BANKNOTES minted by #paid: Recent Episodes
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Have you ever come across an ad while scrolling through TikTok that feels just like any other video on the platform—so much so that it hardly feels like you’re watching an ad?
Do you know what makes these ads work so well? They’re engaging, follow popular trends, and, most importantly, feel as authentic as other online videos we see from our favorite creators.
Unfortunately, many marketers avoid creating this type of content because it “appears ugly,” discounting the ad’s effectiveness. ... (LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE)
Luxury fashion has a problem. According to McKinsey, the industry is responsible for over $2 billion in greenhouse gas emissions every year. That’s roughly 4% of the world’s total output.
For added context, luxury fashion puts out the same amount of greenhouse gasses as France, Germany, and the UK. Combined.
While these stats are horrifying, this issue isn’t only about the survival of the environment. It’s also a threat to the survival of luxury fashion brands. ... (READ MORE)
“Google it.”
It used to be one of the most ubiquitous phrases in search. Like Kleenex for tissues, Google is the brand nomenclature for an entire action. But now it may be one of new media’s next casualties.
TikTok, Twitter, and other social media platforms are becoming the new search engine stars.
This is partially by design. “Search it with TikTok,” says a recent TikTok ad in the UK. “Learn it with TikTok.” You can practically hear steam coming out of the ears (er, servers) over at Google and Bing. ... (READ MORE)
Fun fact: “Adidas” does not stand for “All Day I Dream About Sports.” It’s short for Adi Dassler, the company’s founder.
Yet, if you repeat a factoid often enough, it has a way of entering the zeitgeist. That’s especially true for statistics ringing with truth.
Case in point: everyone knows it costs 5x more to acquire customers than to get customers to return. This factoid (this time in “10x” form) even appeared in “The Office,” when an intern attending business school at night quizzed hapless boss Michael Scott. The joke was that the branch manager didn’t understand a basic business fact. ... (READ MORE)
Relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or familial, are essential for any human being to thrive. Even when these relationships are complicated or situational (see: situationships), they allow us to learn new things about ourselves, explore the parts of life outside our comfort zone, and ultimately help us evolve as individuals.
Back in my day, when it was time to announce a new relationship, we would take to Facebook to change our single status. Something about that “in a relationship with” update really felt like a major life achievement. Nowadays, we’re seeing Instagram girlies soft launch their significant others by teasing Story posts of someone’s left shoulder or a Diddy-cropped photo with just their person’s eyebrow visible. Only the official couples get to revel in the celebratory relationship hard launch. ... (READ MORE)
With millions of dedicated followers who religiously watch their favorite content creator as soon as a new video drops (or heavily engaged in whatever drama the creator is embroiled in at any given time), it makes sense that the beauty industry as a whole is finally catching on to the idea that viewers love watching creators, regardless of gender, showcase personality and creativity in an entertaining format.
Add in TikTok or Instagram, and male beauty creators worldwide are growing audiences and partnering with emerging and legacy cosmetics brands for product launches or partnerships, too. ... (READ MORE)
Who knew something as simple as fresh dough could attract video views? It’s not a trick question. In applying surgical precision to its creator campaigns, KitchenAid nailed it.
KitchenAid had access to first-party data from Trusted Media Brands. Two-thirds of TMB’s reader panel, for example, owned stand mixers. TMB’s readers were four times more likely than average to categorize themselves as a “holiday enthusiast.” And 55% of a Taste of Home kitchen survey respondents were looking for helpful kitchen appliance content.
Enter the Mixing and Mingling holiday campaign, which combined all of this data with the power of the creator economy. Taste of Home’s influencers offered recipes and recorded video stories sharing their favorite KitchenAid stories. For Elena Besser, that was the pasta-maker extension, which she tied into a story of using food as her love language. ... (READ MORE)
Brands choosing to partner with America’s favorite celebrities is almost a bigger tradition than the Super Bowl itself. In the past, we’ve seen ads from Dolly Parton, Timothée Chalamet, and Will Ferrell.
This year, like in previous years, there was no shortage of A-list celebrities placed front and center of the most coveted advertising slots. Celebrities ranged from Serena Williams, Alicia Silverstone, Melissa McCarthy, Bradley Cooper, and John Travolta.
