Inside the Creator Economy

What happens when the things that once gave your brand a competitive edge become available to everyone? In this episode, we sit down with Victor Halvarsson, founder and CEO of VANBRUUN, to explore how a digital-first jewellery brand evolved into something much harder to replicate - a modern luxury experience built around taste, hospitality and human connection. VANBRUUN started by selling engagement rings online, competing on price and efficiency. Thirteen years later, the thinking has shifted. As AI makes content, technology and digital experiences easier to copy, the brand is doubling down on the things that don't scale: the physical spaces, the smallest details, the feeling you get when you walk through the door. We get into what that looks like in practice - from building desirability without a hundred years of heritage, to why the hardest things to scale might become the biggest competitive advantage. We also explore: Why competing on price and efficiency wasn't enough to build the brand Victor wanted What hospitality can teach us about modern brand building Where VANBRUUN uses AI, and where it deliberately doesn't Why the things that are hardest to scale might become the biggest competitive advantage

What if the biggest creator marketing shifts of 2027 have very little to do with the next platform, format or viral trend? In this episode, Sanna Ödmark and Frida Ekholm look beyond the usual trend predictions to unpack the bigger changes reshaping creator marketing - and marketing itself. Creator marketing is moving closer to the core of how brands build relevance, creativity and growth. At the same time, AI is making content faster and cheaper to produce, raising the bar for what actually earns attention. And as social platforms become more participatory again, the role of creators is evolving far beyond simply producing and distributing content. We get into what these shifts mean in practice: from why creator marketing might start to disappear as a separate channel, to bringing creator expertise further upstream, building creative frameworks that work at scale, and understanding why more content doesn't necessarily mean more impact. We also explore: Why creator marketing is becoming increasingly integrated into marketing itself What “creator-first” actually means, and why it doesn't mean handing creators the strategy Why AI makes human judgment, creativity and distinctiveness more valuable How brands can balance creative freedom with strategic direction Why social is becoming social again, and what the shift from broadcasting to participation means for brands

What does it actually take to turn a brand around, in a category where standing out is anything but easy? In this episode, we sit down with Teresa Hedlund, Head of Brand & Marketing  at Telenor Sweden, to unpack the transformation the brand has been through over the past few years. Telecom is one of the most competitive, and arguably least differentiated, categories out there. For Telenor, creating change has meant rethinking not only how the brand shows up, but how the marketing organisation behind it works. We get into the decisions behind that transformation: from making sharper choices and challenging established ways of working, to creating an organisation that can move faster and deliver more impact. Teresa also shares what she has learned about leading through change, bringing people with you, and building a stronger, more distinctive brand. We also explore: How to create meaningful differentiation in a highly competitive category  Why real transformation goes beyond marketing  What it takes to make tough decisions while bringing people with you  How sharper priorities can create more impact  The role of leadership in taking a brand through transformation 

In this episode of Inside the Creator Economy, we sit down with Patrick Axzell, CEO of BUBS and Orkla Snacks Sweden. Most brands spend years trying to create demand. BUBS suddenly had the opposite problem. As Swedish Candy exploded on social media, demand grew to 14 times what the company could produce – and content around BUBS went on to generate 9 billion views on TikTok. In this conversation, we get into what actually happens when the internet chooses your brand: how BUBS responded when demand took off faster than the business could keep up, why letting go of control became part of the strategy, and what it takes to turn viral momentum into long-term brand and business growth. We also talk about why speed can matter more than perfection, how BUBS lets consumers and creators shape the brand, and what Patrik has learned about leading through unexpected growth. We also explore: What happens behind the scenes when demand suddenly exceeds supply  Why BUBS built its brand playbook by listening to consumers, rather than starting with an agency  How to let consumers and creators shape a brand without losing what makes it distinctive  Why the BUBS concept store became one of the brand’s most valuable marketing platforms  How to turn a cultural moment into something much bigger than a viral hit 

