their target markets. Now however, we're seeing a huge shift. Influencers and even regular folks that have a viral moment around a brand or product are now being courted by those brands within the comment section of that post.”
“Daisy, a maltese whose parents created a dedicated song and piano accompaniment for her daily Greenie snack time, went viral. The Greenies brand noticed, commented on the videos, and DM'd her separately to coordinate a partnership.”
“Fans of the show Heated Rivalry were waiting for Canada Dry Ginger Ale to respond to their key placement in the show. When they finally did, 'Been on cottage time, anything we should know about?' people predictably went crazy, there were even articles written about it, and I think everyone is expecting a partnership to come from this.”
“With TikTok's virality for people without followings, I think we're going to see a lot more opportunity for brands to jump on these moments quickly and expand their influencer programming from traditional to what's trending now.”
Carmela Feliciano | Vice President, Talent & Creator, Autumn Communications
"In 2026, the "shiny object" phase of Gen AI has faded, and while it's helpful to create efficiencies in workflow, we're realizing that engagement lives in human touch, not the prompt. Because our agency integrates PR and experiential with influencer strategy, we see firsthand that a creator’s value lies in their ability to bridge the digital-physical divide...something an AI model can't do at a live event or in a high-stakes media interview. For brands, this matters because as Gen AI makes content infinite (almost) and cheap, human-led experiences (e.g. a creator hosting a physical activation) become the only remaining 'proof of life' that drives genuine brand equity and cuts through the synthetic noise."
Team Violetta Group
“In 2026, influence will be defined by depth, not reach. Micro and niche creators with tightly knit, highly engaged communities will drive the strongest impact, as audiences increasingly value authenticity over scale. Brands are leaning into community-driven strategies, using platforms like Substack to turn loyal followers into interactive communities. In a crowded, AI-driven landscape, the creators who build trust and meaningful connections will continue to be indispensable partners for long-term brand growth."
Terrence Taylor | Director of Operations, Agency Cliquish
“In 2026, we’ll see brands place more weight on reliability and execution history, not just reach. As brand budgets continue to grow, marketers are prioritizing creators who can clearly communicate how they perform across multi-touch campaigns. Creator partnerships are being evaluated more like media investments, not just one-off posts, so brands are looking for partners who can show consistent results across formats, platforms and objectives. The creators who understand their data and can speak to their impact in a clear, practical way will be the ones brands continue to invest in.”
Kosi Harris | Founder, Kosi Harris PR
“One of the biggest shifts we’ll see in 2026 is a move toward ‘nurture, don’t compete’ thinking in creator marketing. Instead of brands fighting for short bursts of attention, smart marketers will invest in creators the way you invest in community — over time, with consistency and shared values. The pressure to ‘go viral’ will matter far less than showing up regularly and building trust, because influence is increasingly measured by credibility and connection, not spikes in reach. Long-term partnerships drive deeper storytelling, stronger audience trust, and more meaningful conversion than quick campaign spikes. Creators who grow alongside a brand, rather than constantly chasing the next check, will also see more sustainable careers and stronger audience loyalty.”
Aleksandra Phelan | Founder & Principal Advisor, Phelan Strategic Consulting
"Creators have become a primary source of trust for brands. As audiences engage less actively with traditional marketing, brands are deepening their spending with creators, especially those who already hold credibility and cultural relevance with their communities and integrate identity and values into their content."
"At the same time, while AI is actively transforming marketing and content execution, AI-generated content itself is not where the future lies. While AI drives efficiency, it cannot replace authentic, human storytelling that creators uniquely provide. Additionally, the most meaningful partnerships are moving away from short-term activations toward long-term creator relationships that allow for deeper, narrative-driven brand building."
Creator Autonomy
Amy Choi | Founder & CEO, ACE NYC
“What will be key in 2026 will be recognizing creators not as influencers, but as media companies building entertainment franchises with evergreen value. Creators are developing serialized episodic content on YouTube that rivals traditional studios, with one crucial advantage: they own the IP and distribution, transforming their back catalogs into recurring revenue streams through strategic brand partnerships. Instead of paying for one-off posts that disappear, brands can invest in multi-episode narratives that compound value over time, living permanently in creator catalogs alongside content that continues generating millions of views. The future belongs to brands that recognize creators are building media businesses, not just audiences, and partner on sustained storytelling that turns today's investment into years of compounding brand exposure.”
Liz Lem | Chief of Staff & Strategy, Kensington Grey
“What began as experimental creator partnerships with streaming platforms in 2024–2025 will become a core content strategy in 2026. Creators will no longer be viewed as “digital talent” trailing behind traditional entertainment, but as a parallel pipeline for IP, audience acquisition, and cultural relevance. Creators will appear across scripted, unscripted, live, and hybrid formats. Creators will be known not just for their social handles, but for shows, franchises, and intellectual properties that exist well beyond a single platform.”
“Creators are actively seeking distribution and growth beyond social platforms. While social remains a primary discovery engine, a creator’s ability to build and retain an audience now extends far beyond the feed. We’ll see creators show up across every channel, and publishers and brands alike are recognizing the opportunity to meet them there.”
