If you haven’t heard, all the cool kids (and shows) are on streaming TV. But while networks spent plenty of time this upfront season showing off the programming soon to arrive on the streaming platforms that Gen Z and millennials prefer, there’s one thing they almost left out of this year’s presentations: the older viewers of regular old TV.

Old-school: In a week chock-full of glitzy presentations and performances centered on streamers like Disney+, Discovery+, HBO Max, Hulu, Pluto, and Paramount+, Warner Bros. Discovery made a move that hinted at TV’s dirty little secret: Plenty of viewers are still watching old-fashioned linear TV—and many of them aren’t exactly spring chickens.

Big spender: “Our most affluent viewers are adults 50+; boomers and Gen Xers,” Warner Bros. Discovery Chief US Advertising Sales Officer Jon Steinlauf told advertisers during the company’s New York presentation last week. “They account for over 50% of all US consumer spending. A large majority of them watch us every month.”

Cut a deal: Warner Bros. Discovery is leaning into its older audience base (or at least trying to monetize it) by offering a benefit to media buying clients who don’t mind a few more gray hairs in their media buys. If clients pick broader age demos, like 18+ or 25+, instead of the more standard 18–49 or 25–54 age demos, they will receive pricing incentives, Steinlauf said. 

The problem? Older viewers on broadcast and cable are not the audiences that advertisers say they want. Keep reading here.—KS

If you’ve been wanting to dip a toe into the giant pool of cash that is influencer marketing—but you don’t have, well, a giant pool of cash—you’re not completely out of luck.

Compensating influencers in cash (rather than in exchange for free product alone) is considered best practice and is becoming the new industry standard. But brands like DTC olive-oil brand Graza have gotten influencers, like cookbook author Molly Baz, to post their products 100% for free. All Graza had to do was send Baz its sweet, sweet olive juice…with no strings attached.

• “You never expect anything from a gift,” Lauren Stephens, CEO and co-founder of clothing brand Dudley Stephens, told Marketing Brew in April, adding that whether the influencer decides to post about a gift on social media is up to them.

Sometimes they do: Marketers we spoke with who said they’ve had success using this old-school PR method in the influencer marketing realm not only explained how they entice influencers to actually post about the gifts they send, but also shared what this strategy looks like in terms of ROI (spoiler alert: it’s not bad).

No strings, just ribbons

Danielle McGrory, founder of PR and influencer marketing agency Communité, told us that although there are no guarantees when it comes to gifting, “the more targeted that your list is, the better relationships that you have with the influencers, the better results that you would see.”

Kayley Reed, founder of influencer marketing agency Hermana, agreed that relationships are key. Following an influencer on Instagram for a while and talking to them over DM isn’t a bad idea, Reed said.

• “Now this influencer knows your brand, you’ve been in their hands, you’ve exchanged a few conversations, they recognize you. So when they receive a product from you, they already have that warm, good taste in their mouth about your brand,” she said, adding that an influencer is more likely to post once you’ve engaged with their content.

Read more about gifting tactics here.—PB

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

LinkedInfluencers: “Mythbusting” its feed, algorithms, and more, straight from the horse’s mouth.

More like Heardit: Reddit is looking for Talk hosts as it expands its audio offerings.

Track it: A beginner’s guide to measuring success on TikTok here.

See who’s watching : Even as audience viewing habits evolve and content styles shift, Nielsen’s audience-first media measurement counts every view, everywhere. It’s accurate, it’s reliable, and it’s pretty darn essential. Learn more here.*

Get to know upfronts, back to front: Digital video and connected TV upfront spending is increasing, but in the digital age, how upfronts tick could be changing. Get an eye-opening look at the current—and future—world of upfronts in our latest video here.

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

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Keep scrolling for the answer.