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Executive Summary |
Inside Taylor Swift’s Surprise Return to TikTok All You Need To Know About Snapchat’s New Generative AI Watermarking Creators Cash In: Paid User-Generated Content Offering Explodes 93% In 2023 How Carrefour leveraged influencers to enhance brand engagement
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Great Reads |
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A new TikTok study reveals the importance of incorporating Spanish language elements when advertising to the platform's large, culturally blended Hispanic user base. |
The research found 72% of TikTok's bilingual Hispanic users identify with both Hispanic/Latino and broader American cultures - embracing a "200% sense of belonging." Over half prefer encountering ads and content featuring both English and Spanish. |
Adding Spanish voiceovers proved most impactful for driving positive brand perceptions, connection, engagement and consideration among this audience versus English-only ads. Voiceovers increased perceived brand authenticity and integrity, making users 57% more likely to want to see future ads. |
However, the study showed fully Spanish ads don't resonate as well as a balanced blend honoring users' dual identities. Incorporating both languages created broad appeal while recognizing Hispanic heritage. |
Importantly, adding Spanish elements did not alienate English speakers on TikTok. Millennials actually appreciated the inclusive move, viewing brands as more trustworthy and attentive to diverse needs. |
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Retail giant Carrefour aimed to boost brand awareness, drive foot traffic, and showcase its diverse product offerings through an innovative influencer marketing campaign. |
Carrefour identified 15 influencers across lifestyle, food, parenting, beauty and fitness verticals to reach a wide demographic. The "Everyday Convenience at Carrefour" campaign concept gave influencers creative freedom to develop engaging content highlighting their in-store shopping experiences. |
Content ranged from vlogs and tutorials using Carrefour products, to hauls and lifestyle shots. Influencers encouraged followers to interact with Carrefour's social channels, enter contests and share their own shopping stories using campaign hashtags. |
The multi-platform campaign across 15 influencers collectively generated an impressive 4,548,175 total views. It successfully raised brand awareness of Carrefour's convenience and product variety among the target audience. |
Influencer content fostered positive brand perception by portraying Carrefour as a trusted, one-stop shopping destination. The user-generated component drove high community engagement, with consumers amplifying the campaign by sharing their own Carrefour experiences. |
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A new eMarketer report titled "The State of Influencer-Brand Deals 2024" reveals brands are taking a more strategic approach to influencer partnerships despite an intensifying need for creator content. |
While the number of income-earning U.S. creators has soared to 27 million, brands are focusing on fewer, more meaningful long-term collaborations with trusted influencers - downsizing from 11-20 creators per campaign in 2021 to just 1-5 in 2023. |
As measurement becomes paramount, brands are chasing hard metrics like sales conversions and audience growth rather than broad awareness plays. Just 21% prioritize the "consideration" mid-funnel stage. |
Niche nano and micro-influencers are gaining prominence for their engaged audiences and high ROI. But mid-tier creators face an influencer "squeeze" with rising fees and fierce competition. |
To stretch budgets, low-cost strategies like affiliate marketing, user-generated content licensing, and amplifying organic creator posts as paid ads are exploding in popularity. |
While U.S. sponsored influencer spending will top $9 billion by 2025, growth is slowing as brands evaluate campaign performance. The findings signal a maturing creator economy emphasizing measurable business outcomes over vanity metrics. |
Campaign Insights |
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Golf equipment brand OGIO Europe has tapped popular YouTube influencer James Robinson as a new ambassador to promote its latest bag range launch across the continent. |
Robinson, whose "James Robinson Golf" channel boasts over 250,000 subscribers and 98 million views since 2016, will feature OGIO bags in all future videos under the deal. He'll also use the brand's travel gear while creating content worldwide. |
Joining fellow golf YouTuber Peter Finch, Robinson will play a key role marketing OGIO's upcoming premium leather golf bag releasing later this month across Europe. The influencer partnership aims to drive awareness for the new product lines following OGIO's initial 2024 lightweight Fuse Stand Bag rollout. |
The creator signing underscores how endemic brands are tapping influential voices to authentically reach passionate communities during major product launches. OGIO is leveraging Robinson's golf expertise and following to introduce its latest innovations while associating the brand with the sport's content creator scene. |
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Desperate to cultivate new, younger patrons, fine arts institutions like the San Francisco Opera, Symphony and Asian Art Museum are increasingly tapping social media influencers for promotional collaborations. Organizations are comping influencers with free tickets, merch and exclusive experiences like meeting famous artists in exchange for sponsored Instagram reels and TikToks showcasing the allure of their offerings. |
Digital marketing agency Red Curtain Addict has pioneered these "pay-to-play" influencer campaigns for arts clients, with budgets ranging from $2,000 to $10,000. Popular local influencers like Andrew De Los Santos can earn $500 to $2,000 per influencer package promoting an event. |
