Sam Coleman is the recently appointed Managing Director (EMEA) of NewGen, where he leads the social-first and creator agency across the region. With over a decade of senior leadership experience in media, advertising, and influencer marketing, Coleman has a proven track record of building high-performing teams and driving commercial success.
New Digital Age spoke with Coleman to find out more…
You joined NewGen last year – how has it been so far? What sort of things take up most of your time?
As an MD, you wear many hats and tend to have a broad skillset and experiences, so quickly assessing where you are most needed and where you can add the most amount of value is important.
Understanding the people, the culture of the company and our biggest clients has been a big priority. Getting to the point where you feel you have a good grasp of the SWOT analysis of our business, as quickly as possible is key.
Three months ago I was more focused on the commercial side of the business but that has already shifted to our brand and structure as we start 2026. Having that variety in my role is something I find really motivating.
What sort of support are NewGen’s clients most commonly looking for this year?
We have a diverse client roster. Not just in terms of their verticals or the services they require from us – but also their starting points. Some of our clients lead the way in terms of their social presence and sophistication over their competitors. Conversely, some of our clients don’t have a social presence as yet and therefore we’re starting from scratch.
However there does seem to be a common thread. All of our clients see the value in real social expertise. Clients want deep expertise delivered through specialist agencies like ourselves over broader services. Navigating social is complex, fraught with pitfalls and devoid of short cuts, so success looks different for every client.
NewGen is in the fortunate position of having incredibly talented specialists whilst being able to lean on 10 years worth of work to give our clients the reassurance that we can get them the results they are searching for.
What, for you, are the shifts or trends on the digital media marketplace that are worth paying attention to?
The digital media marketplace is very broad so I’ll focus on the social end of the industry.
Platforms will double-down on restricting organic content, meaning that brands will have to accept that paid amplification is not optional.
Measurement will take a big leap. As brands spend more money on social, they will put the same rigour and attention as they put into measuring the impact of their spend in other media channels. I see this as a huge positive, as both social and influencer marketing will compare favourably in terms of ROI vs other channels.
Creator collaborations with brands will become more common and be more ambitious in their scale and production.
Agencies will fight over their AI capabilities. I can see some agencies getting left behind whilst others making mistakes by believing it’s ‘AI or bust’ and over-promising and under-delivering. The winners in this space will take a client-first approach to AI development.
In terms of the influencers/content creators that are winning audiences in 2026, are there any common traits or attributes?
It always has been and remains the case that the most successful influencers and creators are clear, consistent figures whose online presence aligns with who they are in real life. We want to see real people, warts and all on social, not a polished, edited version of someone’s life.
Whilst that remains constant, the most successful creators will lean into experimentation and learning in 2026. As organic reach is limited, those creators that trial new formats, platforms, posting schedules and learn from the data will thrive.
What single piece of advice would you offer brand marketers for the next 12 months?
Look towards influencers/creators as inspiration for how to show up on social. Successful creators are creative, analytical and audience-obsessed. For many of them, this is their livelihood and therefore failure is not an option.
Brand marketers could observe, analyse and start a dialogue with creators in their space to inspire how their own brands show-up on social. After all, who knows your audience better than the creator talking to them every day?