Chrissy Walker | Founder & CEO, Chrissy Walker Public Relations
“In 2026, the creator economy will mature around clearer value exchange: creators will own their content and brands will license it with specific terms around usage, duration, and distribution, similar to how traditional talent partnerships work. The smartest campaigns won’t just “hire a creator to post,” they’ll build modular content ecosystems that can live across social, paid, e-comm, email, and IRL moments, while protecting both brand equity and creator credibility. This shift is especially important in fashion and luxury, where storytelling and trust matter, and long-term partnerships consistently outperform one-off activations.”
Maya Vargas | Marketing Account Director, a21
“Influencer marketing is entering its next era, evolving from transactional endorsements into strategic, long-term partnerships rooted in authenticity and trust. As creators start to operate as cultural partners alongside agencies, brands must rethink how influence is defined, shifting focus from reach to relevance, credibility, and community impact. Consumers are demanding transparency and alignment, driving the rise of nano and micro-influencers whose smaller, highly engaged audiences deliver deeper connection and stronger performance. Moving forward, the brands that win will be those that invest in co-creation, sustained creator relationships, and influencer strategies built around genuine advocacy rather than amplification alone.”
Kirsti Yess & Jaclyn Reilly | Co-Founders, Ethos Group
“In 2026, we’ll continue to see a shift toward long-term, authenticity-first partnerships between brands and creators, rather than one-off paid posts. Audiences are increasingly savvy and can spot transactional content a mile away, so brands that invest in deeper relationships with creators will see higher engagement, greater trust, and more genuine advocacy. This means co-creating products, giving creators a role within the company or incentivizing them with equity instead of one-time talent fees, and developing bespoke campaigns and storytelling that align with both the creator’s voice and the brand’s values—making partnerships feel natural rather than manufactured. The brands and campaigns that break through will be the ones that treat creators as true collaborators, not just distribution channels.”
Utilizing AI to Understand Cultural Nuance
Nicholas Spiro | Chief Commercial Officer, Viral Nation
"In 2026 AI will fundamentally change how brands tap into subcultures. Not by replacing creators, but by redefining how those communities are discovered and understood in the first place. In the early days of the creator economy, brands relied on creators as outbound only: to go out with a message to niche audiences. Today, social platforms themselves are powered by AI-driven inbound signals. Those signals tell a far more nuanced story than Marketers ever had before. The brands that win will use AI to read culture at the signal level, understanding how subcultures evolve in real time and adapting creative accordingly. The upside for marketers is clear: faster feedback loops --> stronger culture relevance --> and larger ROI. In a fragmented attention economy, input is for the first time becoming even more valuable than output.”
The Continued Rise of the B2B Creator
Lizzy Bilasano | US Head of Creative Strategy, Whalar
“We're going to see a massive uptick in B2B Creators this year: real, credentialed experts in finance, law, technology, and specialized fields who are building genuine thought leadership beyond their LinkedIn page. Of course, the concept of the B2B Creator is not new, but it was arguably nascent and niche before. It began as a tentative professional sharing on LinkedIn about work wins and promotions, but it has evolved into a modern approach to personal branding. Professional experts are creating sophisticated, multi-channel personal brands that span newsletters (LinkedIn, Substack), podcasts (including video podcasts on YouTube and syndicated on LinkedIn), and cross-platform content ecosystems. What's great about these new B2B Creators is that they are contextualizing their expertise within broader cultural and business conversations, making their specialized knowledge accessible and engaging."
"One of my favorite examples is Nathan Jun Poekert. He is a senior-level executive in Marketing & Communications, but has built an audience of nearly 1M followers across his TikTok and Instagram channels by applying his expertise not only in marketing but also in areas such as civics and local politics. We're all desperate for voices we actually trust. We're constantly questioning what's true, questioning what's credible. These professionally focused Creators, with transparent credentials and demonstrable expertise, are emerging as essential arbiters.”
Awareness & Sensitivity Around Global Events
Alexandra Lasky | Founder & CEO, The Influence
“One key marcomms trend will be increased consciousness in the influencer and creator ecosystem, being reflective and respectful of world events. With the current news cycle and a breakdown of society hierarchies unfolding before us, creators' content needs to be smart, considerate, and show followers and brands alike that they are educated, or the creator can be interpreted as tone deaf, and at risk for fandom backlash. People are no longer staying quiet on many topics; this is clear, so one sentence, one post, one scenario, can create extreme backlash, unrest, and chaos within the communications platforms, dictating and shifting pop culture trends in an instant. While it is a good thing that people are speaking out, standing up for what they believe in, and essentially pushing for justice by using their platforms, it also continues to shift the creator landscape in that excess, greed, and flexing luxurious lifestyles is not attractive anymore to flaunt. The days of 'lifestyles of the rich and famous’ and ‘MTV Cribs’ are long behind us, as society is now aware of those suffering in less fortunate situations, and frivolous spending is frowned upon by many with an uncertain economy ahead of us.”
