Is Sponsoring a Creator's Trip the Most Underrated Marketing Channel of 2026?

Sponsoring creator trips is having a moment and Popfly just made it easier than ever with our new Adventures feature.

Instead of waiting for a brand to post a brief, creators on Popfly can pitch their trips through the platform and ask for what they need to make it happen: gear, funding or both. Hundreds of adventures are already posted — from kayaking the Oregon coast to overlanding in Colorado and thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. Brands get a real adventurer going somewhere worth documenting, and content that actually holds up. Creators get what they need to go.

For years, the influencer marketing playbook looked the same: brand writes a brief, posts it, waits for creators to apply, negotiates deliverables, ships product, and hopes the content doesn't look like an ad. There's a better way and it starts by flipping the whole model on its head.

Travel Content Hits Different

Here's the truth: nobody wants perfectly curated content anymore. They want the real thing. The gear that's actually been used. The wrong turn that led somewhere better. The sunrise nobody planned for. Having traveled to 15 countries before 22, I've seen firsthand how tight-knit the travel and adventure community is and how deeply aspirational it runs. People don't just watch these trips. They want to be on them. Friends, family, and followers watch stories and posts as if their life depends on it, they want to feel like they're on the trip with you.

Your Brand Could Be Anywhere This Summer

What better way to reach that audience than putting your brand on a camping trip in the Rockies or a surf retreat in Costa Rica? One sponsored adventure and your gear is suddenly global. Travel is real, raw, and aspirational. The best brands are too. They open new horizons not only for creators but for their audiences - inviting them into a greater story and making them feel like part of it.

How to Sponsor Your First Adventure

It's simpler than you'd think. Head to popfly.com, browse the adventures already live on the platform, and filter by what matters to your brand: activity type, location, audience size, content format. etc. When you find the right creator, review their pitch, agree on deliverables, and send the gear or funding to make it happen. The boring stuff? We've got it. Contracts, usage rights, and content delivery all live inside the platform.

Are You a Creator? This Is Your Sign.

If you’re a creator, now is your moment. This summer Popfly will fully fund one creator’s dream trip and spend the rest of the season working towards getting the rest of them sponsored. So post that adventure!