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- L'Oréal's Garnier doubles down on esports
- Hasbro wins five Influencer Marketing Awards
- Dixie D’Amelio Talks New Album
- Twitch expands ad programs to pay streamers more money
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Great Reads
Jaime Bilotti: Working In The Music Industry As A Fan
Jaime Bilotti, the Founder of mutuals agency, is a 24-year-old New York native who has always wanted to study and work in the music industry.
Jaime explains that her idea for mutuals agency came from working at different music labels.
She shares, “I never understood how someone could misrepresent an audience because for me, especially for audiences that I was a part of that I just so happened to be working on the projects [for], I knew some of these ideas didn’t fit the audience.”
Jaime quickly realized, “We weren’t looking through the same lens, and I noticed that age, gender, and location, those traditional demographics, are so important, but they don’t fully paint the picture of who is in the audience.”
Other factors like other music the person listens to, where they listen to music, and much more are just as valuable. She shares that she started holding focus groups with fans, which has now expanded into over 30 countries, to gain a better perspective of audiences.
Using technology to scale your business and understand an audience is crucial, but Jaime notes that the human perspective can’t be underestimated.
In her words, she describes mutuals agency’s mission as “We invest in people, and we do so by helping them understand their audience in a way that makes a good campaign. We do so by taking those traditional demographics and expanding them, helping us do focus groups, and impact reports.”
Shabina Dewji Of Wanderinginyyc On Being A Tourist In Her Home
Shabina Dewji is a content creator with a passion for being a tourist in her own city.
She started sharing on social media after her husband pointed out she was always researching and telling him about new events around town. This habit started during the pandemic.
“I was checking on what’s going on? What can we do this week? And, he was really kind of a catalyst. He [was] like, “Why don’t you just start posting?”
Shabina started sharing about events and businesses in Calgary on her Instagram. She loved chatting with like-minded people on social media about these interests. Shortly after, companies started reaching out to her about how she was sharing Calgary events online.
Shabina Dewji of Wanderinginyyc on Being a Tourist in Her Home, Calgary
“[The businesses] were excited about that feature because they thought it was a good place for them to have their events to try and just have more Calgarians know more about it.”
During the pandemic, Shabina focused on taking more pictures of food from local restaurants to support them during this difficult time.
Shabina Dewji shares, “I didn’t expect it [her social media] to grow as much as it did or people to like the content that I’m sharing, but somehow it did.”
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Campaign Insights
L'Oréal's Garnier doubles down on esports with Team Vitality
L’Oréal brand Garnier Fructis has signed a partnership with Team Vitality, according to details shared by the global esports organization.
The collaboration builds on a previous campaign and spans 2022 and 2023, making Garnier Fructis the organization’s first-ever haircare partner. “The Force Returns” campaign will include brand activations, immersive experiences and social elements.
The brand will also have visibility across Team Vitality’s rosters for games including League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Valorant, with players supporting the brand through content and digital assets. The partnership demonstrates how brands not associated with esports and gaming are embracing the powerhouse industry.
Axe enlists popular Fortnite streamer to design in-game 'Mistaverse'
Axe partnered with a leading Fortnite content creator to design a custom island in the online shooter game, according to news shared with Marketing Dive. Atlas Creative Studios assisted on the effort, which goes live today (June 15).
The concept was inspired by social conversations around how an in-game item, a healing spray called Med Mist, appears similar to Axe body spray. Following that lead, the Unilever grooming brand connected with streamer Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf to build the “Mistaverse,” a parcel of virtual land.
On the Mistaverse island, visitors can participate in Fortnite activities like playing capture the flag, collecting Med Mist cans with different power-ups and uncovering a variety of Easter eggs. The activation shows Axe relying on the gaming know-how — and large audience — of an established creator to lend its strategy more credibility.
Hasbro wins five Influencer Marketing Awards
Hasbro picked up a grand total of five awards at the annual Influencer Marketing Awards, now in its 4th year.
The company took home the Gold Award for both the Best Multi-Channel Campaign category and the Best Family and Parenting Campaign category for Nerf’s Upload campaign, which sought to establish Nerf as a lifestyle brand in the UK.
Hasbro also won Silver Awards for three of its campaigns across Nerf and Play Doh, securing Silver in Best Use of Data and Most Creative Influencer Marketing Campaign for Nerf Upload, plus Silver in the Best Multi-Channel Campaign category for its Play Doh Home Protection Service campaign.
