October 30, 2025 | 10:22am
MACAU, China — As the global creator economy continues to redefine industries from entertainment to tourism, CreatorWeek Macao 2025 gathered top content leaders, strategists and digital creators around the world to share insights on how creators can sustain careers, form global collaborations and shape culture through storytelling.
Held in different luxury properties in Macau from October 24 to 28, CreatorWeek Macao 2025 was jointly organized by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and international media production company Branded.
Part of the week-look event were the CreatorWeek Conference and Creator Academy, which featured an international lineup of speakers—from Google Greater China’s CMO Ben Wong, Meta’s Head of Industry Benny Chu, and MrBeast VP of Strategy Evan DeFilippis, to Gold House co-founder Bing Chen, photographer Hudson Matter, who discussed different aspects of content creation and how creators can thrive amid evolving social media trends and changing audience behavior.
Filipino creators like Black Eyed Peas’ Apl.de.Ap, funk-pop band Lola Amour, and singer-vlogger Mikey Bustos were also part of the event, sharing their experiences on how Filipino creativity and storytelling continue to find audiences around the world.
Building a sustainable creator future
As short-form video and influencer marketing mature into billion-dollar industries, CreatorWeek Macao 2025 underscored a shift toward sustainability and skill-building within the creator space.
The event also reminded participants that success in content creation now demands not just virality, but professionalism, collaboration and cultural fluency.
Also among the hot topics at the conference was the rise of AI-generated creators—and what that means for real people making content. Speakers agreed that while AI can mimic trends and even personalities, it struggles to replicate something fundamental: human experience.
The consensus was clear. What sets creators apart is their ability to build genuine communities and connect through lived moments.
As one panelist put it, “You can’t fake a live event or capture yourself in your element through AI. What proves you’re real is when your audience connects not just to your content, but to you.”
Another takeaway: the more creators show up in person and engage with their audience, the harder it becomes for AI to compete. Algorithms can generate clips, but they can’t recreate relationships, which is where human creators continue to hold the edge.
The CreatorWeek Conference explored topics such as cross-cultural storytelling, the convergence of Chinese and Western social media cultures, and the evolving relationship between creators, brands and platforms.
Meanwhile, the Creator Academy offered workshops and mentoring sessions for local content creators and new media professionals—from managing short-form video channels and cultivating audiences to building authentic brand partnerships.
Macau’s new role as a creative bridge
Beyond the panels and keynotes, CreatorWeek also spilled out into Macau’s streets.
The city’s East-meets-West character and growing media scene made it an ideal setting for the event—positioning Macau as a creative bridge for collaboration between China and the rest of the world.
“The creator economy has emerged as a thriving new industry that teems with business value,” said MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes. “In Macau, content creators from around the world can come into China, while creators from Greater China can go out into the world through meaningful exchange.”
According to de Senna Fernandes, Macau is reinventing itself with creativity on all fronts, as part of its “1+4” economic diversification strategy.
This strategy refers to Macau’s move to develop a more sustainable and diverse economic base by continuing its focus on its core tourism and leisure sector, while simultaneously developing four key emerging industries: big health, modern financial services, high and new technology and MICE including sports and culture.
During the week, 20 local ambassadors were paired with international and Greater China creators—including the Stokes Twins, Japanese YouTuber ISSEI, fitness coach Will Liu, and MasterChef finalist Nick DiGiovanni—to explore the city’s neighborhoods, food and creative communities.
Their collaborations produced a wave of new travel and lifestyle content spotlighting Macau’s mix of heritage, cuisine and modern vibrancy, showcasing how local tourism can benefit from creator-led storytelling.
For many local creators, the experience offered a rare chance to learn production techniques and strategies directly from global counterparts, a small but significant step in expanding Macau’s creator landscape.
Editor’s Note: This #BrandSpace story is produced by the Creative Content Team that is independent from our Editorial Newsroom.
