New York, NY, July 23, 2026 — As the creator economy continues to reshape how brands connect with audiences, the IAB Global Network announced the launch of IAB Global Creator Week, dedicated to advancing creator marketing worldwide through collaboration, education, professional standards, and industry best practices.
Taking place from September 14-18, IAB Global Creator Week will unite IAB chapters across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Slovenija, South Africa, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as regional organizations including IAB Europe and IAB MENA (Middle East and North Africa). The initiative creates a shared platform for conversations that address local market priorities as well as global industry challenges.
More than 200 million people worldwide identify as content creators, with approximately 50 million creators considered professional or semi-professional, underscoring the growing importance of fostering a more connected, transparent and mature global creator ecosystem. IAB is responding to the need for greater transparency, stronger measurement frameworks, consistent governance, and scalable collaboration across markets.
In the spirit of “think globally, act locally”, events around the world will be programmed to reflect the unique priorities of each market. Some will feature panel discussions and fireside chats, others will showcase local innovation, while the U.S. will convene the industry’s first creator economy marketplace, the IAB CreatorFronts, bringing buyers and sellers together to explore new partnership opportunities.
Global Programming Highlights:
| When | Where | IAB Global Creator Week Event |
|---|---|---|
| September 15, 2026 | London, United Kingdom | IAB UK’s Creator Marketing Growth Summit, the UK’s biggest-ever event dedicated to creator marketing, brings together brands, agencies, platforms and creators to explore how the channel drives measurable impact, from campaign craft and measurement to governance and long-term brand building. |
| September 15, 2026 | New York, U.S. | IAB CreatorFronts, the industry’s first—and only—upfront-style marketplace built entirely around the creator economy. Explore bold creator partnerships, cutting-edge media solutions, and new ways to connect with audiences through the power of influence. |
| September 15, 2026 | Toronto, Canada | IAB Canada’s Data Night Toronto brings together ecosystem perspectives to explore what’s working and what’s next in creator-led media, from partnership models and content strategy to measurement and real business outcomes. |
| September 15, 2026 | Berlin, Germany | Rewiring the Creator Economy — The BVDW Reality Check: Creator collaborations rarely fail due to a lack of budget; they fail because of unclear roles, conflicting interests, and silos between the brand, agency, management, and platform. As part of IAB Global Creator Week, the BVDW Working Group for Content Creation & Influencer Marketing invites you to an open exchange at Meta Germany in Berlin—no pitches, no endless slide decks, just honest conversations and concrete results. |
| September 15, 2026 | Dubai, UAE | IAB MENA’s 2026 Creator Marketing Forum: Join industry leaders from across the creator ecosystem for a morning of insights, discussion, and networking focused on the next chapter of creator marketing. From the creator economy’s growing role in integrated marketing strategies to measurement, trust, governance, and the rise of podcasting, the event brings together brands, agencies, platforms, and creators to share perspectives, case studies, and practical learnings shaping the future of the industry. |
| September 15, 2026 | Ljubljana, Slovenija | Meet: Creator: As part of the first IAB Global Creator Week, IAB Slovenija is organizing Meet: Creator—a working meeting of everyone who co-creates the Slovenian marketing ecosystem with creators: creators and influencers, agencies, advertisers, platforms, media and other partners. |
| September 16, 2026 | IAB Europe, Virtual | IAB Europe’s Virtual Creator event will bring together leading platforms and industry experts to explore responsible creator culture across Europe. With participation from key players, the event will spotlight how the industry can collectively strengthen trust, transparency, and accountability in creator ecosystems. |
| September 16, 2026 | São Paulo, Brazil | Adtech & Branding 2026: IAB Brasil’s flagship digital advertising event, Adtech & Branding, will dedicate two full mornings across its dual-stage program exclusively to the creator economy. |
| September 16, 2026 | South Africa: Virtual | IAB South Africa brings a virtual webinar discussing The Business of Creators. South Africa’s creator economy is entering a new phase of maturity. This virtual webinar brings together creators, brands, agencies and industry leaders to explore disclosure, tax obligations and evolving regulation, strengthening trust, transparency, collaboration and professionalisation across the creator economy for sustainable growth. |
| September 16, 2026 | San Isidro, Peru | Global Creator Day: Join IAB Peru for a conference and panel discussion focusing on the creator economy. |
| September 17, 2026 | Mexico City, Mexico | IAB Mexico brings together the Guidelines & Best Practices Committee and Education Committee to advance creator marketing standards. Virtual discussions will cover a proposed standard base contract promoting transparency and legal certainty, plus efforts to professionalize creators through skills development and industry standards. |
| September 17, 2026 | Auckland, New Zealand | IAB New Zealand’s Business of Creators event brings together platforms, agencies, publishers, and creators to explore how creator marketing is planned, measured, and evolving as a core media channel. Through panel discussions and networking, the event will examine the growing role of creators in building trust, influence, and business outcomes for brands. |
| September 17, 2026 | Istanbul, Türkiye | IAB Türkiye’s Creator Impact convenes brands, agencies, platforms, and creators to explore the future of the creator economy and the next generation of brand-creator partnerships. Sessions will examine emerging media solutions, measurement approaches, and communication models that are redefining how creators drive business and cultural impact. |
| September 18, 2026 | Kiev, Ukraine | IAB Ukraine’s Creators’ DNA explores what defines the modern creator economy, from trust, authenticity and responsibility to technology, creativity and the power of building communities around shared meaning. |
| September 9, 2026 (adjacent) | Dublin, Ireland | IAB Ireland’s Creator Marketing Summit brings together brands, agencies, platforms, publishers and creators to explore what’s driving the next phase of creator-led growth in Ireland. From platform innovation and campaign strategy to measurement, regulation and long-term partnerships, this event will explore how creator marketing in Ireland is becoming a core part of many brands’ marketing strategies. |
Additional country-specific event information will be released on a rolling basis.
