Influencer marketing evolves in rapid cycles, but not every announced trend comes to fruition in the expected time. In 2025, the market saw several bets gain prominence in events, reports and forecasts, however, many of them came up against barriers such as audience maturity, brand budgets or platform structure.
For the influencer marketing specialist for more than ten years and director of Brazilian and North American talent at Viral Nation, some of these ideas did not fail — they were just postponed. "The market is still digesting important changes, such as the professionalization of creators, the use of data and integration with sales. Some trends need this maturity to actually happen", he explains. Below, he points out five movements that were not consolidated in 2025, but have everything to gain strength in 2026.
- 100% performance-based campaigns with creators
“There was a lot of talk about treating influencers as pure performance media in 2025, but the truth is that the market wasn’t ready yet”, he assesses. According to him, inconsistent metrics between platforms and lack of standardization made this progress difficult. “In 2026, with more data integration, better attribution models and increasingly strategic creators, this tends to finally unlock.”
- Long-term contracts as standard and not exception
“Everyone said that annual contracts would be the rule, but 2025 was still very much based on specific actions”, he says. For him, this happened due to the brands' insecurity in the face of the economic scenario. “In 2026, the tendency is to see more lasting relationships, because it has become clear that creators are not disposable media but rather brand building in the medium and long term.”
- Influencers taking on a creative role within brands
“There has been a lot of talk about creators as co-creators, creative directors or consultants, but few brands have really given this space”, he states. According to the expert, many companies still treat influencers only as a distribution channel. “In 2026, this should change, because brands are realizing that the creators are the ones who truly understand the audience.”
- Using AI for security and decision-making in campaigns
“Artificial intelligence was widely cited in influencer marketing in 2025, but in practice few companies have moved towards more strategic uses”, analyzes the expert. According to him, tools focused on verifying brand safety, behavioral history and image risks of creators are still little explored, despite having been widely discussed. "Some solutions are already beginning to emerge in this sense, such as VN Secure, but this type of technology is still an exception in the market. In 2026, the tendency is for this more careful look at security and context to grow along with the maturity of the campaigns."
- Influence integrated into the complete sales funnel
“A lot of people talked about influence at the top, middle and bottom of the funnel, but the execution was still superficial”, he analyzes. According to him, in 2025 the majority of campaigns will still be focused on awareness. “In 2026, influence tends to be thought of as a structural part of the consumer journey, from first contact to conversion and retention.”
