Registration and Networking

• 8:30 AM

  to 9:00 AM

  Registration and Networking

  Registration

  Doors open. Coffee and introductions.

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• 9:00 AM

  to 9:15 AM

  Welcome to Authentic

  Welcome

  An introduction to the day and the ideas that shape it, from the people building the brand-creator economy.

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• 9:15 AM

  to 9:45 AM

  How to Win the Billion Dollar Creator Marketing Opportunity

  Jeff Rosenblum, CEO, Questus Creator marketing has moved from the edges of the media plan to the center of it. U.S. creator advertising grew 26% in the past year and is projected to hit $44 billion in 2026, already surpassing radio and connected TV. Creators are becoming media companies, entrepreneurs, and cultural tastemakers, powered by something traditional advertising often struggles to earn: attention, relevance, and trust. But that power can backfire. Brands are already repeating old mistakes, chasing reach over relevance and volume over value. This presentation explores the opportunity, the pitfalls, and a better path forward, because the future of creator marketing will be determined by who brings the most value to the audience.

  Jeff Rosenblum

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• 9:45 AM

  to 10:15 AM

  State of the Industry: What’s Working in Digital Content

  Rachel Schlegel, Vice President, United Talent Agency | A state-of-the-industry look at what’s succeeding online today, and why creators, not platforms or studios, are driving it. Drawing on UTA’s latest IQ quarterly research, Rachel traces how film, TV, and digital content are converging into one always-on ecosystem and where consumer attention is actually going. She maps the short-form and long-form landscape, top formats, creators to watch, and the trends shaping what comes next, grounded in case studies of brands already winning.

  Rachel Schlegel

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• 10:15 AM

  to 10:45 AM

  Creators, Brands, and the Next Chapter

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• 10:45 AM

  to 11:15 AM

  Long Term Partnerships: How Brands and YouTube Creators Are Driving Impact

  Gary Hoffman, Creator Strategist, Google Aditi Rajvanshi, Head of Strategy, Portal A With over a decade of experience helping brands collaborate with YouTube creators, Gary Hoffman shares the latest insights, case studies, and opportunities for driving meaningful impact on the platform alongside Aditi Rajvanshi of Portal A. This session offers valuable perspectives for brands looking to build sustained, long-term equity with YouTube creators and their dedicated audiences.

  Gary Hoffman, Aditi Rajvanshi

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• 11:15 AM

  to 11:30 AM

  Break

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• 11:30 AM

  to 12:00 PM

  Inside the IAB Trusted Creator Brand Deal Initiative: Unlocking Opportunities to Scale Marketing Investment in the Creator Economy

  James Douglas, VP, Experience Center, IAB Keiko Mori, Head of Creative Product Marketing and Commercial Partnerships, North America, TikTok Mike Sepso, IAB Creator Economy Board Moderated by Lucia Moses, Business Insider The creator economy grew to $44 billion in the U.S. without a shared rulebook, raising the question of how it will scale to $80 or $100 billion next. Brands, agencies, and platforms still define “views” differently, negotiate rights from scratch, and measure results their own way, an approach that has become expensive at this scale. The IAB launched the Trusted Creator Brand Deal Initiative, a cross-industry effort built with research from Front Row Research, to determine what the market needs standardized first. This session shares direct feedback from brands, agencies, platforms, and creators, and what it means for anyone deciding where their next marketing dollar goes.

  James Douglas

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• 12:00 PM

  to 12:30 PM

  The Intern: Building a Hit

  Sally Holmes, Editor-in-Chief, InStyle Angwi Tacho, Creator Dove Moderated by Joe Otterson, Variety InStyle’s creator-cast, brand-integrated series “The Intern” became a hit, and a blueprint. The team behind it shares why a publisher built an entertainment franchise, what it’s like for a creator to work inside a branded series, and how the brand integration stayed native while delivering for the brand.

  Sally Holmes, Angwi Tacho

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• 12:30 PM

  to 1:03 PM

  Lunch and Networking

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• 1:30 PM

  to 2:00 PM

  Creator-Led Media: Mad Realities x Michelladonna

  Alice Ma, Co-Founder and CEO, Mad Realities Michelladonna, Host and Creator Arm & Hammer Moderated by Amanda Needham, Managing Director, The Telly Awards A conversation on creator-led entertainment and the brand partnerships that make it work, from building an original series to bringing a brand into the story in a way audiences embrace.