A Global Digital Hub, Connecting the Industry
Complementing the local events, IAB Global Creator Week will feature a central, purpose-built digital hub designed to bring the global creator marketing community together.
Accessible across every participating IAB Global Member market, the hub will curate global event listings, capture breakthrough insights, and build a library of forward-thinking resources from IAB organizations around the world.
In addition to the chapters hosting local events, several other IAB organizations—including Argentina, Austria, Chile, Italy, SEA (Southeast Asia) and India, Spain, Sweden, and Uruguay— will contribute thought leadership and educational resources to the hub, further expanding the initiative’s global knowledge base.
Rather than a one-time initiative, IAB Global Creator Week is designed as an ongoing platform for international collaboration. Over time, this initiative aims to help align buying cycles across markets, facilitate cross-border learning and create greater efficiencies for multinational creator marketing campaigns.
For more information, please visit www.iabglobalcreatorweek.com
| Quotes from Global IAB Leadership | |
| David Cohen, CEO, IAB | “The Creator Economy has firmly established itself as an integral part of the digital ecosystem, and we are excited to bring our global network together to support this important and growing segment of the industry”, said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “Marketers everywhere understand that the Creator Economy is a powerful component of their go-to-market plans and critical to drive business growth.” |
| Denise Porto Hruby, CEO, IAB Brazil | “Brazilians spend an average of 3 hours and 32 minutes to 3 hours and 37 minutes per day using social media. Marketers who want to succeed here need to pay attention to Creators”. |
| Sonia Carreno, President, IAB Canada | “Creators are influencing how Canadians discover products, form opinions, and build brand preference across every major platform. In 2026, the challenge is no longer whether to invest. It is how to invest with intention, protect brand integrity, and prove impact beyond surface metrics.” |
| Townsend Feehan, CEO, IAB Europe | “Creators are no longer sitting at the periphery of the advertising ecosystem; they are becoming central to how brands build relevance, trust and engagement with audiences. That shift brings huge opportunities, but also important questions around responsibility, transparency and accountability. We are excited to be part of this week and to bring trusted voices together to discuss what the changing creator landscape means for Europe’s digital advertising industry.” |
| Carsten Rasner, CEO, BVDW (Germany) | “The creator economy makes a significant contribution to digital value creation in Germany. Influencers and content creators shape the way people experience brands and how we make purchasing decisions. They generate reach, trust, as well as cultural relevance – and thus real economic value.” |
| Gabriel Richaud, CEO, IAB Mexico | “The creator economy has matured into a strategic discipline that demands stronger professional standards, greater transparency and closer collaboration across the industry. Through IAB Global Creator Week, Mexico is proud to contribute meaningful discussions that help move the industry forward, foster positive change, and support its continued growth and evolution.” |
| Angelina Farry, CEO, IAB New Zealand | “Creators are no longer a nice-to-have in the media mix, they’re becoming a dominant channel. At the upcoming Business of Creators Event we’re bringing platforms, agencies, publishers and creators together to explore how creator marketing is planned, made and measured, and what it means for the industry.” |
| Casey Mantle, IAB South Africa | “South Africa’s creator economy is entering a new phase of maturity. As brands increase their investment, the industry needs clearer standards, greater transparency, and stronger collaboration to support sustainable growth.” |
| Kenneth Danielsson, CEO, IAB Sweden | “Influencer marketing is the fastest growing media category in Sweden. From TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and beyond, marketers are investing where it counts. This is why we are happy to join with our IAB network on IAB Global Creator Week” |
| Neslihan Olcay, CEO, IAB Türkiye | “In Türkiye, creators have become one of the most influential forces shaping culture, consumer behavior, and brand engagement. Bringing the industry together to share best practices and strengthen collaboration will be essential to the creator economy’s continued growth.” |
| Jon Mew, CEO, IAB UK | “The creator economy is booming, becoming a cornerstone of how audiences discover, trust and connect with brands. At our CreatorMarketing Growth Summit we’re putting creators, platforms and advertisers side-by-side to explore how this channel delivers impact, from creative collaboration and campaign craft to measurement, governance and long-term brand building.” |
| Anastasiya Baydachenko, CEO, IAB Ukraine | “Today, creators, influencers, brands, platforms and communities determine who they trust, what they discuss and what decisions millions of people make every day. Along with new opportunities, responsibility for content, communication, ethical standards and interaction with the audience increases.” |
About IAB
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership comprises more than 700 leading media companies, brands, agencies, and the technology firms responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital ad marketing campaigns. The trade group fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing. In affiliation with the IAB Tech Lab, IAB develops technical standards and solutions. IAB is committed to professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise, and collaboration of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of its public policy office in Washington, D.C., the trade association advocates for its members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry to legislators and policymakers. Founded in 1996, IAB is headquartered in New York City.
About IAB Global Network
IAB Global Network, consisting of 45 IAB organizations across the globe, is dedicated to advancing the digital advertising industry. By fostering collaboration among national IABs, it addresses global challenges, provides a unified perspective on industry trends, and upholds standards. This network serves as a vital platform for international engagement with governments, allowing resources to be pooled, ideas to be shared, and cross-continental initiatives to flourish. Representing over 4,000 companies in the digital advertising supply chain, IAB Global Network is a powerful global force, making it an effective channel for governments and regulators to connect with the global digital advertising market.