But—here’s the thing. Do you remember any of the brands these celebrities were advertising? ... (READ MORE)
You’ve seen it a million times in the DTC and B2B worlds. A company will take the same piece of content and plaster it across the brand’s various social media channels. The results? Lackluster. Maybe it will get engagement from the social media manager (SMM) who posted it—and, if they’re lucky, the SMM’s mom. (Provided they’re on Twitter, of course.)
What’s wrong with this strategy? Aside from the fact that it never works, it’s rare to see brands—especially B2B companies—dive deep into every social media platform’s unique quirks. As a result, they rarely post creative content that engages their target audience. ... (READ MORE)
The relationship between fragrance and advertising has been long.
As a category that relies on olfactory receptors first and foremost to attract and persuade, emerging brands must get creative with how they market to consumers.
From packaging to media, fragrance brands can’t rely on some of the more traditional elements of beauty marketing: before and after pictures or product benefits, just to name a couple. ... (READ MORE)
The average attention span is shrinking. In fact, a recent Microsoft study found that our attention span is down to about eight seconds or less. This extends to attention spans while browsing the web. And in the creator economy, those eight seconds are precious currency.
There’s no doubt that in recent years, short-form video has either created this trend or capitalized on it. And it’s officially a trend creators can’t afford to ignore. ... (READ MORE)
“My content was viewed over 75 million times this year.” If we asked you to guess who said that, who would come to mind? A TV star? An artist talking about their 2022 Spotify downloads? A Kardashian?
It was, in fact, Tobi Oluwole. And rather than knowing him from Spotify or your favorite Netflix series, you might have seen him doling out advice to underpaid and unfulfilled employees on LinkedIn.
Most people might not group LinkedIn with mega-creator platforms like YouTube and TikTok. TikTok is the exciting new kid on the block, rocket-blasting from $82 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2019 to $1,567 billion three years later. YouTube has been around longer, but its status as the world’s top video-sharing network makes it a titanic platform for any influencer. ... (READ MORE)
We’re used to seeing it in the DTC world.
When you pull up TikTok, Instagram, or Snapchat, you’ll see unique creator-made videos promoting sponsored content.
And, if you’re like other TikTok users contributing to #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt’s 36.7B views, you’ll probably make a fun new purchase.
Creator marketing (especially influencer-generated content) works wonders in the DTC world. Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 60% of marketers said influencer-generated content performs better and drives more engagement than branded posts. ... (READ MORE)
Leonardo DiCaprio may prefer young models, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the world does (Zing!). This rings especially true regarding which creators represent brands on social media platforms.
Over the past couple of years, social media users have been explicit in asking for content from brands and creators that’s authentic, diverse, and inclusive. In short, social media users are begging for real. ... (READ MORE)
“I’m rooting for everybody Black.” ✊🏾
This statement has been echoed by Black creators both on the internet and in our everyday conversations since it was infamously spit like a bar by Issa Rae at the 2017 Emmy Awards. Since then, it has become a slogan for the culture, and it feels like a motto rooted in community and provides a sense of home for Black creators who haven’t always felt seen. ... (READ MORE)
Striking a balance between creativity and appealing to customers is often a tenuous one for marketing teams.
Add in the massive competition for traffic and sales, and you might find a brand or two swinging for the fences only to end up striking out spectacularly.
There’s also the fact that brands are constantly looking for new ways to stand out and achieve goals.
As customers, we often praise brands taking daring approaches. We’re more apt to see brands making waves than observing the status quo. ... (READ MORE)
“It's just crazy how Amazon has all these little sneaky things that you would never know about.”
When 24-year-old Emma Lorrae started her UGC creator business in May 2022, she knew her passion was to be an entrepreneur and create content for brands.
But it can be scary to start your own business–let alone walk away from a corporate job to run your business full-time.
However, less than a year into her endeavors, Lorrae is already making over $8K per month as a UGC creator and through influencer programs with channels like Amazon. Her earnings keep growing month after month. ... (READ MORE)
There’s been talk about ‘Quiet Quitting’ and the ‘Great Resignation’ over the last two years, which means brands wanting to fill positions and needing employees have to take a good, hard look at what they’re offering how they’re reaching potential candidates.
