Cracking TikTok Creator Marketing: What’s Driving Real Results in 2026

What is fundamentally driving results on TikTok in 2026 is not simply a shift in platform features — it is a shift in consumer behaviour. People don’t separate “search,” “social,” and “shopping” anymore. On platforms like TikTok and Instagram, those behaviours are blended. A user might discover a product, research it, read comments, compare options, and decide whether to buy — all within the same ecosystem. That means creator marketing is no longer sitting at the top of the funnel as an awareness play. Brands now must focus on how they are discovered, evaluated, trusted, and increasingly, how they convert. how must operating models evolve to reflect this behavioural shift?

To remain competitive, brands must move beyond producing content and begin building visibility systems. These systems determine whether a brand surfaces in search, whether content is saved and shared, whether messaging holds attention long enough to signal relevance to the algorithm, and whether conversations reinforce credibility. Success is no longer driven by isolated trends or one-off campaigns, but about how brands adapt their operating models to a world where algorithms reward relevance, audiences reward authenticity, and creators sit at the intersection of both

This roundtable will explore how organisations must adapt their marketing infrastructure to compete in this new environment. Everything we’ll discuss — from AI to search to retention — ladders back to this single shift: Creator marketing is no longer optional amplification, it’s infrastructure.