About a year ago, when Recess paid influencers to promote its canned sparkling water, all of them were asked to post on Instagram. But as of this summer, according to the company’s founder and CEO, Benjamin Witte, that was no longer the case.

These days, Recess isn’t spending all of its influencer budget on Instagram content. Now, only about 75% goes toward creators’ Instagram posts. The remaining 25%, Witte said, typically goes to influencer-created TikTok videos.

Big picture: Recess isn’t the only company expanding its influencer marketing strategy beyond Instagram at a time when many people—including major influencers like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner—have criticized the platform for copying its younger rival, TikTok.

• Many other marketers that Marketing Brew spoke with told us that Instagram is sharing the spotlight more and more these days.
• Over the past couple of years, brands have started shifting influencer marketing dollars that were once solely reserved for Instagram to platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

Three years ago, a typical influencer campaign from Obviously, an influencer marketing agency that has worked with brands like Ulta and Converse, lived 100% on Instagram, according to its CEO and founder, Mae Karwowski.

• Now, Obviously usually divides up influencer content across a few different platforms. For example, Karwowski said, 40% of one campaign’s budget could be spent on TikTok, with another 40% going toward Instagram posts, and the remaining 20% on YouTube.
• “It used to be [that] Instagram was the one show in town,” Karwowski explained. Now, 80% of the agency’s campaigns include TikTok, she said, whereas “two or three years ago,” about 90% of them were on Instagram alone.

Swimsuit brand Andie has had a similar experience, according to its VP of brand and design. Keep reading here.—PB

Each Tuesday, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Stacey Epstein is CMO of Freshworks, a software company.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in marketing? My job is to understand people and help them realize they need what I’m offering. It’s really as simple as that. If by understanding them I realize they don’t need what I’m offering, I should move on.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? With a teen and a preteen daughter, I am taken by the “reverse selfie” campaign from Dove. The ad really hits hard with the message that social media is ruining the self-image of our young girls, and making them feel they need to adhere to unrealistic and harmful standards.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile? LinkedIn is a fantastic site, but it is quite one-dimensional. It accurately portrays my work self, but you might not know from it that I am a devoted and present mother of two daughters; a wife of a teacher and basketball coach; a lover of travel and adventure; a dog and hamster mom, an aunt who is thrilled to have her niece starting college nearby and hopes her nephew chooses similarly; a sister, a daughter, and more! I adore my career, but it’s only one small piece of the bigger picture.

What marketing trend are you most optimistic about? Least? Personalization is completely changing the game. Going back to my core basics—marketers need to understand your audience, and then help them realize they need your offering. Personalization has basically simplified and automated that process for us.

My least favorite trend is forced app downloads to get to some sort of content. I have so many apps on my phone that I used once, just because I needed it for a situation. Unless I am a regular user, I don’t really want to download your app!

What’s one marketing-related podcast, social account, or series you’d recommend? I’ve been enjoying the Grit podcast from Kleiner Perkins.

Last week, IT Brew’s Eoin Higgins explored Apple’s burgeoning ad business. Read an excerpt below and click here for the full story.

Wayne Blodwell, an advertising analyst and consultant, told IT Brew that Apple is probably looking at the ad-heavy revenue streams of Meta and Google and seeing an opportunity to swoop in and take some market share for itself without having to fight too hard. Apple’s established hardware business allows it the financial flexibility to explore different ways of advertising—a contrast to competitors who aren’t able to take chances in the same way.

“They’ve got this huge other arm of their business that can bankroll it,” Blodwell said. “Whereas for Facebook, which is [97%] ads, and Google, which has 88% ad revenue, they have less opportunity to put that at risk.”

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

: YouTube will begin rolling out handles for channels this month.

🛒: Here’s a guide to all things social shopping.

: Get acquainted with Twitter’s new 3D Twemoji stickers and the microtrends they’re inspiring.

Learn: Alex Lieberman’s Strategy for Creators master class is right around the corner—but there’s still time to grab your seat. Click here to join him and get insight on all things content creation and strategy.

Have you been wondering how HBO is crushing the modern marketing game (any House of the Dragon stans)? Or how Duolingo’s Duo the owl became a storytelling sensation on TikTok? And really, how the heck has Vans managed to transcend the generations and stay part of the cool crowd, even as our beloved skinny jeans get dunked on day after day?

Well, you’ll find the answer to all these questions and more (yes, much more) at the biggest Marketing Brew event yet: The Brief on Nov. 15. This jam-packed day of panels, presentations, and networking will give you strategies to implement immediately, plus the chance to interact personally with some of the best in the industry (not to mention your fellow marketing rock stars). Quick: We have advanced pricing for only a limited time, so grab your ticket here before the cost goes up!

• Netflix has selected Integral Ad Science and DoubleVerify as independent measurement partners for its forthcoming ad-supported tier, per Ad Age.
• Lenovo and Intel’s foam pit exhibit at TwitchCon has come under scrutiny after at least two participants said they were severely injured.
• Hollister is letting its online shoppers, many of whom are teenagers, “pass their carts to someone else for payment” via text message in an effort to incentivize purchase completion.
• Warner Bros. Discovery staffers are preparing for more layoffs this week.
• Nike has signed Bronny James, son of LeBron James, to a name, image, and likeness deal.

Snap poll: Have you worked on any NIL deals with college athletes?

Yes
No

Goldfish, the iconic snack that smiles back, has long featured a friendly fish on its packaging.  What is the fish’s name?

1. Moby
2. Goldie
3. Coral
4. Finn

Keep scrolling for the answer.