Making content has only gotten easier, between AI tools streamlining production and more brands seeking out influencer partners.
But all the best tools and biggest platforms can’t help without the authenticity that today’s hyperaware audiences demand.
In its second year, our Brand Genius Creators list tips its hat to the unapologetically direct, the delightfully entertaining, and the gently honest online personalities shaping the digital conversation—not to mention brand strategy, storytelling, and consumer engagement for global brands.
This year we’ve expanded the list into new categories, adding the executives and agencies rewriting the rulebook for social-first marketing.
It’s their digital world—we’re just living in it.
Tefi (Estefanía) Pessoa
Tefi, dubbed “the internet’s big sister” by Time magazine, uses her generous gift of gab to discuss topics ranging from dating and tabloid news to current events and how to be an adult. Her warmth and wit were already present in her YouTube series, The Tefi Show, cut short by the pandemic. She took that energy to TikTok, where she’s risen to become one of social media’s most beloved voices, which has expanded to a red carpet role with Instyle, an advice column at The Cut, and the Vox Media podcast Tefi Talks. Last year, the Colombian and Brazilian-American creator was named one of the Most Influential Creators of 2025 by Rolling Stone and made the Time100 Creators list.
Michelladonna
Michelladonna goes around the world to celebrate the cats who live and work in bodegas, corner stores, and repair shops on her show, Shop Cats. The bilingual series launched in 2024 on creator-led production platform Mad Realities, and quickly found an audience drawn to its feline stars and Michelladonna’s energy and humor. In 2025, Shop Cats broke out on TikTok, with episodes routinely surpassing 1 million views and even scoring human guest stars like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Michelladonna also won a Webby Award, led Steve Madden’s spring campaign, and partnered with DoorDash on a Hispanic Heritage Month spotlight on Latino communities.
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show News Team
Led by powerhouse comedian Jon Stewart, The Daily Show and its stable of hosts spent 2025 covering every newsworthy moment, from the gaffes of President Trump to the ironic inefficiencies of the Department of Government Efficiency and the explosion of generative AI. The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning show used its signature satire to draw in audiences of all ages, scoring the highest ratings year since 2020, including a 25% increase in share across the 18-49 demographic. When Stewart, who has extended his contract through 2026, hosts on Monday nights, The Daily Show tops late-night cable ratings, helping Comedy Central to land its best quarterly share in Q2 2025 since 2015.
Dhar Mann
Motivational YouTuber Dhar Mann, who has more than 163 million followers globally and his own scripted entertainment studio, continued to expand his media footprint in 2025. To produce his positive and uplifting content, he brought on multiple senior appointments, including alumni of MrBeast’s production company. Mann also inked exclusive content deals with Samsung TV Plus, Fox Entertainment and Holywater to develop original scripted series. He was Forbes’ No. 2 Top Creator of 2025 and kicked off 2026 by being named Chief Kindness Officer of the NFL to bring positivity to the Super Bowl.
Jessica Yellin
After 17 years as a political journalist in mainstream media, Jessica Yellin started her podcast and social media platforms News Not Noise to cover current events for younger viewers without inducing anxiety. Since then, she has grown a substantial Substack and Instagram following, and featured guests such as former President Barack Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. A former chief White House correspondent for CNN, Yellin has won Emmy, Peabody, and Gracie awards. In 2025, she was featured at the Bush Institute’s 2025 Forum on Leadership and partnered with creator-led YouTube network Mediaite as a contributor.
Emma Grede
British entrepreneur and fashion designer Emma Grede is no stranger to the power of partnership in business. She partnered with members of the Kardashian family to co-found denim company Good American and is a founding partner of Skims. Always with a finger firmly on the pulse of culture, she launched her podcast Aspire with Emma Grede last year, featuring of-the-moment guests such as child psychologist Dr. Becky, Issa Rae, and Scale AI co-founder Lucy Guo. In 2025, Grede partnered with designer Kristin Juszczyk to launch the apparel brand Off Season in collaboration with the NFL and Fanatics, and her debut novel Start With Yourself will be published this month.
Patrick Ta
Makeup artist Patrick Ta broke through with his viral technique for achieving a “red-carpet glow.” The Vietnamese American creator launched his eponymous beauty brand in 2019 at Sephora with the mission of empowering everyone to find their voice and build confidence through makeup. Since then, he has collabed with brands including Barbie and celebs such as Kim Kardashian, Ariana Grande, and Eva Longoria. Ta regularly holds masterclasses around the world, most recently in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, pops up at high-profile events like Paris Fashion Week, and does makeup for fellow influencers such as Rawan & Rayan, Georgina Rodriguez, and Mikayla Nogueira.
