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- Ogilvy Seeks Experienced Director of Influencer
- YouTube car guru Doug DeMuro raises $37 million
- How Tabasco is using Tinx to reach Gen Z
- Express Expands Its NIL Roster With Four College Basketball Athletes
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Creator Compensation Report: Hear The Creator Perspective On Fair Pay In 2023
Fair pay doesn't have to be a moving target. 💸 Learn why 57% of influencers are working on more brand collaborations than last year. Want to know why? Download our new report to dive into valuable benchmark data from real creators about compensation trends.
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Great Reads
YouTuber MrBeast defends himself after a video in which he said he was 'curing' 1,000 blind people divided viewers
YouTube star MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) posted a video on January 28 where he paid for 1,000 blind people to get eye surgery. The video received mixed reviews, with some viewers praising Donaldson's generosity, while others criticized him for using his wealth to fix a widespread societal issue. The video was viewed 59 million times in three days and sparked a discussion on the cost and accessibility of eye surgery, with Twitch streamer Hasan Piker expressing frustration at the situation.
Donaldson responded to the criticism on Twitter, saying that he promised to give away all his money before he dies and will continue to help people in need. Despite the criticism, Donaldson received support from fans and prominent influencers who appreciated his charitable efforts. The surgery was conducted by the non-profit organization SEE International, and Donaldson gave away prizes including $10,000 briefcases and a Tesla, in addition to the cost of the surgeries.
TikTok's 'De-Influencers' Tell You What Not to Buy
A new trend on TikTok is encouraging people to reconsider their spending habits. TikTok's ""de-influencing"" campaign is a hub for thousands of videos of TikTokers debunking the allure of viral internet products, particularly in the beauty realm. The videos focus on popular products that the ""de-influencers"" believe are simply overhyped and not worth buying. This trend is a response to the endless promotion of products by beauty and lifestyle influencers, who often receive payment or compensation for promoting products. The influencer marketing industry was valued at over $16 billion last year.
The trend has sparked a conversation about the integrity of influencer reviews and whether they actually use the products they promote. Some content creators believe that influencers prioritize monetization over authenticity and only share products they have received for free. The majority of Gen-Z prefers to buy from sustainable brands and are likely to make purchases based on personal, social, and environmental principles. Some have criticized the trend for still using ""influencing"" methods to ""de-influence"" and for suggesting alternative, often cheaper, products as replacements.
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Campaign Insights
From Amazon to tech startups, e-commerce takes on the TikTok-style feed
E-commerce companies are following in the footsteps of TikTok, incorporating scrollable short-video feeds into their platforms. In December 2022, Amazon launched its own version, called Inspire, on its mobile Amazon Shopping App. The feature allows users to scroll through full-screen video and photo content featuring product listings and is based on an AI algorithm that determines a user's interests. The content is populated by product reviews, influencer videos, and brand photos from Amazon's Brand Registry. However, users cannot currently create content specifically for Inspire. Amazon is joined by several startups, including Trendio, which focuses exclusively on beauty products, and is run by former Amazon and Glossier employees. The question remains whether users will embrace short-video style feeds on e-commerce exclusive platforms.
How Tabasco is using Tinx to reach Gen Z
Tabasco, a hot sauce brand, has partnered with TikTok influencer Tinx to launch a limited edition jalapeño dressing. The collaboration comes as Tabasco seeks to reach Gen Z consumers, who are showing increased interest in hot sauce and spicier condiments. The dressing, which goes on sale today, will be exclusively available online through Amazon. Tabasco has shifted its focus to TikTok over the last two years, with the brand now having 520,000 followers on the platform, outpacing other hot sauce brands like Frank’s RedHot and Cholula.
The dressing collaboration with Tinx, who has 1.5 million followers on TikTok and is known for promoting hot sauce as a dressing, was a natural extension of the brand's influencer strategy, according to Lee Susen, chief sales and marketing officer for Tabasco. The hot sauce market is expected to grow to nearly $5 billion by 2026, with the Tabasco segment of the market expected to grow the fastest in that time.
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Taps Influencers To Tempt Gen Z
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is launching a global influencer-led campaign called #TakeATaste, in a bid to attract more teen drinkers. Six global influencers have been enlisted and equipped with "security cans" with cameras, to be featured in a teaser video on Instagram and TikTok. The campaign also includes an animated short, posters, experiential activations, TV spot during March Madness, and two mobile games with codes for a free sample.