2022 was a successful year for influencer marketers, and things are looking up in 2023 as well. While influencer marketing and creator partnerships will help brands grow and capture more sales, it’s also essential to keep a pulse on marketing, influencer, and industry trends.
It’s known as “algospeak,” and its premise is simple. Some online platforms use algorithms to censor or ban content by seeking out key phrases. Creators find sneaky ways of not saying those phrases while still getting their basic meaning across to their audience. Algorithms becomes Al Gore Rhythms. Dead becomes unalive. Sex becomes seggs. It’s not just a snarky way to avoid TikTok or Twitter dinging your content and sending you to the digital equivalent of a timeout. For some, it’s a necessity. One study examined how “social media work is not just materially concealed, but rendered socially invisible through its lack of … marginal status.”
You already know TikTok is the new “it girl” of social media.
TikTok is only eight years old and already has more than 1 billion monthly users, or more than one-eighth of the world’s total population.
You also know TikTok is the hottest marketplace for online window shoppers. Most recent stats show TikTok generated an estimated $4.6 billion in revenue in 2021. (If everyone on TikTok gave me $4…)
It’s uncontested. TikTok is where brands need to be to find new customers and make sales.
But winning on TikTok is easier said than done. Some brand accounts crush it, while others see no engagement at all. ... (READ MORE)
When it comes to commerce tech, China is in its own world of innovation—one that much of the Western world hasn't even started catching up to.
Ecommerce is currently a trillion-dollar industry in China, and over half of the world’s eCommerce transactions take place in China.
Meanwhile, in 2021, the U.S. saw $870 billion USD in eCommerce sales. Canada saw slightly over $53 billion USD.
China’s leading tech innovation is a top reason for its place as a global commerce leader. Many of the world’s most popular social media and commerce platforms started in China first and then moved westward.
The most prevalent example: TikTok.
TikTok, first known as ByteDance and now Douyin, had hundreds of millions of users in China before it ever launched in the U.S. and Canada. ... (READ MORE)
TikTok is a social media anomaly. For starters, it’s been growing like wildfire. GWI reports TikTok has grown its monthly user base by more than 32% since 2020, with more than 150 million current active monthly users.
Additionally, while TikTok started as an entertainment platform, it’s now one of the hottest social selling tools and an outstanding way for brands to penetrate new audiences and capture customers. In the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, TikTok reached $824 million in user spending, and it’s expected to account for 3.5% of all digital advertising spending in the U.S. by 2024.
What’s even more impressive than TikTok’s rapid growth and advertising spend is its pivotal role in creating new influencers. Recent stats show there are already 100,000+ active influencers making money from their TikTok presence.
When you look at TikTok’s unique strengths objectively, it provides a straightforward answer for how the brand can capture a portion of that $824 million in user spending on TikTok. The answer: partner with TikTok creators.
Better yet is to do what brands like Nerf, Olipop, and Jones Road Beauty have done, and that’s hire creators to run their social media accounts. Here’s a closer look at why brands are doing this and why it’s working. ... (READ MORE)
Remember the old adage that word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising?
Well, social media is officially the new word of mouth. Social media allows consumers to share your brand, and it helps you connect with consumers, build trust, and develop a community.
And, now there’s a way you can leverage the power of digital word of mouth marketing to also produce more impactful content at a reduced cost.
Enter user generated content (UGC).
UGC is exactly what it says on the tin—content created by the users, customers, and fans of your brand.
And UGC is powerful. 72% of consumers believe reviews and testimonials from customers are more credible than the brand talking about its own products, and website visitors spend a whopping 90% more time on a site when UGC is present.
Getting high-quality UGC from people who love your brand can be tricky, but here are some tips on how you can be successful. ... (READ MORE)
What comes to mind when you think about your local dentist's office?
Most likely, you’re thinking of a grey aesthetic, maybe some generic artwork, and an hour of your life that you wish you could be spending elsewhere.
