Observed Signal · Aug 17, 2026 · Industry Trend · Source: Digiday · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Brands Adopt Fan-First Social Media Strategies
Major and emerging brands are shifting to “fan-first” social strategies that prioritize tightly engaged communities and creator-led voices over broad mass outreach. The approach — exemplified by PepsiCo-owned Poppi, which cultivated passionate followers on TikTok and Instagram — treats fans as evangelists, social-listening panels, and product co-creators. Agencies and brand teams are hiring younger, creator-native staff and asking marketers to act more like creators, while some companies are encouraging employees and individual execs to use personal profiles to test ideas and tease campaigns. The strategy carries risks, including loss of strict brand-control and the chance staffers take audiences with them when they leave, but proponents argue it builds deeper brand equity in an era of declining active posting on mainstream social platforms.
Reflects a notable shift in brand social strategy and hiring — relevant to marketers, agencies, and community-management services, but not a platform policy or major technical release.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Poppi is described as a Pepsico-owned soft-drink brand that prioritizes fans over consumers on social platforms.
- Poppi had a 34% share of the “functional soda” consumer category prior to its $1.95 billion acquisition by Pepsico.
- Sophia Sesto leads the team behind Poppi’s social media, creator and ambassador operations and says the brand is 'community first.'
- McDonald’s promoted Guillaume Huin to lead its global brand strategy after he used his X profile to engage fans and tease limited-time products.
- Ofcom reported that 49% of British social media users say they actively post on Instagram and Facebook, down from 61% in 2025.
Connected Companies & Entities
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Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Brands and Creators Renegotiate Creative Briefs
Brands are shifting from treating creators as pure media buys to involving them in concept development, product influence and creative co-creation. Agencies and brands are experimenting with longer partnerships, creator feedback sessions, and consulting roles for creators while balancing legal and stakeholder constraints. Examples include PepsiCo's bubly campaign with influencer Erin Miller, Aéropostale's co-designed collection with TikToker Déjà Clark, and agencies like HYDP/HYPD and Billion Dollar Boy soliciting creator input for planning and product testing. Influencer marketing spend is projected to grow, reinforcing creators' rising strategic importance in brand marketing.
Brands Lean on News Creators for Earned Media
Brands are broadening earned media strategies to include news-adjacent creators on social platforms — such as TikTok explainers, creator-led podcasts and niche hosts — as audiences increasingly consume news on social media and LLMs shift discovery. Marketers including Tropicana’s Naked Smoothie, NASCAR and Amazon are experimenting with creator-driven interviews, seeded content and ‘editorial exchange’ events to reach consumers outside traditional press. Industry sources say creators can drive engagement and awareness while legacy press provides credibility; measurement and attribution remain unsettled, with marketers testing new metrics like fandom, engagement value and earned media value. Some agencies are also exploring creator tactics to influence LLM search results by revamping FAQ pages and briefing creators.
Brands Relearn: Entertain First, Advertise Second
Brands including SharkNinja, Gap, Mattel, LVMH and Arsenal are shifting from short-term performance advertising toward entertainment-led content, building episodic series, in-house studios, and longer creator relationships. The piece cites Sprout Social’s 2026 content strategy report showing episodic series as marketers’ top social priority, influencer data indicating most brand-creator deals are short-lived (many one-offs), and measurement studies from Dentsu and others that stress voluntary attention and diminishing returns after ~20 seconds. Contributors and consultants quoted warn that decades of optimization for clicks has devalued creative work and that sustained, owned content approaches compound brand effects over time.
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