A 14-hour TikTok shutdown may have caused some headaches and plenty of drama less than three weeks into the new year, but influencers and creators remain key to 2025 marketing strategies. Indeed, eMarketer projects influencer marketing spending will hit an estimated $9.29 billion by the end of the year.

To explore what shape that will take, Ad Age is bringing together creators, brands and agencies on March 6 in New York. Creator economy day, part of the NextGen Marketing Summit, will dive into how marketers are updating their social media playbooks, best practices for forming brand-creator partnerships and the impact of AI on the current landscape.

As the social media landscape continues to evolve, brands also need to update their approach to influencer marketing and the creator community. Amanda Mulligan, the director of social media and influencer marketing at McDonald’s, will share how she and her team are adjusting their playbook to engage audiences and remain culturally relevant.

Having transformed their personal brands into thriving businesses, Bryan Reisberg, dog dad to Maxine the Fluffy Corgi, and Ashley Alexander, CEO of matcha brand Nami Matcha, join Victoria Bachan, president of creator talent management agency Sixteenth, to discuss how they balance their roles as both creators and CEOs—navigating the shift from content creation to business ownership.

In a session on how to build successful brand-creator partnerships, creator and videographer Ash Xu, Nya-Gabriella Parchment from Digital Brand Architects and Obviously's founder and CEO Mae Karwowski discuss everything from vetting talent, deciding when to use a creator versus an influencer, navigating contracts and managing expectations to ensure a seamless collaboration.

The March 6 sessions will also explore newer developments in the space, including AI’s impact on the creator economy with speakers from AI artist collective Jimmy and influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy.

To examine how brands are navigating the blurred lines of social media and entertainment, Tiff Baira, creator of Street Hearts, Sol Betesh, co-founder and CEO of Fallen Media, and Stephanie Goldstein, Westin’s senior global brand lead, will discuss their partnership and what marketers can do to integrate products and messages organically into existing video series.

To discuss the opportunities and challenges that exist in fostering diversity, Kenyan “confidence queen” Achieng Agutu joins talent manager Julian Andrew and MSL Chief Strategy Officer Shreya Mukherjee for a discussion on how to build inclusive spaces and audiences.

Also on stage will be a conversation on the rise of social commerce and the role of influencers in driving purchases with VaynerX’s Avery Akkineni and Chris Lamontagne, president of Fanatics Live and Fanatics Collect.

Buy tickets for the March 6 creator economy discussions and see what's on tap for March 4 and 5 at AdAge.com/NextGen2025.