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Interesting People
@EdgyAlbert Is a TikTok Style Influencer We Can All Get Behind
Philosophical commentary on subjects like raw denim — “Distressed denim conforms to your body, so it becomes like a one-of-a-kind art piece that nobody else has,” as he explains — and the ideal party loafer have made Muzquiz an unlikely renaissance man on TikTok. The rising star, who sports the username @EdgyAlbert, has racked up hundreds of thousands of followers and an incredible 6.3 million likes on the platform since joining in 2021.
Albert’s contribution to the app’s host of topics mostly centers around fashion and style-adjacent content, ranging from good-spirited Los Angeles satire to patient explainers on the nuances of hemming pants to “when will my husband return from the war” thirst traps. It’s all wholesome and approachable, a refreshing bit of fun for anyone vaguely interested in clothes, vintage or great mustaches.
And while massive popularity and inherent virality of forums like TikTok have established overnight (and equally fleeting) fame as a commonplace, Muzquiz’s in particular doesn’t go unnoticed, or seem to be going anywhere. Even in a saturated “FashionTok” he stands out; spurred on his charming good looks and penchant for dressing “like a hot dad,” Muzquiz’s content has struck a chord with millions of users looking for honest advice on how to dress well.
Dixie D’Amelio Talks New Album, Charli, Noah Beck, Puma
With her first album dropping today, TikTok star Dixie D’Amelio will be sharing some of her new music at Puma’s flagship in New York.
The title, “a letter to me,” is also a song in the album and one of her favorites. “It really felt like it embodied the entire album, because I am talking to myself. I am trying to figure out, which direction I’m going on in life.”
Asked if it is difficult to not always be thinking of herself given her line of work as and massive following — 57.3 million followers on TikTok and 25 million on Instagram — the 20-year-old said, “There’s definitely a balance for everything in life. Just being around my family and having them in my life is so important. They are always there for me.”
She and her younger sister Charli are undeniably serious influencers. So much so, that even Dixie D’Amelio really doesn’t know why they resonate so much with the masses. “I feel like people like seeing how close we are as sisters, and enjoy watching our videos,” she said with a laugh. “But I really don’t have a straight answer. I appreciate it so much though. I love that I’m able to connect with people.”
Influencer Tina Craig’s U Beauty secures minority investment
U Beauty, the premium skincare brand launched by influencer Tina Craig and friend Katie Borghese, has received a minority investment from Sandbridge Capital, a consumer goods focused private equity firm who took early stakes in Thom Browne, Farfetch and The RealReal.
The undisclosed figure will be used to fund the launch of new product categories and accelerate sales online and in stores, the brand said in a statement today.
“For a founder, finding the right growth partner is a gruelling process,” says Craig, who is also the brand’s chief creative officer. “But, from our very first conversation with Ken and his team, there was a natural affinity — personal, professional, and strategic — between U Beauty and Sandbridge that made our partnership feel like an inevitability.” Both companies also share a fundamental perspective that there are no shortcuts to long-term brand-building, she adds.
Stefana Avara - TikTok's Most Authentic Fitness Influencer
Avara’s looks are clearly part of the package, but she’s taken a serious approach to becoming a professional when it comes to the business side of fitness.
A graduate of Ohio University, Avara is on track to graduate with an MBA that also includes quantitative analysis. She uses spreadsheets and analytics in her own fitness business as well.
That work has led to the kind of expansion that comes with huge success. Avaya has a successful personal training business, Defining Fitness, where she claims to work with about 200 clients per month. She also has her own fitness line, Defining Active.
Her podcast, which is named TREADtalks, has been popular, and she also has another business Liaison the Label, which is also designed to feature movement-related products.
Given her success to date, it’s only a matter of time before Avara begins partnering up with huge brands to promote their fitness-related products.
Avara seems content to take this one step at a time, and she clearly seems to be into the fitness space for the long haul.
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Industry News
Twitch expands ad programs to pay streamers more money
Twitch is expanding its ad incentive program to include more creators and pay them more money. Earlier this year, Twitch began offering select streamers a flat, guaranteed payment in exchange for running a fixed amount of ads during a fixed number of hours. Now, Twitch is opening up the program to include more partners and is changing the way it structures payouts to pay creators more.
Originally, payouts earned with the ad incentive program were calculated using a CPM model. Basically, streamers would get a flat rate for every 1,000 ads watched on their channel.
“We found that a fixed CPM model wasn’t the most straightforward way to share revenue with creators,” said Mike Minton, vice president of monetization at Twitch, in an email to The Verge. “So we’re now launching a new model that’s not only easier to understand but also increases ad payouts by paying creators 55 percent of the revenue for each ad that runs on their stream.”
Pinterest Inks Its Largest Content Deal Ever, With Tastemade
Pinterest and food content provider Tastemade inked a multimillion-dollar, multiyear deal that will result in a slate of new content series, creator events and livestreaming programming. The partnership is the first of its kind, according to the two companies.
