Coverage of the ANA Creator Marketing Conference

During a session at the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference, leaders from the ANA and Unilever examined how creator marketing has moved from an experimental tactic to a core growth engine. With global spending reaching an estimated $37.1 billion in 2025, the discussion focused on operating models, transparency, and measurement — and what brands must do next to unlock sustainable value from creators.

During a session at the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference, Hayley Virta outlined Children's Miracle Network's brand evolution and creator marketing strategy, inviting participants into a first-ever Hackathon for Good designed to increase awareness, consideration, and fundraising impact.

During a session at the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference presented by Pinterest, Lyle Stevens of Later and Grace Niu of Quest Nutrition explained how Quest uses creators as a growth channel that extends beyond the social feed. The speakers outlined how retailer-specific briefs, cross-channel usage rights, and digital asset management make creator content scalable across paid media and retail touchpoints.

During a session at the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference, Marissa Eddings explained how 7-Eleven built a creator-led fandom strategy rooted in car culture. By listening boldly, investing in community credibility, and building a flywheel from UGC to IRL participation, the brand turned a niche passion into scaled relevance and brand growth.

At the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference, leaders from the ANA Influencer Marketing Working Group shared early findings from an invite-only, client-side initiative focused on eliminating waste in influencer marketing. The session examined where inefficiencies occur across influencer selection, vetting, agency models, briefing, governance, media activation, and measurement — and offered practical steps brands can take to optimize investment.

At the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference presented by Pinterest, a high-energy, game-show-style session brought brands and creators face to face to debate common assumptions in influencer marketing. Hosted by Linqia's Finola Austin, the discussion unpacked where client and creator perspectives match, where they clash, and how agencies and marketers can turn early tension into partnerships that actually work.

At the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference, Derek Schoen, VP of integrated media strategy at MGM Resorts International, explained how MGM treats social media as the starting point for creator content and then scales those assets across paid media, owned channels, and on-property environments.

How Penguin Random House turned Percival Everett's James into a No. 1 bestseller, using creator trust, pre-order momentum, and sustained word-of-mouth to drive cultural and commercial impact.

Dr. Marcus Collins explains why culture, not product features, drives behavior — and how brands that lead with meaning, ideology, and community outperform those chasing trends.

At the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference, Chris Irwin of Barclays U.S. and Jill Smith of Iris Americas shared how creator-led storytelling — supported by AI tools, transparent proof points, and long-term partnerships — helped Barclays earn trust and drive participation in a highly-regulated category.

How Rainbow Shops scaled employee-generated content with Brand Networks, turning store associates into creators and driving organic reach, morale, and growth through structure, incentives, and brand-safe tools.

Legal experts from Reed Smith and SuperAwesome unpack rising regulatory scrutiny of influencer marketing, outlining disclosure rules, FTC guidance, and risk-mitigation steps brands need to protect creator partnerships.

Pinterest’s Lauren Glaubach and Dove’s Dana Paolucci showcased the reasons why brand-creator partnerships on Pinterest present an interesting opportunity for brands, using Dove’s own campaign on the platform to highlight a real-world example of success.

Meta’s Nana Bediako shared why “micro-moments” are what marketers should be focusing on going forward and highlighted a case study on how H&M was able to leverage creators and micro-moments to power an effective paid media strategy.

During a presentation at the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference, Kevin Frankfield of Microsoft and Evan Horowitz of agency Movers+Shakers provided a comprehensive overview of Microsoft’s playbook for B2B influencer marketing success.

Cohley outlined how brands are using creator led content to meet growing demand for high volume, rights-approved assets across channels.

During a session at the 2026 ANA Creator Marketing Conference, Intrepid Travel’s Louise Laing uncovered how her brand is leveraging creators and purpose-fueled storytelling to drive engagement and brand growth.

eos shared its framework for partnering with creators and its strategy for leveraging social media to surface truths, shape ideas, and turn everyday conversations into long-term brand equity.

Stanley detailed how a heritage brand rebuilt relevance by turning consumer-led signals into structured marketing processes. The company outlined how grassroots creator demand revived a discontinued product, how aesthetics reshaped the drinkware category, and how real-time social listening enabled the brand to respond quickly to cultural moments and manage rapid growth.

Viral Nation explored how the Super Bowl has evolved into the Social Bowl, a cultural event where brand success is determined not by the cost of airtime but by social behavior, cultural alignment, creator integration, and real time engagement.