This is a reality that Dr. Suhail Mohiuddin—more commonly known as Dr. M—knew when he and two of his friends started a dental practice in 2013:
“If you look at NPS scores of dental offices, the average dental office has a score of one, which is somewhere between standing in line at the DMV and your cable company,” he joked.
That’s why Dr. M and his friends founded Dentologie: a practice to reshape people's thoughts about their semi-annual dentist trips.
“People hate going to the dentist, so our entire concept is to create an awesome experience that people don't hate. We tailor the entire business around amazing technology, beautiful locations, and phenomenal customer service.”
Today, Dentologie is the largest dental practice in Chicago, with a strong social media presence that drives 25% of its new clients.
How did Dr. M (a dentist with zero prior experience in marketing) pull this off?
It has nothing to do with luck—it’s been pure strategy since Day 1. Dr. M applies many direct-to-consumer best practices to his personal TikTok, driving almost 750K followers and new clients to his business. ... (READ MORE)
Pickleball!
Given that the sport dates to 1965, it’s not surprising that it’s seen growth to some 4.5 million players in the U.S.
What is surprising is its recent renaissance. As The Atlantic reports, athletes like Kevin Love, Drew Brees, and Kevin Durant have spent money towards ownership stakes in pickleball teams. Tom Brady is investing in a pickleball expansion team. LRMR, which has LeBron James as a co-founder, has also made pickleball investments.
“It is America’s fastest-growing sport,” notes The Atlantic, calling it an “antidote to loneliness and boredom,” growing even before COVID-19 made lonely and bored people of us all.
Some have even suggested pickleball might end up an Olympic-sanctioned sport.
Today, top creators—not just Tom Brady—are picking up the scent of pickled cucumbers. And that’s having a unique effect. For the first time, you and I might be able to watch a new American pastime sport growing up in the age of influencers and social media—because of influencers and social media.
While it might seem like pickleball is a come-and-go trend, more akin to cold bucket challenges and “is it real or cake?” videos, pickleball is a trend with staying power. In the world of viral hits and short-lived fads, that’s unique to both sports and TikTok.
Still confused about how it’s all going down? Here’s everything you need to know. ... (READ MORE)
Today’s consumer market is run by creators.
We see our favorite TikTokers promoting new beauty products, an Instagram model showing off new threads, and nutritionists sharing their choice foods and snacks on YouTube.
Creators and influencers are everywhere—and they’re a big part of how we recognize brands today.
But what about luxury cars?
Most vehicle brands still spend thousands of dollars (if not millions) creating their own high-quality commercials: a man’s deep voice describing the look and feel of the car while viewers see it trudging through mountains, cities, and other landscapes.
We’ve all seen them. For a long time, there’s been a major lack of creativity in this market.
Until recently… (READ MORE)
Sure, Black Friday saw an all-time high in eCommerce sales. But if you’ve been to any grocery, retail, or marketplace in the last year, you’ve likely felt the effects of inflation. Everything is more expensive right now. For example, prices for food increased by 10.4% in 2022 (the biggest increase since 1981), and energy prices have risen 41.6% over the last year (the largest since 1980). ... (READ MORE)
Do brands lie?
Of course they do!
But you may be surprised how many brands used a deceptive and false email marketing tactic this past Black Friday weekend—and customers started to catch on.
We’re not talking about emails with “Surprise, we extended our sale!” messaging. Consumers expect these after years of seeing that exact subject line 100 times in their inboxes, but they don’t expect companies to lie as a tactic to promote an ongoing sale so blatantly.
What many consumers received were emails with something like the following?
“Due to high demand (and steep Black Friday discounts), our site crashed momentarily. It’s back up, though, and you can shop up to 60% off everything!” ... (READ MORE)
Think back to the first time you decided to take your creator career seriously. You face a sea of decisions that can feel paralyzing. It’s no surprise then that one question keeps getting brought up when I talk to creators: How do you break through in a sea of distractions, choices and competition?
I don’t want to talk about an algorithm hack that will get you lots of views today. Rather, it’s important to build for longevity. I’ve noticed that some of the most successful creators started by setting parameters. More specifically, they work from a mindset that maximizes focus. Specifically: Tap into your competitive advantage, and work to become the best at that advantage. ... (READ MORE)
Fact: Everyone likes to wear hoodies.