In this episode of Inside the Creator Economy, we sit down with Alexander Shmelkov, Director of Global Brand Tracking at IKEA. Most brand trackers are built to tell you what happened. Alexander has spent the last few years rebuilding one to help the business decide what to do next, across 64 markets, in an environment where the rules of growth are changing fast. In this conversation we get into why data on its own has no value, what it actually takes to turn insights into decisions, and how IKEA is transforming a 20-year-old measurement system into a genuine strategic tool. We also talk about what relevance really means for a global brand today, and why the bottleneck in most organisations isn't data, it's interpretation. We also explore: The shift from reporting to predicting: insights as a forward-looking function, not a rearview mirror Why the aha moment, not the data, is the real deliverable of insights work What it takes to run a global brand tracker across 64 markets without losing local relevance Insights as a people business: why human capability, not technology, is the real constraint 

Most marketers today are under pressure to do more, move faster and constantly prove results. But what actually drives growth long term? In this episode of Inside the Creator Economy, we sit down with Sorin Patilinet, Global Marketing Effectiveness & Measurement Lead at PepsiCo and recently published author on Marketing Effectiveness, to unpack what really drives growth today - and why many marketers are making things far more complicated than they need to be. As AI floods the internet with more content and more noise, the real challenge is no longer producing marketing - it’s knowing what’s actually worth doing. We talk about why restraint might become one of the most important marketing skills of the next decade. Why short-term excitement often beats long-term thinking. And what brands like Cheetos, Geico and Lindt understand about distinctiveness that many others still miss. We dive into: Why “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” matters more in the AI era The tension between short-term performance and long-term brand building What actually makes brands distinctive and memorable today Why more content doesn’t automatically mean better marketing How PepsiCo applies marketing science and growth principles in practice 

The creator role has changed - and not just in how content looks, but in what it demands from the people behind it. In this episode of Inside the Creator Economy, we sit down with Norwegian creator Elisabeth Asserson Ingebrigtsen to unpack what it actually means to build a personal brand today, beyond aesthetics, algorithms and surface-level engagement. We talk about the shift from being “polished” to being personal, and the pressure that comes with it. Because the more you share, the more you grow… but also, the more is expected of you. We cover: Why she doesn’t identify with the term influencer, and what she sees her role as instead  How expectations on creators have fundamentally changed over the past few years The tension between growth, authenticity and personal boundaries  What brands still get wrong when working with creators, and why control often backfires  Why people today don’t just want products, they want to be part of something  

TikTok is no longer a channel you test. It’s a platform shaping how brands build relevance. In this episode of Inside the Creator Economy, we sit down with Elin Palmelius from TikTok Nordics to unpack what’s actually changing - not just on the platform, but in how brands think about creativity, audiences and growth. Over the past few years, TikTok has evolved from a fast-moving challenger to a core part of the media mix, redefining everything from content formats to the path to purchase. But the real shift goes deeper than that. We’re moving from a world where brands broadcast, to one where they’re expected to participate. Where discovery, consideration and conversion can happen in seconds. And where relevance is no longer owned by the brand, but shaped in real time by communities. We dive into: Why TikTok has moved from “nice to have” to a true business driver  What Gen Alpha expects from brands, and why they don’t just consume content, but shape it  How the definition of “good creative” is changing, and why less polished often performs better  What “organic branding” really means, and how brands can show up in a way that feels native, not interruptive  Because the real question isn’t whether brands should be on TikTok - it’s whether they’re ready to let go of control, and actually become part of the culture they want to reach. 

In this episode of Inside the Creator Economy, we’re doing something a little different. Instead of bringing in a guest, we’re taking you inside our internal insights chat at Cure Media, where our team shares the signals, shifts and conversations shaping the creator economy in real time. This episode is built from those discussions. We unpack five shifts we keep coming back to. Not trends in the traditional sense, but patterns that say something bigger about where the industry is heading, and what brands need to understand to stay relevant. We cover: Why many brands still struggle to operationalise creators, and what it actually takes to move from ambition to execution  The rise of the status economy, where cultural fluency matters more than category  Nostalgia as more than a trend, and how brands can create meaning, not just reference the past  The optimisation mindset, and how wellness and longevity are reshaping consumer behaviour  How AI is collapsing the funnel, and what it means to be recommended, not just discovered