Creator Economy Gets a Bigger Platform at IFA 2026

IFA Berlin, the world's largest event for Consumer Electronics, Home Appliances and Future Tech, is showcasing the trends set to shape the future of content production and the creator economy on the IFA Creator Stage throughout the event. The focus is on AI-powered workflows, new social media formats, professional production technologies and sustainable business models for creators. Samsung is the official main sponsor of the Creator Hub this year.

“At the Creator Hub, we bring the community together with international brands, platforms and technology companies. This central platform for influencers, content creators and streamers offers professional facilities for their own livestreams as well as a diverse programme of panels and sessions. In doing so, IFA is strengthening its role as a platform for the creator economy,” says Leif Lindner, CEO of IFA

How creators can build independent business models

In today's panel, “The Creator Economy: A Survival Guide”, Kaya Yurieff of Scalable, Louisa Ioannidou of The Soul Media, Tobias Hoss of 30 Dishes, Irina Graf of The MICE Blog and Paul Robert Cary of IJW discussed how creators can build successful long-term careers. The panel made clear that a sustainable creator business goes far beyond high reach and follower numbers. Stable and diversified revenue streams, a direct relationship with one's own community, and channels and content that creators control themselves are crucial. Clear processes, discipline and a strategic approach to brand partnerships, usage rights and exclusivity clauses are equally important for remaining independent of individual platforms and their algorithms in the long term.

AI in everyday work: greater efficiency or information overload?

Yesterday on the Creator Stage, Giovanna Coelho of RENPHO and Eugen Fink of KRAFT Creative Studio discussed how brands can create genuine connections with their audiences in a world shaped by AI-generated content. The panel, “The Human Advantage: Building Brands, Communities and Culture in an AI-Driven Reality”, was moderated by Toni Willkommen, Chief Growth & Brand Officer at Brand eins Medien AG.

Giovanna Coelho explained that trust in creator marketing has shifted away from unattainable lifestyle ideals and towards creators whose everyday lives feel relatable to consumers. Visibility alone is not enough; what matters is whether a brand delivers on its promise. Eugen Fink described how the pandemic paradoxically triggered today's boom in real-life shared experiences and drew a clear distinction between “community” and “audience”: while an “audience” implies one-way marketing communication, a “community” creates a space in which people interact with one another.

Views differed on whether generative AI actually saves time in everyday work: Coelho sees AI primarily as a tool for data and analysis that frees up time for strategic work. Eugen, by contrast, warned that the excessive use of AI in meetings and communication increases the volume of information while reducing quality if AI-generated content is not reviewed. Both agreed, however, that AI cannot replace human judgement, trust or direct interaction with the community.

Fotografiska, IFA and Volkswagen R unite art and technology

Under the title “Art Shapes the Future”, Fotografiska and Volkswagen R are presenting a joint exhibition during IFA. It emerged from an international call for submissions aimed at emerging artists. Photographic, film and AI-generated works explore the relationship between people and technology and show how art can shape our view of the future.

In a self-portrait from the series “It is not a futuristic anomaly but a continuation of a very old human”, Maximilian Neretin explores his type 1 diabetes sensors as constant companions. Wiktor Franko presents an image from his 50-part photo series “California Flying Cars from the Future”. In it, he digitally suspends classic Californian cars in the air and reflects on the unfulfilled promises of the post-war future. In “For the Leisure of Working Insects”, Alba Ruiz Lafuente questions consumer and leisure culture by designing miniature leisure architecture for insects.

The accompanying panel, “How Art Shapes the Future: Fotografiska x Volkswagen R”, on the Creator Stage also brought together perspectives from photography, mobility and innovation on 4 September.