In the rapidly shifting landscape of digital marketing, the traditional linear path from brand awareness to purchase has been replaced by a complex, multi-dimensional journey. As consumers move fluidly between social discovery, AI-driven search, and community-led validation, brands are finding that legacy strategies no longer suffice. This evolution took center stage in Midtown during Brandweek 2026, where the ADWEEK House served as the epicenter for the industry’s most pressing conversations regarding the intersection of advertising, commerce, and media.
A cornerstone of the event was a three-day programming series titled “Agencies Doing Cool Sh*t,” co-hosted by TikTok. The series featured Emily Freed, General Manager of U.S. Agency at TikTok, in conversation with prominent agency leaders who are currently redefining how brands interact with creators and navigate the fragmented modern marketplace. Over the course of the three days, the discussions highlighted a fundamental truth: while social media remains a peerless tool for reaching consumers, its role in the purchase journey has fundamentally changed, requiring a more integrated and sophisticated approach to content and commerce.
Boosting a brand
The opening day of the series focused on the strategic maneuvers required to elevate a brand within one of the most saturated sectors on the internet: the beauty industry. Emily Freed was joined by Leslie Ann Hall, the founder and CEO of Iced Media. As an agency leader specializing in beauty, Hall provided a deep dive into the challenges of launching a high-science product in a medium often dominated by aesthetic trends.
The case study at the heart of the discussion was Rael, a Korean holistic cycle care brand. Rael was preparing to launch a new microneedling serum, a product that presented a unique marketing hurdle. First, the beauty category on TikTok is intensely competitive, with thousands of brands vying for a few seconds of user attention. Second, the product itself—rooted in scientific innovation—needed to be translated into a format that was digestible, engaging, and credible for a social media audience.
Hall explained that the agency’s solution was not merely to run ads, but to engineer a "demand engine" by leveraging the credibility of "mega creator" Mikayla Nogueira. By partnering with a creator of Nogueira’s stature, Iced Media was able to bridge the gap between complex product science and consumer trust. The impact of such a partnership often extends far beyond the initial post; when a top-tier creator validates a product, it frequently triggers a secondary wave of content from other creators, effectively saturating the platform with organic conversation.
“It’s about these connected systems where you’re combining performance media, social commerce, and then thinking about generative engine optimization, when you’re working with a creator like this,” Hall noted during the session. She emphasized that the modern marketer must move away from viewing TikTok as an isolated silo. Instead, she argued that the most successful campaigns treat the platform as a catalyst for omnichannel growth, where social engagement fuels sales across all retail and digital touchpoints.