Beyond paid sponsorships, some influencers post arts content organically to build their personal brands and followings. The exclusive access and networking opportunities incentivize cross-promotion. |
For arts groups, influencer marketing provides fresh,visually-engaging ways to grab younger social media users' attention compared to traditional advertising. Personalized perspectives make rarified cultural experiences feel more relatable and accessible. |
As they fight for relevance amid consumer entertainment's digital shift, turning influencers into passionate advocates could prove key to arts organizations' long-term sustainability by unlocking new audiences. |
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South African bank Nedbank has launched an influencer marketing initiative aimed at improving the nation's poor financial health and combating misinformation around debt management. |
Nedbank's 2023 NedFinHealth Monitor report gave South Africans a low 53/100 score for financial well-being. Key issues included reluctance to discuss money problems, overreliance on debt during the economic downturn, and the spread of harmful advice like avoiding loan payments on TikTok. |
To help consumers make better financial decisions, Nedbank partnered with PR agency MSL to enlist 10 local influencers across finance, lifestyle and property verticals. Over two months, these creators are producing educational videos debunking debt myths on TikTok. |
Buli Ndlovu, Nedbank's Marketing Executive Head, cited TikTok's user-generated content prowess and popularity as an information source among South Africans for the platform's central role. |
The relatable, authentic influencer advice has resonated, with the TikTok campaign garnering over 350,000 organic video views and a 7% engagement rate so far - exceeding industry benchmarks. Nedbank attributes this to rising demand for accessible financial literacy resources. |
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Snapchat aims to establish itself as a go-to hub for diverse perspectives and supplementary "shoulder content" surrounding marquee cultural moments in 2024 like the Olympics, Paralympics and UK elections. |
The platform plans to work closely with journalists and creators to produce this complementary content offering varied viewpoints beyond just the official event coverage itself. As Lucy Luke, Snap's UK Head of Partnerships, explained, this shoulder content could highlight adjacent experiences like music, fashion, fan celebrations and more to create an "inclusive" environment on the app. |
Snapchat renewed its Olympics partnership with Channel 4 to provide expanded behind-the-scenes AR experiences building off last year's Wimbledon coverage featuring virtual merchandise try-ons. The UK election is another key event where Snap hopes creators and journalists will produce ancillary content. |
Underpinning this push is Snapchat's growing investment and focus on the creator economy overall. With new monetization tools, Luke stated "You will see a lot more creator content on the platform as well" around these major cultural moments. |
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Pizza Hut has partnered with popular food influencer Keith Lee, who has over 16 million TikTok followers, to launch the "FamiLEE Community Pizza." The limited-time offering features Lee's family's favorite toppings of pepperoni and bacon on a hand-tossed crust. |
The collaboration ties into Pizza Hut's "$12 Any" customizable pizza campaign while supporting local charities. Lee and Pizza Hut will donate $50,000 to his and his wife's alma maters to give back to their community. |
Pizza Hut's Chief Marketing Officer Lindsay Morgan cited Lee's authentic brand celebrating family and community as a perfect fit for co-creating a pizza embodying those values. Lee hopes the FamiLEE pizza encourages connection over food. |
The partnership exemplifies how major brands are co-creating product offerings with top digital creators to drive relevance with younger audiences. Lee's massive Gen Z following made him an influential collaborator for Pizza Hut to showcase its customization capabilities. |
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As India's national election begins, political parties are blitzing the nation's 215 million Gen Z and young millennial voters through creative social media campaigns. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been an early adopter, using platforms like YouTube, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) to deliver emotive video ads, memes and music videos tailored for Indian youth. |
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP has spent $434 million on digital ads since January, dwarfing its 2019 budget. Videos highlight Modi's personal appeal, depicting him evacuating students from Ukraine. Supporters amplify messaging through user-generated bhajans (hymns) and memes idolizing the prime minister. |
The BJP's deep pockets provide a formidable advantage over the opposition Indian National Congress party in the social media guerilla war for young hearts and minds. However, long-form influencer interviews offer Congress an avenue to counter the BJP's dominance of shorter shareable content. |
Interesting People |
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UCLA freshman Azaila Jules is making waves as an authentic voice in the fashion influencer space. Known by her 460,000 followers across Instagram, YouTube and TikTok simply as @axaila, the 19-year-old filmmaking student leans into a vibrant "kawaii" style inspired by Japanese street fashion. |
What sets Jules apart is her refreshing commitment to staying true to herself amid influencer pressures. Rather than chasing trends or metrics, she aims to inspire creative self-expression through relatable vlogs and pastel-hued outfit posts resonating with her young female audience. |