The deal already has a foundation, since Tastemade has been one of Pinterest’s largest video partners, having worked with the platform on campaigns for brands including Heineken, Mars and Scotch.
Tastemade will debut 50 new shows on Pinterest and produce livestreaming content for Pinterest TV.
The companies will also host in-person creator events at Tastemade studios globally in locations include Los Angeles and Tokyo, where creators from both Pinterest and Tastemade will participate in training sessions and creator activations.
“This is a natural extension of our existing partnership as we scale our content and creator efforts at Pinterest,” Pinterest chief content officer Malik Ducard said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to build something even bigger to inspire Pinners in more languages around the world.”
Influencer agency Billion Dollar Boy cashes in on marketing revolution
Initial growth was slow: “there were months where I panicked about making payroll. Influencer marketing was a nascent industry and very few people working in brands believed it would work, so getting our slice of their marketing spend was a challenge.”
When they did get work, BDB’s reputation had to be protected at all costs - which is how East found himself being snapped in skintight shorts in a packed Soho one lunchtime. “During one of our first ever campaigns, for McDonald’s, one of our influencers didn’t turn up so I had to volunteer to take their place. It was for McDonald’s Facebook page, back in the day, where people would vote for different outfits, and I had to pose in really tight shorts in Soho Square where everyone was having lunch and staring at me. I am definitely not made for modelling! I have removed every image from our shared drive at work so my co-founders can’t dig them out and use them against me.”
Two years on BDB was signing a £300,000 pitch with skincare giant Garnier; other early brands on board included handbag-maker Coach. BDB now has a proprietary ‘creator management’ platform, Companion, which includes a large database of influencers and demographic data about each one’s audiences, to match brands to their ideal target market.
“Today some creators are executing branded content that’s just as creative and high-quality as the big budget production shoots,” East claims. BDB now works with brands including Procter & Gamble, Sky, Sainsbury’s and Primark, and has offices in New York and New Orleans as well as London.
LinkedIn Adds New Elements to 'Creator Mode' Including Audio Events and New Audience Growth Opportunities
LinkedIn has announced some new additions to its Creator Mode, which provides more ways for users to build their presence on the professional social network.
Adding to its existing Creator Mode elements - including LinkedIn LIVE and Newsletter access - LinkedIn is now also adding audio events, on-profile URL link display, and more ways to build your following in the app.
First off, on Audio Events – initially launched in beta mode back in January, LinkedIn is now giving all Creator Mode users access to its audio rooms option.
Originally only available to a few selected users, LinkedIn is now making the option more broadly accessible – and really, on balance, it does seem like the option could be a better fit on LinkedIn than almost anywhere else.
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Registration Required
Great Paywalled Content
Acceleration Community of Companies Acquires Influencer Marketing Agency Pixly - Adweek
Acceleration Community of Companies (ACC), the group launched by ex-holding company leader and Adweek Media All Star Michael Nyman, has acquired the influencer marketing agency Pixly. The influencer agency joins ACC’s agency group, which includes MKG, Pink Sparrow, Stripe Theory and the group’s in-house consultancy, ACC Advisory.
ACC has grown quickly since launch a few years ago, increasing its revenue by 64% last year. It’s also nabbed new blue-chip clients including Ralph Lauren, Nike, HBO, LinkedIn, CBS,GrubHub, Propel and WeTransfer. Before the Pixly deal it acquired Stripe Theory, a strategic marketing agency with data expertise.
Nyman, ACC’s chairman and CEO, has had his eye on this segment of the industry for several years, he told Adweek—and was intrigued by Pixly’s tech offering and its client-focused service model.
“There’s often this almost over overboard talk about tech, but if you don’t have the service component figured out, then the tech is not as effective,” said Nyman.
Why Amazon's Live-Shopping Program Has Struggled With Influencers - Business Insider
Amazon is struggling to win over influencers in its push to become the dominant player in the US live-shopping market.
In 2020, Amazon launched its own live-shopping feature, Amazon Live, and in a play to be the internet's live-shopping destination, the ecommerce giant has been recruiting popular TikTok and YouTube creators to use the tool. But it hasn't been able to keep some of those influencers happy.
While Amazon has proven to be a valuable platform for influencers through its affiliate marketing program and storefront tools, a number of creators say Amazon Live just isn't worth it.
Insider spoke with eight influencers and two talent managers who have experience with Amazon Live to learn how the platform works.
Most said that while Amazon Live as a product is easy to use, they did not like spending their time simply selling products — perhaps a bigger criticism of live-stream shopping, in general. When they did put in the time, most of they influencers said they didn't find success in viewership or sales.
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