The campaign is designed to keep the focus on Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, which has been one of the company's strongest performers, with dollar sales up 30% across all retail channels in the US in the first nine months of the year. The company is targeting younger consumers and will have its sights set on engaging with the youth through a fun and light-hearted tone. The Coca-Cola trademark is looking to evolve the #TakeATaste platform with camouflage books and in-fridge containers.
Inside Neutrogena’s TikTok reality dating show
Neutrogena, a skincare brand, has partnered with creative agency Movers+Shakers to create a reality dating series called "Hydro House" on TikTok. The series was designed to promote Neutrogena's Hydro Boost facial cleanser and to stand out in a crowded market of skincare-related videos on the platform. The series features former dating show contestants and TikTok creators competing for the affection of a bottle of Neutrogena's Hydro Boost cleanser.
The series was filmed in a luxurious Los Angeles home to mimic the setting of popular dating shows like "Love Island." The contestants were encouraged to improvise lines and to infuse humor into the series, with exaggerated spoofs of reality dating tropes. The series features moments of drama that also serve as messaging about the Hydro Boost cleanser. The humor and dialogue of the series were crafted with the help of the cast, half of whom were former dating show contestants and the other half of whom frequently play with reality show themes in their own content.
Express Expands Its NIL Roster With Four College Basketball Athletes
Express, the fashion brand, has signed four college basketball athletes to name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. The new signees include Jahvon Quinerly from Alabama, Justice Sueing from Ohio, Keyonte George from Texas, and Nick Smith Jr. from Arkansas. The NIL deals are part of Express' first class of Collegiate Athlete Style Ambassadors, which was launched in April 2022. The brand is expanding its roster beyond Ohio State athletes to include athletes from across the country.
The athletes will create content on social media highlighting their style tips and will be styled in Express' Spring 2023 collection for their collegiate events and appearances throughout the season. Express' previous NIL campaign generated over 30 billion social impressions and exceeded expectations in reaching new audiences. The company is focused on generating brand awareness and reaching new customers through this next phase of the program. The possibility of adding female athletes to the roster is under consideration, according to Express' CMO, Sara Tervo.
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Interesting People
YouTube car guru Doug DeMuro soups up his auction platform with $37 million in fresh funding
YouTube car guru and car reviewer Doug DeMuro's auction platform, Cars and Bids, has received a significant boost with $37 million in fresh funding from The Chernin Group. The Chernin Group will take a majority stake in DeMuro's digital empire and will merge his YouTube channel with Cars and Bids to create a single entity led by former BitTorrent CEO Ro Choy.
DeMuro, who has more than 1.7 billion lifetime views on his YouTube channel, established Cars and Bids in 2020 with co-founder Blake Machado. The site has hosted 10,000 auctions and sold over $230 million worth of vehicles. The investment from The Chernin Group aims to make Cars and Bids the go-to platform for buying and selling modern enthusiast vehicles. Choy will focus on content, technology, and business operations to accelerate the platform's growth.
Shein stole my design so I'm spilling all the tea and it's PIPING HOT
Fitness Influencer Cassey Ho is speaking out after discovering that the fast fashion giant Shein has stolen her design. Cassey, who runs the popular fitness clothing brand Popflex, was shocked when she found out that Shein had copied her Pirouette Skort design. She explains that the process of designing and prototyping high-quality clothing takes a lot of time and effort, but that companies like Shein have ruined consumers' perception of how long it takes to produce quality garments. Cassey is now determined to do something about it, and is speaking out to raise awareness about the unethical practices of fast fashion companies.
Cassey's PopFlex Pirouette Skort was a viral hit when it was first released in 2022 and was recently restocked with improvements. However, just a few weeks later, Shein released a similar design. In a video, Cassey expressed her frustration at the situation, stating "It's the dollar that speaks the loudest in the end. Women under 25 is the target demographic of Shein…and also happens to be part of my audience's demographic as well." She added, "I feel like the things that happen in my life, happen for a reason, and as painful as it is – it is now my duty to do something about it."
How Rotate became one of Scandinavia’s fastest-growing labels
Rotate is a premium partywear label founded by influencers Thora Valdimars and Jeanette Friis Madsen in 2020. It was originally launched as a capsule collection for Danish brand Birger Christensen, but quickly became one of Copenhagen's fastest-growing fashion labels. The bold and affordable dresses and separates are stocked at 450 retailers across the world, including Browns, Net-a-Porter, Mytheresa, Bergdorf Goodman, and Printemps. In 2022, sales across Rotate and sister brand Remain hit €30 million, with Rotate's sales growing 75% versus the previous year.