Beyond curating looks, Jules operates an online clothing brand called Axaila's Closet. As she navigates content creation alongside academics, Jules' genuine enthusiasm for fashion as an art form positions her as an uplifting industry role model. |
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BrendaHashtag, real name Brenda Weischer, is the influencer-journalist shaping the digital fashion space. The Central Saint Martins grad launched vintage shop Disruptive Berlin in 2017, but has grown her platform over a decade with her eye for style, passion for design, and savvy business sense. |
With a devoted following admiring her monochrome vintage designer wardrobe from the likes of Margiela and Owens, Weischer has emerged alongside It Girls like Emma Chamberlain as an increasingly powerful voice. Her genuine love for fashion resonates beyond just aspirational aesthetics. |
Last year saw BrendaHashtag's rise with front row appearances at major runway shows and her "Brenda's Business" column in 032c featuring insider interviews. Her new podcast extends her multi-hyphenate influence across content platforms. |
The 26-year-old epitomizes fashion's digitally-native future, translating an online persona into industry credibility and access. As increasing influencers penetrate the insular world, BrendaHashtag represents their ability to shape taste, discover talent, and build far-reaching personal brands and businesses around their unique styles. |
Her viral closet tours and outfit posts make fashion more accessible, presaging more creators blending content, commerce and editorial in the years ahead. |
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Industry News |
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Collabstr's report projects the influencer marketing industry will reach $19.8 billion in 2024, up 13.7% year-over-year, outpacing growth in social ad spend. |
The creator economy where influencers produce content is also booming, forecast to grow from $127.65 billion in 2023 to $528.39 billion by 2030 at a 22.5% CAGR. |
A major driver is the 93% year-over-year surge in 2023 of creators offering paid user-generated content (UGC) services to brands. UGC accounted for 14% of collaborations on Collabstr and this segment is predicted to swell from $4.7 billion in 2022 to $71.3 billion by 2032. |
Instagram leads as the top platform for influencer paid offerings at 49%, followed by TikTok at 24% and UGC at 23%. |
While female creators still dominate at 70% market share, the percentage of male influencers grew from 23% to 30% across Collabstr in 2023 as bigger creators tend towards gender parity. |
Emerging trends highlighted include the rise of AI influencers, emphasis on authenticity from micro-influencers, shoppable content and brands leveraging "trendjacking" around cultural moments. |
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Amazon has launched a new interactive TV channel called "Amazon Live" that allows customers to shop alongside creators, brands and celebrities as they livestream content. The free ad-supported channel is available on Prime Video and Freevee apps. |
A key feature is Amazon's "shop the show" technology, enabling viewers to browse and purchase products featured in the programming directly from their mobile device in real-time. The channel combines a shoppable social media feed with 24/7 streaming TV. |
Programming will feature popular Amazon Live creators as well as celebrities like Lala Kent, Kandi Burruss, Paige DeSorbo and more across original shows. According to Paige DeSorbo, who is launching an exclusive series, "Watching Amazon Live is like shopping with a friend who is also a personal stylist." |
The innovative channel aims to make shoppable entertainment more accessible and engaging through its interactive experience. Viewers can discover trendy products effortlessly alongside trusted creators and personalities. |
For Amazon, the Live channel represents a new frontier blending commerce, content and community. By tapping popular digital creators, it can drive product discovery while cultivating an entertaining, immersive shopping experience akin to scrolling social media with friends |
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UK talent agency YMU, known for managing stars like Simon Cowell, has signed five popular TikTok creators with a combined following of over 6 million users to its global entertainment division. |
The new creator clients include comedic interviewer Max Balegde (3.5M followers), singer-songwriter Talia Mar who charted at #11 in the UK, storyteller @imtheproblem (857K followers), fashion comedy creator Victor Kunda (684K followers) famous for a viral "smoking breadstick" video, and vlogger Emily Norris chronicling motherhood. |
Under Lucy Loveridge's leadership, YMU's global entertainment team plans to extend these creators' brands far beyond just social media through cross-divisional collaboration. |
The high-profile multi-creator signing underscores how major talent agencies are rapidly expanding representation of top digital influencers alongside traditional celebrities. It reflects TikTok stars' soaring cultural currency and commercial opportunities as their massive, loyal Gen Z fan bases become prized across entertainment verticals. |
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Snapchat is taking steps to promote transparency around generative AI content on its platform. The app will soon watermark images created or edited using its AI tools like Dreams and AI Snaps with a ghost logo. |
The watermark aims to clearly denote AI-generated visuals to viewers before sharing or export. Snapchat states this aligns with its belief that users should understand what technologies they're engaging with. |
Beyond watermarking, Snapchat employs multiple safeguards like human review for political ads, safety filtering of AI prompts, inclusive demographic testing, and security partnerships to identify AI risks. |
