If 2025 proved anything, it’s that fandom isn’t just entertainment; it’s identity. For Gen Z and millennials, the creators and communities they follow have become a modern form of belonging, shaping how they discover products, passions and cultural meaning.

Brands are already adapting. Instead of relying on traditional advertising, forward-thinking brands are building connections through community-led experiences, long-term creator partnerships, and storytelling rooted in real emotion. They’re showing up not just as marketers but as participants, creating rituals and shared experiences around their products.

This transformation mirrors the broader passion economy. The global wellness market is projected to grow from $6.8 trillion (approx. £5.4 trillion) in 2024 to $9.8 trillion (approx. £7.8 trillion) by 2029. You can see this shift in the rise of global running clubs and in how sports brands like New Balance, Puma, HOKA, ON, ASICS, and Adidas have rebuilt their strategies around community-first marketing. These brands aren’t just promoting products, they’re convening people around shared rituals, stories and meaning.

This evolution has reshaped the creator economy. Influencer marketing in 2026 is no longer about reach or perfectly optimised media plans. It’s about people, real communities and the creators who hold those communities together.

Few examples illustrate this better than what we’ve seen firsthand. This year, Eating With Tod brought more than 25,000 food lovers to FUME Festival across three venues, making it the fastest-growing food and drink event in the UK. This wasn’t influencer marketing in the traditional sense. It was creator-led community building at scale. And because we prioritised serving Tod’s audience rather than simply delivering branded content, that momentum helped carry FUME from an intimate venue in Peckham to Twickenham Stadium. A national stadium in just 18 months. That is the power of creators operating not as content distributors, but as cultural infrastructure.

This is the reality brands must adapt to, a landscape where cultural relevance is earned through community, continuity and genuine connection.

From posts to people 

A misconception in influencer marketing is that it’s still about content. It isn’t. It’s about the communities creators nurture and the trust they build within them. Creators are not “feeds”, they are cultural pillars. Their audiences don’t just watch them, they gather around them, discovering shared behaviours, products and passions. The brands that win are the ones that show up consistently, not only when there’s a campaign to push.

Long-term creator partnerships now act as cultural anchors. They embed brands within communities that shape trends, behaviours and purchasing decisions. They provide continuity and familiarity, qualities traditional advertising cannot replicate.

Thinking community, Not content

To succeed in 2026, brands must rethink how they work with creators. Creators are micro-community leaders whose influence extends beyond what they post. Their value isn’t defined by follower count, but by the loyalty and participation they inspire. A single post may deliver reach, but sustained partnerships deliver something more meaningful: access to behaviour, sentiment and advocacy. The focus must shift from output to community dynamics where real influence lives.

Turning campaigns into experiences 

The era of content-only campaigns is fading. Real-world experiences carry greater cultural weight. When brands collaborate with creators on events or meetups, they unlock deeper emotional resonance and richer storytelling. These experiences generate organic UGC at scale and leave a stronger imprint than any sponsored video. By turning audiences into participants rather than spectators, brands build connections that content alone cannot achieve.

Building always-on ecosystems

Historically, influencer marketing relied on bursts of attention. The 2026 model demands consistency. Brands need always-on ecosystems that sustain relevance year-round: recurring formats, seasonal rituals and ongoing community touchpoints. When a creator champions a brand over time, the relationship stops resembling advertising and starts to feel like culture, integrated into the creator’s world and, by extension, the audience’s.

What brands must do in 2026

The brands that thrive will treat creators as cultural partners, not distribution channels. Long-term relationships embed brands inside the communities that influence modern consumer behaviour. These partnerships increase trust, reduce ad fatigue and unlock richer storytelling. Over time, they strengthen retention, drive repeat purchase and generate UGC that compounds month after month. Most importantly, they create lasting relevance in the cultural spaces where audiences now spend their time, with fans themselves becoming powerful advocates.

We asked two creators on the CCA roster how brands can get the most out of creator marketing in 2026 — here are the key takeaways:

Jim’s Table (www.instagram.com/jims.table) 

How can we create better brand/creator relationships in 2026?

Communication. Brands need to prioritise more direct conversations with creators. When Jim and I had face-to-face calls with Waitrose and the team at Lucky Saint, everything felt more authentic — and the brief was easier to understand and translate from client to creator.

What one piece of advice would you give to a brand briefing a creator?

Brands need to understand what makes a creator’s content actually work. Once you know the factors behind their most successful videos, you can shape the brief around that — giving the campaign the best chance of reaching its full potential and landing the brand message.

The Little London Vegan (https://www.instagram.com/thelittlelondonvegan)

How can we create better brand/creator relationships in 2026?

Long-term relationships are so important. People need to be exposed to a brand many times before they buy into it. One video, whilst helpful in some ways, probably won’t have as much impact as several videos posted over the space of six months or a year. It feels more organic, and it allows the creator opportunities to integrate the brand into their everyday life, which feels more authentic. It also allows the brand to invite creators to events across the space of that year, which builds the connection 

How can brands better engage with communities and culture?

I like it when brands employ someone as the “face” of their social media so the audience has someone to connect with, rather than feeling like they’re chatting with a business. This allows brands to engage with their communities - talk about things customers enjoy, any frustrations that people have, and to attract people to their brand in a more personable way. 

What one piece of advice would you give to a brand briefing a creator?

⁠Advice: trust the creator - they know their audience best. Nowadays, audiences are smarter, and more subtle mentions of a brand are better than “in your face” adverts - they feel more authentic, and this instils more trust from the audience. Don’t try to force awkward messaging into scripts.

How can brands stay relevant long-term in a community once they’re in it?

⁠Constantly evolve - have a recognisable face that acts as a connection between your business and your community.