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Social media has been the beating heart of digital marketing for two decades — but is it already past its peak? In this episode of Hard Refresh, host Andrés López-Varela is joined by Eugene Healey (brand strategist, educator, and creator), Meg Coffey (Founder, State of Social), and Steph Edwards (Head of Social Content & Creative, WiredCo) to debate what the next 25 years hold.
From video-first platforms and social commerce to the rise of AI “slop” and the decline of mainstream feeds, the panel explores whether we’re heading toward smaller niche communities, entertainment-driven platforms, or something stranger still .
From video-first platforms and social commerce to the rise of AI “slop” and the decline of mainstream feeds, the panel explores whether we’re heading toward smaller niche communities, entertainment-driven platforms, or something stranger still .
In this episode:
- Video has become the structural backbone of social
With TikTok and YouTube leading the shift, the panel argues that video isn’t just dominant, it’s now the native language of a generation raised on tablets and live-streaming their lives. - Social commerce is booming in Asia but lagging elsewhere
The guests unpack why TikTok Shop and Instagram Shopping thrive in some markets but crawl in others, pointing to cultural differences, banking infrastructure, and Australia’s slower adoption curve. - AI influencers and synthetic content divide opinion
Are they toys, novelties, or the next big channel? While some argue they’ll never replace human connection, others note their potential to function like brands in their own right. - Mainstream feeds are hollowing out
Facebook and Instagram are increasingly entertainment-first, while smaller platforms like Discord, BlueSky, and Snapchat are quietly becoming the real hubs of social connection. - AI "slop" and the trust crisis
From cat-mermaid videos to uncanny synthetic babies, the episode tackles the flood of low-grade AI content, asking what level of “fakeness” audiences will tolerate before tuning out altogether.
This episode was recorded on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, live at State of Social '25.
Creators and Guests
Host
Guest
Eugene Healey
Eugene Healey is a brand strategy consultant, educator, and Creator seeking to make cultural chaos comprehensible for brands. From his home base in Melbourne he works with global brands like Google, Spotify and Red Bull on strategies to succeed in a climate where media is fragmented, attention is fracked, and algorithms have dissolved mass culture into soup. With a background in education alongside strategy, Eugene has lectured in brand management at the University of Melbourne’s postgraduate Business School, and regularly shares his insights on brands and culture via social media to a following of over 350,000.
Producer
Meg Coffey
Originally from Texas and now proudly Australian, Meg Coffey is a “Texstralian” known for her dedication, calculated risks, and exceptional communication skills. As the founder of State of Social, Australia’s largest digital marketing & social media conference, Meg is dedicated to keeping businesses ahead of the curve. With a deep understanding that digital is essential in today’s business landscape, Meg’s expertise extends far beyond the hospitality and tourism sectors she works with thru her agency Coffey & Tea. She specialises in transforming the fear of social media into confidence and excitement about leveraging technology for tangible results. Meg is a go-to source for media outlets, regularly appearing as an industry expert on Channel 7, 9, and ABC, as well as being featured in newspapers, podcasts, and radio programs across the nation. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, Meg was named one of Australia’s Top 50 Small Business Leaders in 2017. She achieved further accolades as a finalist for Campaign Brief’s prestigious Ad Person of the Year award multiple times.
Guest
Steph Edwards
Steph Edwards is the Head of Social Content & Creative at WiredCo., an award-winning brandformance agency where she leads mischievous, scroll-stopping social for some of Australia’s top FMCG, QSR, Telxo and Fashion brands. Steph lives and breathes social and has a sharp eye for what makes content resonate. With a passion for platform-native creativity and a pulse on culture, she’s built a career developing stand out socials strategies that help brands show up authentically, memorably, and mischievously. Over the last 10 years working in the social space, Steph has had the chance to work with clients such as Kraft, Heinz, Chatime, Pizza Hut, Indeed, The Iconic and Mutti.
What is Hard Refresh?
Discover what’s in store for us in the next 25 years of digital marketing and how the first 25 years of this century shaped our industry (and the world), in Hard Refresh.
This limited 10-episode series from Australia’s best marketing conference, State of Social, looks ahead at what trends, technologies, cultural shifts, and maybe even controversies, will define digital marketing over the next 25 years. Andrés López-Varela (a.k.a. ALV), one of Australia's most experienced marketing educators, is joined by a cast of industry leaders picked from the ranks of this year's State of Social speakers to unearth what's next for digital marketing.
Join them as they press F5 to discover a refreshed perspective on everything from the next evolution in social media to the role of marketing in culture, from the future of digital audio to the changing role of online video, from the era-defining impacts of AI and automation to the brave new world for marketing agencies, and much more.
Hard Refresh is recorded and produced on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, the Awabakal people and the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.