Matthew & Paul Castle
Matthew and Paul Castle gained a following for their videos where Matthew, who is fully sighted, would pull good-natured pranks on Paul, who is blind. The Castles share their life as a gay, inter-abled couple, plus their guide dog Mr. Maple, to nearly 8 million followers across all social media platforms. They use their following to advocate for disability awareness and LGBTQ+ rights. Paul is a self-published author of several children’s picture books, and Matthew has released several albums of his violin music. Last year, the Castles partnered with Alaska Airlines for a story-driven campaign about Mr. Maple reuniting with his brothers, and completed their second year as brand ambassadors for Starbucks.
Justine Snacks
Justine Doiron brings her own brand of joy to the internet as a recipe developer sharing elevated comfort food as Justine Snacks. Her cheeky narration offsets the high-end ingredients and Martha Stewart-like finished dishes, while her viral cross-genre series such as Cleaning out the Pantry draw thousands of new viewers. Her brand partnerships include Vital Farms, Del Monte, Talenti, and Coca-Cola, working with them to develop seasonal recipes. Her plant-forward cookbook, Justine Cooks, is a New York Times bestseller; eight of her recipes have also appeared in the publication, including a holiday-themed Cooking video.
Carlos Eduardo Espina
At just 26 years old, Carlos Eduardo Espina has already founded three organizations supporting disadvantaged children and immigrants. Having come to the U.S. at age 5 from Uruguay, Espina began working on immigration rights in 2019 when he established the Detained Refugee Solidarity Fund. He’s been called the “mailman for immigrants” for his letter-writing campaign to those detained by ICE and raising money to help them contact their families. Using social media to amplify his cause, Espina’s work has only intensified over the last year with the Trump administration’s increased crackdowns on immigrant communities as leader of the Texas nonprofit Migrantes Unidos.
Isabel Klee
Rescuing dogs has been a lifelong passion for Isabel Klee, but the content creator went viral last year when she shared the story of Tiki, a dog she was fostering, as he overcame years of trauma to find a loving home. Klee, under her handle @SimonSits, uses her platform to advocate for shelter dogs and the fostering process, showing viewers each step of a dog’s journey to finding a new home. Her brand partnerships also support her mission, including dog food brand Open Farm and featuring one of her fosters on Animal Planet’s Super Bowl-adjacent Puppy Bowl. Klee’s memoir, Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About, will be published this month.
Rachel Accurso & Aron Accurso
There isn’t a parent with access to the internet who hasn’t heard of the YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel. An educator by training, Rachel Accurso started her channel, with the help of her Broadway composer husband Aron, to help young children develop language and social skills. In the last year, she has gone beyond education to advocacy, speaking out against the wars in Ukraine and Palestine while supporting children affected by the conflicts. Ms. Rachel reached more children in 2025 by collaborating with Sesame Street and celloboxer Kevin Olusola from Pentatonix, launched a global toy line with Spin Master, and partnered with brands including Stonyfield Organics, Millie Moon diapers, and baby product maker Nuk.
Jamelle Bouie
Columnists can have a rarefied air—not Jamelle Bouie. Working at The New York Times since 2019, he’s become known for informative and analytical coverage of current events, using both traditional media and social channels to break down complex issues such as slavery, racism, politics, and government through historical and social context. In the era of Trump politics, Bouie has explored how the administration’s decisions echo unresolved issues from American history. But it’s not all heavy: Bouie co-hosts the Unclear and Present Danger podcast about 1990s political thrillers, which blends pop culture with political analysis.
Jackie Gonzalez
Through the lens of being a deaf, creator Jackie Gonzalez puts her own spin on common social media tropes such as silent unboxing videos and lip reading celebrities and political figures, including her 2025 viral moment when she allegedly saw former President Barack Obama ask former President George Bush “How can we stop what’s happening?” at President Trump’s inauguration. Gonzalez uses her platform to advocate for the deaf community and has partnered with brands including Instacart, Google, Ulta, Miniso, and Boss to lip read videos for related content, and competed on the first season of Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge.
Dr. Joel Bervell
As a practicing physician, Dr. Joel Bervell is addressing inequities in healthcare from within the medical system. The Ghanaian-American creator began posting to social media while in medical school to highlight racial bias in patient care, educating his TikTok followers about the history of medicine and its current disparities. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Bervell co-created the animated series The Doctor Is In to introduce children to the medical profession, which was later picked up by YouTube Health. In 2025, his work was recognized with an Immersive and Interactive Peabody Award, and Bervell was named a Time100 most influential digital voice.
