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Creators, community and culture take centre stage at SXSW Austin 2026

Neutrogena global brand ambassador Tate McRae, US

US – A central question echoed across discussions on the first day of SXSW 2026: how can brands tap into culture in a way that feels genuinely relevant? The answer emerging from multiple panels was clear – creators and community are now the engines of modern brand storytelling.

At the Epitome of Innovation: Long-Term Creator Partnerships panel, part of the Creator Economy track, panellists including John Battaglia, Google’s head of social video and creator; Jasmine Pak, creator; Carmela Luzzi, Tripadvisor’s senior brand director; and Jenny Penich, president of North America Influencer, explored the evolving relationship between brands, creators and audiences. Penich argued that while social media was built on connection, scale has made many interactions routine. Creators, she suggested, are uniquely positioned to rebuild authenticity, but only if brands stop treating them as media placements and start viewing them as long-term collaborators and cultural creative directors – as we explored in our The New Creatorverse report.

Pak added that the most effective briefs balance structure and creative freedom: brands should clearly outline goals and non-negotiables, then allow creators to translate the story into formats that resonate with their communities. Long-term partnerships, speakers noted, enable brands to maintain narrative consistency while showing up in unexpected ways over time.

The theme continued on the Precision & Passion: The Modern Art of Brand Storytelling panel, where Megan Imbres, Peloton chief marketing officer; Kathryn Lundstrom, Adweek’s commerce and sustainability editor; and Kevin Shapiro, Neutrogena’s head of US sun and skincare brand growth, reinforced that while anyone can produce content, genuine community – built on the emotional fabric between a brand and its audience – remains the most powerful and hardest-to-replicate driver of lasting cultural relevance.

Keep an eye on our Global Events section for our upcoming round-up of top insights from SXSW Austin.

Strategic opportunity

Adopt a longevity mindset: design creator partnerships and campaigns that evolve over time. By nurturing relationships and allowing narratives to grow, you can maintain consistent cultural relevance and transform one-off activations into sustained, meaningful engagement

How Tipping Point East is redefining circular construction in London

Photography by Jacoby Clarke

UK – A new hub in east London aims to rethink how cities build by embedding material re-use directly into the construction supply chain.

Tipping Point East, located in Royal Docks in the London borough of Newham, is the UK’s first dedicated circular construction hub. Occupying a 20,000-square-metre site owned by the Greater London Authority, the facility will combine large-scale material salvage, low-carbon construction, training and cultural programming.

The project, co-developed by Resolve Collective, Material Cultures and Yes Make, aims to divert at least 950 tonnes of construction materials from landfill over five years while testing new circular building models.

Part of a planned Circular Economy Village in Silvertown, the hub will act as a live prototyping environment where salvaged materials are recovered, tested and re-introduced into the market.

With construction responsible for 62% of the UK’s waste, according to Gov.UK, the initiative positions re-use infrastructure as a critical lever for cities pursuing zero-carbon development while scaling new skills, supply chains and material economies.

The launch of Tipping Point East reflects the kind of circular innovation we continue to track as part of our future spaces and sustainability topic analysis. Find more insights in our Rebranding Sustainability macrotrend report.

Strategic opportunity

Partner with material re-use hubs to source salvaged materials, test low-carbon building methods and co-create spaces that showcase circular design, turning sustainability infrastructure into visible innovation

Stat: The enshittification of TikTok is creating a widening trust gap with Gen Z

P.Louise’s TikTok Shop Live, UK

Global – Growing scepticism is beginning to reshape how Gen Z engage with the social media platform TikTok. According to a survey from The Harris Poll, 65% of the cohort still use TikTok daily, but their relationship with the app is increasingly uneasy.

The research reveals a widening trust gap. Some 31% of respondents say they scroll on the app purely out of habit and 72% feel the content on their feeds has become staged or overly performative. Advertising and commerce are also contributing to fatigue, with 41% objecting to the volume of ads and branded content, while about one-third say the introduction of TikTok Shop has diminished the experience.

Algorithmic trust is also weakening: 60% of Gen Z say they trust TikTok less than they once did and about one-third have actively retrained their feeds to find more relevant content.

This mirrors analysis from our New Codes of Value report, where we explore the rise of enshittification – the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about as a consequence of profit-seeking.

As frustrations mount across social media platforms more broadly, the video platform YouTube is emerging as a relative safe haven. The survey found that 78% of Gen Z view YouTube more favourably, with 66% visiting the platform every day.

Strategic opportunity

As Gen Z grow sceptical of ads and branded content, invest in creator-led storytelling, slower content formats and community dialogue to rebuild trust and sustain attention