While embracing generative AI's creative potential, Snapchat acknowledges the technology is quickly evolving with room for mistakes. It provides guidelines prohibiting depictions of AI outputs as reality and private info sharing. |
The policy exemplifies how major platforms are grappling with transparency and ethical challenges as generative AI capabilities expand across consumer apps and creator tools. Clear delineation and responsible deployment frameworks will be crucial as artificial and authentic content converges. |
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Ziff Davis Shopping has formed a strategic partnership with Mom Media, an influencer network focused on parent and family content creators. |
The collaboration gives Ziff Davis Shopping access to Mom Media's vast network of over 400 million consumers reached by creators across key shopping verticals like beauty, health, fashion and technology. |
For Ziff Davis, tapping into Mom Media's influencer resources opens a new avenue to drive engagement, awareness and sales for the thousands of retail brands it promotes on platforms like RetailMeNot and Offers.com. |
Mom Media CEO John Pacini cited the "world-class influencer and word-of-mouth marketing capabilities" the partnership brings Ziff Davis' shopping brands and retail clients. |
Integrating Mom Media's creator expertise with Ziff Davis Shopping's content studio presents opportunities to amplify influencer marketing impact and ROI across the company's extensive network of merchant partners. |
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Instagram is piloting a new initiative named "Creator A.I." that aims to ease the workload for its top influencers by allowing them to interact with followers through AI-driven chatbots. The program, still in its testing phase, lets influencers maintain engagement by automating responses in their unique "voice" using data from their past interactions on the platform. Initially, these AI messages will disclose their automated nature. |
This move is part of Meta's broader strategy to integrate AI across its operations, enhancing user interactions while reducing manual effort for high-profile users. The program's success and wider adoption remain to be seen as Meta continues to invest heavily in AI technology and court influencers across its networks |
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As TikTok incentivizes creators to produce content optimized for popular search queries through its new monetization program, influencer marketing agencies are pivoting efforts towards search engine optimization (SEO) tactics. |
Agencies like Trade School and Buttermilk are incorporating precise keyword research into creative briefs to help clients' influencers maximize visibility in TikTok's search results and discovery algorithms. |
However, experts warn this increased emphasis on optimizing for search trends risks compromising brand safety if not carefully balanced. There are concerns around TikTok's ability to properly moderate the viral search-optimized content it will be actively promoting. |
Authenticity is also a key challenge, as influencers may increasingly pander to specific niches or topics solely based on their current popularity, rather than creating more genuine content aligned with their interests. |
To counter this, some agencies aim to produce large volumes of cohesive search-focused content around entire interest-based creator communities, rather than isolated one-off posts. |
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Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the powerful Senate Commerce Committee, finds herself in the hot seat shaping the future of TikTok as the House's proposal to ban or force a sale of the app moves to her chamber. |
The deliberative Washington Democrat is known for her methodical approach, frustrating some colleagues seeking quicker action on tech issues like data privacy. Now she must balance national security concerns over TikTok's Chinese ownership against constitutionality questions over a potential ban. |
Cantwell aims to strengthen the House bill for court challenges while potentially extending the six-month timeline critics warned could force a fire sale. She remains open to allowing TikTok to operate under stricter oversight rather than an outright ban. |
With Big Tech donors but a mixed record on reining in the industry, Cantwell faces pressure to move quickly yet purposefully on an issue blown open by TikTok's skyrocketing popularity. Her deft negotiating could make or break the viral app's future as geopolitical tensions over data and AI snowball. |
As a key tech legislator, Cantwell's TikTok approach will signal how far Congress will go to crack down on the creator economy when national interests collide with free speech. |
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Taylor Swift is defying her label Universal Music Group by bringing her music back to TikTok ahead of her new album launch. Universal had pulled Swift and its other artists' catalogs from TikTok in a royalty dispute, but Swift's team revealed plans for a TikTok marketing push for her April 19th release "The Tortured Poets Department." |
The move casts doubt on Universal's leverage, as its biggest star rejoins the platform her fans wanted access to. While Universal positioned the TikTok boycott as an existential industry fight, Swift's independence highlights the power dynamics. As a superstar who re-records her old music to own the masters, she can directly deal with TikTok. |
The defection underscores how top artists like Swift, who previously advocated for fairer streaming payouts, can diverge from their labels on platform negotiations. With over a billion users, TikTok's importance for music marketing outweighed Universal's stance for Swift's new album rollout. |