Kailyn Nunn
Over the last six years, Kailyn Nunn has revolutionized Canva’s influencer marketing strategy through her philosophy of shared experiences over passive scrolling. Nunn was key in launching the Canva World Tour, which visited 30 countries with customized creator-led experiences showing how design is “lived, local and everywhere,” and delivered over 20 million impressions. Harnessing each creator’s unique niche, Nunn enlisted Brooklyn-based musician and rising creator @AriAtHome to transform a Canva Sheet into a drum machine, mobilized 18 creators across 155 LinkedIn posts to scale Canva Create, and orchestrated a playground activation to literally bring Canva’s 2026 Design Forecast to life.
Dawn Yang
Moving at the speed of TikTok is no easy feat. In just over a year, Dawn Yang has molded the platform into a key player in the entertainment ecosystem, strengthening relationships with studios and storytellers while keeping creativity at its core. Yang worked hand-in-hand to connect major studios with organic creator activity through TikTok Spotlight. For Netflix’s Squid Game, TikTok recreated the show’s iconic games on the platform, and drove buzz for the Oscar-winning Sinners through fan reviews and discussions. She also championed the power of fan edits, with studios including HBO, Lionsgate, and Paramount interacting, collaborating and sometimes even hiring talent based on their TikTok content.
Dakota Rae Lowe
Walking the line between advertising leader and content creator, Dakota Rae Lowe is known for her fun, relatable presence on LinkedIn, Substack, and Instagram. She partnered with Breaking and Entering Media to launch the Culture Corner series, which drew 281,000 views on just 10 episodes. Lowe spent two years at Edelman, where she led the Hellmann’s Mayonnaise campaign that helped a couple get married in a chicken tender dip-themed Las Vegas wedding, and connected Dove with Emma Chamberlain’s coffee brand to launch a body care collection that smelled like menu items at a bougie coffeehouse. Nordstrom liked her work so much, the retailer hired her to handle its marketing in-house in January.
Jennifer Quigley-Jones
Having founded influencer marketing agency Digital Voices in 2017—the year after TikTok made its debut—Jennifer Quigley-Jones had a front-row seat to the evolution of creators and their growth into a performance-driven asset. In 2025, following breakout work for DoorDash during the run of Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty, the agency was acquired by PMG, which cited Digital Voices’ proprietary AI-powered tools Chord and Composer as key to the deal. While orchestrating that deal, Quigley-Jones also founded the Global Influencer Council to set clear standards for influencer marketing and further legitimize its role within brand strategy, holding its inaugural meeting at Cannes Lions.
Chad Easterling
After five years of growth for culture-powered creative agency Obsidianworks, co-founders Chad Easterling and Michael B. Jordan took it fully independent in 2025, buying out minority partner 160over90. Easterling also launched a new strategic advisory helping high-profile talent evolve into scalable business platforms such as media companies and investment vehicles. Among Obsidianworks’ notable campaigns of 2025 were Instagram’s “Class Photo” activation at the Met Gala, the Nike x NBA All-Star Weekend sneaker culture museum with Shoe Palace and artist Victor Solomon, and celebrating 25 years of Spanx with The Red Gallery installation at Art Basel Miami Beach.
Audible
When BookTok truly took over the cultural zeitgeist in 2025, Audible was ready, having built its presence in the TikTok community for years. The Amazon-owned audiobook platform had no shame connecting to listeners in the romance genre with the idea that “There’s nothing guilty about this pleasure,” partnering with 18 creators such as Madison Humphrey and Mei Mei to reach 1.3 billion impressions and growing total listening hours by 600%. The brand also recorded a bedtime story collaboration with rapper Yung Gravy and picked up on the exploding LitRPG genre with a Dungeon Crawler Carl campaign that connected the dynamic author/narrator duo of Matt Dinniman and Jeff Hays to new audiences.
Poppi
Prebiotic soda brand Poppi keeps things fizzy by getting in on cultural moments. When Love Island USA was the talk of social media, the brand created Amaya’s Island Colada in honor of breakout winner Amaya Espinal, turning a meme into Poppi’s most-liked Instagram post ever. For Back to School season, Poppi returned to college campuses with a robust sorority recruitment program that sent out more than a million cans across 700 campuses and 1,700 Greek chapters. And in its third Super Bowl appearance, Poppi used surround-sound activations and a partnership with Charli XCX and Rachel Sennott to encourage viewers to “escape the ordinary.” The upstart soda brand was noticed within the industry too, getting acquired by PepsiCo in May 2025 for $1.5 billion.