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• 2:00 PM

  to 2:30 PM

  Present: A Live Performance and Conversation with Shantell Martin

  Shantell Martin, Artist In conversation with Aleesha Worthington, VP Marketing, WHP Global Artist Shantell Martin, whose collaborators include Kendrick Lamar, New York City Ballet, Tiffany & Co., and Puma, performs an original piece from her Present Word series, followed by a conversation on creative authorship and what happens when a distinctive creative voice meets a brand.

  Shantell Martin

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• 2:30 PM

  to 3:00 PM

  RAD Amplify: Building Creator Programs That Scale

  Moderated by Rick Song, CEO, RAD Amplify Jay Altschuler, SVP, Global Media and Agency Relations, Mastercard Carley Caldas, SVP Marketing and Creative, eos Products Andy Von Kennel, President, Arm Candy Brand and agency leaders on how creator programs get built, bought, and scaled, and what it takes to turn creator partnerships into a reliable part of the media mix.

  Jay Altschuler, Carley Caldas, Andy Von Kennel, Rick Song

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• 3:00 PM

  to 3:30 PM

  All Together Now: Building Your Social System

  Jen Cho, Chief Customer Officer, CreatorIQ Hilton Moderated by Christine Cotter, Managing Director, 360i and Head of Social Innovation, dentsu For years, marketers have treated paid media, social content, creators, and experiences as separate disciplines. The brands building the most momentum today are bringing them together into a single system powered by community. As AI-generated and algorithmically optimized content makes it easier than ever for brands to look alike, creators are becoming an increasingly important source of differentiation, credibility, and cultural relevance. This session explores how creator partnerships, community engagement, paid media, organic content, and real-world experiences work together to create moments that break through, drive performance, and earn a place in culture.

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• 3:30 PM

  to 3:45 PM

  Break

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• 3:45 PM

  to 4:15 PM

  Brands as Media Companies: The Challenger View

  Jeremy Elias, Executive Creative Director, Oatly Jeremy Berres-Paul, Director, Media Partnerships, Huckberry Moderated by Ben Grubbs, Managing Partner, Creator Capital Challenger brands are building content engines that look more like media companies than marketing departments. This conversation goes inside how those engines get built: the decision to make content rather than buy it, how teams split the work across in-house, agency, and creator talent, and when a creator becomes a voice of the brand rather than a channel for distribution. Ben Grubbs brings the investor lens on what an owned audience is worth. Brand leaders of any size leave with a clear picture of what it takes to operate like a media company.

  Jeremy Elias, Jeremy Berres-Paul, Benjamin Grubbs

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• 4:15 PM

  to 4:45 PM

  Making the Unsexy Irresistible

  Rishi Magia, SVP, Head of Social Creative, Digitas Nazir Akil, Head of Social Media, Intuit TurboTax Join TurboTax and Digitas as they explore how an integrated social ecosystem, spanning organic, creator-led, paid, influencer, and commerce channels, helped a traditionally low-interest category show up credibly in culture. Using the Super Bowl, March Madness, and the JustJayne “Death & Taxes” activation as key proof points, this session delivers a replicable framework for building cultural relevance without compromising brand voice or consumer trust.

  Rishi Magia, Nazir Akil

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• 4:45 PM

  to 5:15 PM

  The Creator as Enterprise

  Max Zavidow, Creator Moderated by Mark Levin, Founder and CEO, Consumable For a growing class of creators, the content is only the front door. Behind it sits a real business: products, media properties, original IP, teams, and partnerships that outlast any single campaign. Creators share how they run that business, what they’ve chosen to own, and what changes for brands when the creator across the table is operating a company.

  Mark Levin

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• 5:15 PM

  to 5:45 PM

  From Scroll to Store: How Creators Are Inspiring Discovery at Target

  Anne Flavin, SVP, Client Business Lead, Whalar Target Nakiah, Creator Moderated by Emily Vogel, Director of Programming, TheWrap In a world of endless options and constant scrolling, how can brands break through and turn discovery into action? Target, creator Nakiah, and Whalar, part of Accenture Song, explore how thoughtful curation, authentic creator partnerships, and compelling experiences are shaping the future of retail marketing, and how brands can connect culture, commerce, and creativity to give shoppers a reason to keep coming back.

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• 5:45 PM

  to 6:15 PM

  Closing Session: The Creator at the Center

  A closing look at how creator voice now sits at the center of the brand media mix, from short-form to podcast to streaming to live, and what it means for the brands building alongside them.

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• 6:15 PM

  to 7:30 PM

  Reception

  Cocktails and networking to close the day.

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