Creators are stepping out of the feed for a reason that goes beyond “new revenue streams” or “bigger moments.” The culture has shifted. People are hungry for presence again.
WGSN puts real weight behind that feeling: 91% of people say their wellbeing improves when they switch off from the internet. When disconnection becomes desirable, in-person becomes a luxury, because it delivers something the internet rarely can: undivided attention. Creators are simply building for what audiences are quietly asking for.
This isn’t limited to stadium-level names. Across the creator economy, digital influence is being translated into tangible experiences, products, and touch-points: limited runs, craft collaborations, immersive pop-ups, community meet-ups.
The common thread is a move from attention to connection.
The old “phygital” wave often felt like digital layers competing with the real-world moment. What’s emerging now is more interesting: tech that supports presence instead of replacing it. AR that deepens a live experience, not distracts from it. Collectibles that matter because they’re attached to a place, a story, and a shared memory. Creators understand the physical moment is the core product.
Tech is only there to amplify meaning.
As AI makes more outputs feel instant and repeatable, handmade work becomes more valuable. Craft carries proof: time, limitation, human touch. That’s why creator partnerships with makers feel so powerful when they’re done with taste. They offer something that can’t be mass-produced without losing its point.
The strongest creator product plays aren’t “merch.” They’re cultural objects for a community that wants to own a piece of a world.
People don’t just want content. They want places. Not home, not work, not scrolling alone, but somewhere communities can gather in real life. When creators host meet-ups, workshops, screenings, live podcast recordings, they’re not just monetising; they’re giving their audience a fourth space where belonging becomes tangible.
And that’s the shift: from reach to relationship, from viewers to community.
This isn’t about sponsoring a pop-up or slapping a logo on a limited-edition drop. Those are surface moves. The real opportunity is co-creation: building experiences with creators that feel genuinely worth showing up for, where the brand earns a role inside the creator’s world rather than interrupting it.
Creators mastered attention online. Now they’re mastering connection offline. Brands that learn how to build presence with them won’t just generate content. They’ll generate memory.