Netflix
Worldwide cultural moments rarely happen in our fragmented era, but Netflix delivered the hit of the year with KPop Demon Hunters, which not only became its most-streamed movie ever but also won awards from Grammys to an Oscar. And there was also the final season of Stranger Things and the dark retelling of Frankenstein. The streaming service focused on using these moments to connect with audiences, becoming the most-followed entertainment brand on TikTok and Meta platforms while garnering more than 73 million player engagements on Roblox. A month-long rewatch of Stranger Things plus the discourse around the finale and behind-the-scenes documentary brought more than 20 billion owned impressions. Netflix also further solidified its place in live sports by leveraging mic’d up celebs watching the Canelo vs. Crawford boxing match to draw viewers into every aspect of the spectacle.
Skims
Everyone watches women’s sports, but Skims actually got in the game. The apparel company founded by Kim Kardashian kicked off 2025 by announcing a partnership with Nike, became the official underwear partner of the WNBA, released moment-seizing campaigns featuring top female athletes such as Serena Williams, Jordan Chiles, and Sha’Carri Richardson, and even jumped on the RushTok trend. But the biggest moment of the year came with the launch of its Ultimate Bush Thongs, which had the entire internet talking about pubic hair trends. By the end of the year, Skims was valued at $5 billion after a new funding round to expand the DTC brand into brick-and-mortar.
Unilever
Unilever started 2025 with the promotion of Fernando Fernandez to CEO, who made social media marketing a key priority with the aim of starting cultural conversations rather than following them. By increasing social platform spend and partnering with more creators globally, the CPG giant aimed to meaningfully connect with communities with its brands. An early success has been the “Vaseline Verified” campaign, which linked up over 450 creators with Unilever’s R&D team to test viral Vaseline hacks. Dove’s “Share the First” used the insight that 9 in 10 women take up to 50 pictures before selecting one to post on social media and challenged them to share their first photos instead, fighting online perfection culture.
Melted Solids
It was hard to be on social media last fall without hearing the viral buzz surrounding Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for New York City mayor. Mamdani crossed age and cultural divides with an online presence unrivaled by any previous mayoral candidate thanks to the work of Melted Solids, which brought social media’s quippy educational format and street-smart interviews to politics. The full-service agency, which focuses on making political ads and digital content for progressive candidates and organizations, put Mamdani at the heart of cultural conversation that had people across the country saying “That’s my mayor!”
Coolr
One of Adweek’s 2025 Fastest Growing Agencies, independent social media and influencer marketing agency Coolr had a year of dramatic growth by blending content production and community engagement. After expanding stateside with Lyft as its founding client in 2022, the London-based agency named former BBDO and United Collective exec Mark Lainas as U.S. president. From staging a 25K influencer-led run through Central London for Samsung to a croissant-scented perfume for Lidl, Coolr knows how to create a moment, whether it’s experiential or the latest culture-bending social trend from its in-house studio.
Ogilvy
Ogilvy continued to connect the largest brands with younger audiences by approaching them on a personal level. For Sprite, the “Hurts Real Good” campaign positioned the Coca-Cola-owned beverage as the refreshing counter to Gen Z’s love of spicy cuisines with an interactive TikTok game. The “Get Unready” campaign for Dove redefined the Beauty Bar by flipping the “Get ready with me” trend on its head and asking women to use the bar after a crazy night out. Ogilvy U.K. also won a Grand Prix at Cannes for its Dove work, one of 25 Lions the agency’s global offices scooped up in 2025.
Influential
After being acquired by Publicis in 2024, influencer marketing firm Influential made 2025 a year of expansion, including extending into agentic AI search with the launch of InfluentialRank. In partnership with Publicis Sports, the agency launched Influential Sports, an end-to-end approach to sports marketing that aligns brands with creators, professional athletes, and NIL talent, from activation to measurement. The agency also gave the Cannes Lion its own viral moment during last year’s awards ceremony, led by wildlife influencer Shandor Larenty. Walmart Realm let creators design digital storefronts to authentically showcase their picks, and Influential brought Jimmy John’s to YouTube to explore the restaurant’s menu as a comedic fine-dining experience.
Kensington Grey
Talent agency Kensington Grey is changing the influencer marketing world by transforming the talent-manager relationship, giving its clients access to resources and strategic infrastructure to build scalable businesses. In the last year, the agency added 70 new talents (growing its roster by 40%) and 13 employees. Kensington Grey also further supported the creator-to-CEO pipeline with the launch of 12PM Studios, the sunglass line by creator Jenee Naylor, the first brand born from the agency’s product development division to help creators build wealth beyond their platforms. The agency also drove results for clients such as CoverGirl, Microsoft Copilot, SheaMoisture, and rallied support for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/the-2026-brand-genius-creators-innovating-how-to-connect-with-audiences/