Valdimars and Friis Madsen felt underserved by Scandinavian fashion, both personally and professionally, and created Rotate to provide a brand for women who want to be sexy, extravagant, and glamorous. The business has faced some challenges due to fast growth, but has overcome them with the help of its retail partners. The duo's social media presence has also played a big role in the success of Rotate, with each of them having over 100,000 followers and the brand's own account having 291,000 followers. The brand adapted to the pandemic by launching a range of loungewear, Rotate Sunday, to keep the Rotate girl comfortable yet glamorous, and is entering the Autumn/Winter 2023 season with new marketing strategies, including the metaverse and gaming, and TikTok.
How TikTok’s ‘hot best friend’ Alix Earle earns lucrative brand deals, causes product sales to skyrocket
"TikTok influencer Alix Earle, known as the "hot best friend,""has earned millions of followers and lucrative brand deals thanks to her popularity and relatable personality on the platform. Earle is reportedly paid between $40,000 and $70,000 for a brand partnership and has worked with GrubHub, White Fox Boutique, Tarte and Rare Beauty, among others. A recent study by influencer marketing company Ubiquitous found that just one of Earle's videos can cause a product to sell out in minutes, with searches for the product on Google Trends skyrocketing by 100%. Her "Get Ready with Me" videos and her "hot mess" approach to content has resonated with young women, who see her as relatable and authentic.
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Industry News
Ogilvy Seeks Experienced Director of Influencer
Ogilvy, a global marketing and advertising firm founded in 1948, is hiring a Director, Influencer to lead influencer strategy and execution for a food and beverage account. The successful candidate will have 10+ years of experience in social media influencer strategy, ability to develop meaningful influencer relationships, and strong project management skills. The role requires expertise in paid social media and influencer tools. The position offers a salary range of $100,000 to $230,000 and a competitive benefits package.
Nexus raises $10M for white label Support-a-Creator Programs
Nexus, a provider of in-game software for developers, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round led by Griffin Gaming Partners. The funds will be used to expand Nexus's Support-a-Creator program, which enables games developers to easily implement Support-a-Creator programs in their live service games. The Support-a-Creator program rewards content creators who promote games to their audience, providing a new revenue stream for content creation and incentivizing creators to drive traffic to games. Nexus already works with a number of studios and has reported increased engagement, higher conversion rates, and increased spending after adding its software to games like Bloons TD 6. The investment round also saw participation from Sony Innovation Fund, Valhalla Ventures, Pace Capital, S3 Ventures, and content creators including CohhCarnage and Berleezy.
Vurb, the Social App Snapchat Just Bought for $200 Million
Snapchat is acquiring Vurb, a search and recommendation app, for $200 million. Vurb helps users plan their social life by offering recommendations on local activities and services, a messaging platform to talk to friends, and a social feed that shows activities and "decks" followed by users. Vurb, which is available on both iOS and Android, has financial backers including Tencent and Redpoint Ventures, but never found a mass consumer following. The acquisition is seen as an effort by Snapchat to acquire Vurb's talented team, as half of the $200 million acquisition price will go to employees as retention payouts.
Michelle Barone, President Of MBM, On The Importance Of Podcasting And Expanding R.E.D.
Michelle Barone, the President of MBM, a full-service marketing and advertising agency, has highlighted the importance of podcasting in the creator space. MBM’s podcast, R.E.D. (Relevant, Entertaining, and Dynamic), showcases content creators and influencers, and has been successful in providing them with a platform to showcase their products, skills, talent, and knowledge. In 2023, the R.E.D. podcast is expanding, with a larger studio, a full production team, and a lineup of exciting guests.
According to Michelle Barone, podcasts provide brands with a consistent voice, which is crucial in marketing. She compares marketing to working out, saying that consistency is key to achieving marketing goals. Michelle is passionate about telling the stories behind the viral videos that influencers and content creators create, and her podcast is a platform for these stories. The podcast also helps MBM by connecting back to the company’s services, which help brands tell their stories.
