Creator Economy Live

Author: Creator Economy Live

Every other week, the Creator Economy Live podcast brings you lively conversations about everything in the world of influencer marketing and the creator economy. Whether youre an established creator or a seasoned influencer marketing expert, or on your way to becoming either, this podcast is perfect for you. Subscribe so you dont miss every episode! Creator Economy Live is presented by the industrys top voices Brendan Gahan (Mekanism) and Keith Bendes (Linqia) and brought to you by the biggest event for influencer marketers in the US Creator Economy Live! 
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Language: en-us

Genres: Business, Marketing

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How Southwest Airlines Builds Influencer Programs That Scale with Kara Salazar
Episode 80
Friday, 16 January, 2026

Send us a textIn Episode 80 of Creator Economy Live, we’re joined by Kara Salazar, who leads influencer marketing at Southwest Airlines. Kara breaks down how the brand’s creator strategy has evolved over the past four years — from launching and scaling Southwest Creator Day (including its international expansion to Cancun) to managing major cultural moments like the assigned seats announcement and the massive social response that followed.We also dig into what makes influencer marketing in the airline industry uniquely challenging, whether “free flights for posts” is really a thing, and how Southwest balances brand storytelling with real-time community feedback. Plus, Keith and Brendan unpack the latest creator economy news — from TikTok’s Branded Buzz payouts to Instagram’s hashtag limits and YouTube’s new AI creator tools.