Food delivery platform talabat has wrapped up its first Creator Hackathon in Dubai, bringing together 20 creators for a 48-hour challenge designed to explore a new approach to brand storytelling by replacing traditional creative briefs with deeper collaboration.
The initiative saw creators spend two days inside talabat’s Dubai headquarters learning about the company’s operations before producing and publishing original content on TikTok and Instagram. Rather than working from a detailed campaign brief, participants were encouraged to understand the business and create stories in their own style.
The hackathon reflects a growing shift in marketing, where brands are increasingly moving away from tightly controlled campaigns towards creator-led storytelling and community engagement.
Speaking about the approach, Jacopo Garino, Marketing Director at talabat UAE, said authenticity could not simply be written into a campaign brief.
“We as a brand, our core fundamental values are being real, being authentic, and creators in essence, the whole profession itself reflects that. So who better to represent our brands than creators themselves?” he said.
Garino said the company deliberately focused on micro and nano creators to reach highly engaged niche communities rather than broad audiences.
“The entire population is divided into micro niches,” he said.
“Mass appeal brands right now are losing their relevance. We want to be more relevant in micro communities, talking to very specific people with very specific quirks… To talk to everyone in the way they want to be spoken to.”
Instead of evaluating success primarily through views and reach, talabat placed greater emphasis on storytelling and brand alignment. According to the company, 80% of the judging criteria focused on brand fit, content quality and storytelling, while only 20% was based on content performance.
Explaining the evaluation process, Garino said: “80% is on brand fit, on content quality, and on storytelling, and 20% is actually weighed on their performance.”
He added that engagement was measured through meaningful interactions such as shares, saves and conversations rather than traditional vanity metrics.
Lara Al Masri, Senior Brand Manager at talabat UAE, said the company wanted creators to naturally integrate the brand into their own narratives rather than follow rigid campaign messaging.
“It’s very authentic when the content creator does something that he really loves… we want to be part of that storyline rather than us leading it towards that,” she said.
Before creating content, participants were introduced to different aspects of talabat’s business, including delivery operations, customer care and cloud kitchens.
“When they follow their own creative style, they know in the back of their head how is Talabat also portrayed, so it naturally fits into the story,” Al Masri said.
She also stressed the growing importance of community-led marketing.
“Yes, for sure… community building is the number one thing that we should actually focus on,” she said.
Among the participants was lifestyle, fashion and beauty creator Katriel Fernandes, who said maintaining audience trust remained the most important consideration when selecting brand partnerships.
“My audience trusts me a lot,” she said. “They’re like my online family.”
Fernandes said she had previously declined a campaign because it conflicted with her personal views on artificial intelligence.
“Those, that’s where my values don’t align… I don’t think this will be the right fit for me.”
She also highlighted the importance of long-term partnerships with brands.
“One thing that I always look for is growth in a brand. And long-term partnerships means growth.”
Asked whether creators could eventually evolve into the next generation of creative agencies, Fernandes responded: “100%. 100%.”
Reflecting on the wider creator economy, she added: “Everyone has a creative aspect to them.”
The Creator Hackathon forms part of a broader trend across the marketing industry, with brands increasingly experimenting with collaborative creator partnerships that prioritise authenticity, niche communities and long-term relationships over conventional advertising campaigns.