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Great Paywalled Content
TikTok’s Chief to Testify Before Congress in March - WSJ
TikTok's CEO, Shou Zi Chew, has agreed to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 23rd, marking the first time a TikTok CEO will appear before a congressional panel. The hearing is expected to explore growing concerns about the Chinese-owned video-sharing app, including allegations of sharing U.S. user data with China and the risk of the app being used for propaganda or manipulation. The hearing will give Republicans, who recently gained a slim majority in the House, the opportunity to address these concerns.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the committee, has expressed concerns about the Chinese Communist Party accessing American user data and the impact on privacy and data security. TikTok has said it would use the hearing to "set the record straight about TikTok, ByteDance, and the commitments we are making to address concerns about U.S. national security." The company has devised a $1.5 billion plan to ensure the website is independent and to address U.S. security concerns, which have been the subject of negotiations with a U.S. national-security panel for over two years. The security measures have faced criticism from congressional Republicans, who have accused the Biden administration of foot-dragging and plan to use the hearing to focus on the need to resolve the TikTok issue.
Spanish-Speaking Twitch Streamers of ‘Call of Duty’ and Other Games Are Hot - Bloomberg
Spanish-language streaming on Twitch has seen a six-fold increase in audience from 2019 to 2022 and has become the fastest-growing language on the platform. Spanish has also risen from being the seventh most-watched language category to the second, after English. Most of the world's Spanish speakers live in Latin America, where 80% of people aged 10 to 65 in developed residential areas play video games.
Despite this, Latin America has a weak digital advertising market and lacks the economic infrastructure to support influencer economies. Twitch's revenue comes from advertising and a cut of the fees viewers pay to subscribe to channels, which poses a challenge for Spanish streamers looking to monetize their channels. A partner at Brazil-based venture capital firm Atlantico, Ana Martins, describes the market for social media influencers in Latin America as nascent.
10 TikTok media kit examples that creators use to get paid brand partnerships - Business Insider
TikTok has become a popular platform for social media influencers, and brand collaborations are one of the main sources of income for TikTokers. In order to secure brand deals, many TikTokers use media kits, which are documents that highlight the creator's strengths and make the case for why they should be hired by a brand. These media kits typically include the creator's engagement statistics, audience demographics, biography, previous collaborations, and more. To help give insight into the world of TikTok influencer media kits, Insider has rounded up 10 examples from real TikTokers. The examples include a 16-page media kit from the Risk House influencer collaboration house, a 2-page media kit from a mental health influencer who spoke at the White House, and media kits from creators with over 100,000 followers.
Meta’s Twitch Competitor Cuts Contracts With Gaming Creators - The Information
Meta Platforms, which operates Facebook Gaming, has cut its contracts with at least 200 video game streamers, according to sources with direct knowledge of the deals. The decision comes as Meta looks to reduce costs, which includes mass layoffs, amid a broader effort to streamline its operations. The contracts had paid streamers a fixed monthly amount once they streamed a set number of hours, but these financial incentives are no longer being offered. Meta has said that its direct payment strategy was only meant to be temporary and was used to kickstart the streaming service. The company has since shifted its focus to other incentives, such as a cut of advertising revenue and tools to accept fan tips.
Facebook Gaming saw a boost in popularity last year, becoming the second most popular streaming service with 411 million hours watched on average per month, just ahead of YouTube Gaming. However, reduced financial incentives may make it less likely that streamers will remain on the platform. Michael Inouye, Principal Analyst at ABI Research, said that if the streaming service has to win views by paying streamers, "I don’t think they’re going to generate the revenue that justifies that kind of expenditure."
Meta's shift away from paying streamers is in line with moves made by other social networks and consumer apps to end initiatives designed to attract influencers. YouTube, for example, recently announced it would end payouts through the YouTube Shorts Fund and instead share a slice of advertising revenue with video producers. Substack, a newsletter start-up, pulled back on cash bonuses and other perks to its writers, focusing instead on tools that help writers attract more readers.
Condé Nast Forges Content Partnership With Pinterest – WWD
Pinterest and Condé Nast Entertainment have teamed up to bring exclusive video content to Pinterest's platform. The deal will feature 160 videos produced by Vogue and Architectural Digest, with themes such as Fashion Month, Wedding Season, Summer, and Back to School. The partnership will kick off with fashion week in New York, followed by shows in London, Milan, and Paris.
Vogue will offer backstage access and runway trends in a series of original episodes available on its Pinterest profile. In April, Vogue Weddings will launch a profile with content curated by editors and wedding planners. Architectural Digest will highlight its 2023 AD100 list of top designs and design talent. Pinterest says Condé Nast has over 40 account profiles with millions of views and videos have become a growing priority, with a threefold jump in the number of Idea Pins featuring video from 2021 to 2022.
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