As 2025 comes to a close, Alex Rawitz—CreatorIQ's Director of Research & Insights—hosts the final How to Build Brands and Influence People: Live of the year with a special crossover guest: Brit Starr, CreatorIQ's Chief Marketing Officer and host of the Earned podcast. Together, they unpack the biggest creator marketing shifts of 2025 and lay out what brands should prepare for in 2026. Brit names 2025 the year the creator economy became inevitable—an inflection point where creators moved from "nice to have" to a true business imperative. They dig into the data behind that momentum, including a major budget realignment: creator marketing investment surged, with significant net-new budget coming from traditional and paid advertising. The takeaway is clear—creators didn't just stay relevant; they took a bigger share of center stage. From there, the conversation turns to brand safety—why it became a top priority for enterprise brands and agencies, and how safety and suitability now go beyond binary "safe/not safe" decisions into nuanced, values-based alignment. Alex and Brit also explore the evolving role of AI in creator marketing, where adoption is growing but audiences (and creators) are signaling a renewed preference for human-led authenticity. Finally, they look at the platform landscape heading into 2026—why YouTube may be poised for a breakout year, how LinkedIn is evolving into a true creator platform, and why multi-platform strategy and tighter community-building will define what's next. In this episode, you'll learn: How creator marketing matured in 2025 and what that means for budget and planning decisions in 2026. Why brand safety and suitability are now prerequisites for scaling creator programs. Where AI supports creator programs and where human judgment still matters most. Connect with the Guest Host: Alex's LinkedIn - @alex-rawitz-1a8353b2 Connect with Brit Starr & CreatorIQ: Brit's LinkedIn - @britmccorquodale CreatorIQ LinkedIn - @creatoriq Follow us on social: CreatorIQ YouTube - @CreatorIQOfficial CreatorIQ Instagram - @creatoriq CreatorIQ TikTok - @creator.iq CreatorIQ Twitter - @CreatorIQ