Fact: Everyone wore hoodies during the pandemic.
Fact: We all love expressing ourselves in different ways.
Fact: Everyone can do with a little positivity in their day-to-day lives.
Combine all these attributes, put them into a wishing well, and what do you get? An optimistic brand that sells positivity-focused clothing, writes Monday motivation quotes, and sells really bright and happy hoodies.
Sounds Awful, right? Or rather, full of awe?
I sat down with Charles (Chaz) Zayed and Emmit Flynn from Awful Cloth to learn about their brand, its messaging, and their strategy for expanding to over 70 countries while in the middle of a pandemic. Here’s what we discussed. ... (READ MORE)
So-called one-click checkout company Bolt underwent another round of sweeping layoffs this week, according to posts from several former employees across Linkedin. (READ MORE)
“It’s a chicken salad.”If this phrase sounds familiar, it’s likely because you’ve heard it used as a trending sound in thousands of videos on TikTok and Instagram over the past several weeks. The entire sound features an exchange between frequent deli goer Nisha Godfrey and owner Wael Herbawi at East 81st Street Deli in Cleveland, Ohio. (READ MORE)
The question isn’t whether or not there’s value in hiring creators—even over celebrities—to promote your brand. There is. The question is: what’s the best way to compensate creators so you can secure more mutually-beneficial partnerships and grow your brand? (READ MORE)
While it’s still early on in the acquisition, folks are complaining on Twitter about Musk, his “sh*tposting” (for a lack of a better term), and these new changes (mostly the pay-for-verification issue.) One community that’s specifically concerned is the Direct-to-Consumer one—a small subset of Twitter where founders, marketers, and operators of eCommerce technology and brands came together and built strong connections over the past several years. ... (READ MORE)
Nibble is a new eCommerce technology company that’s trying to disrupt eCommerce product pricing. The technology brings customer and merchant negotiation into the online shopping experience for Shopify stores. (READ MORE)
NEW YORK & TORONTO—#paid, a multi-channel creator marketing platform that empowers creators to partner with brands and build their businesses, today announced that it has become an official TikTok Marketing Partner. As a badged partner, #paid will bring more great opportunities to their engaged network of content creators and marketers.
“TikTok’s motto is ‘Make TikToks, not ads' because the most successful ads on TikTok aren’t ads,” said Bryan Gold, CEO of #paid. “This partnership provides an opportunity for brands to make more TikToks with the world’s top creators—and run all their creator campaigns, across social channels, from one central location." ... (READ MORE)
I was at a marketing conference last month and heard a panelist tell the crowd that “Creators don’t only have an audience, they’ve built a community.”
This sounds valuable to advertisers but it puts creators at a disadvantage if they haven’t focused on building a community. I was about to raise my hand when another panelist piped up and responded with an important question: “What makes you think all creators have built a community?”
Building audiences has always been a lucrative endeavor. It’s the reason why the amount brands spend on influencer marketing keeps rising. Community is powerful on its own, too. Conferences and online memberships are thriving businesses. This begs the question, do all creators need to build community? ... (READ MORE)
In the second quarter of 2022, the teen-centric clothing brand Hollister was ... not doing very well.
It experienced a 7% year-over-year sales loss. On top of that, its sister labels Gilly Hicks and influencer-led brand Social Tourist reported a 15% decline in sales. Conversely, Hollister’s parent company Abercrombie & Fitch saw a 5% lift in sales.
What was the issue?
After an internal study of sales data, executives at Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch found that brands targeting teens were losing sales. Part of this was due to inflation and the rising cost of living, but they found the key pain point was an age-old reality: most teens simply don’t have much purchasing power. After researching today’s Gen Alpha (teen) consumers, Hollister created the Share2Pay app to tackle this problem. ... (READ MORE)
Grin, a popular creator management platform used by DTC brands like SKIMS, Warby Parker, and Allbirds, was dealt a hard blow last month due to Meta’s new API and service guidelines.
Most Meta-related features have been wiped from the platform, including Instagram creator search.
And that’s barely scratching the surface.
The platform removed unauthenticated Instagram creators along with the campaigns and content they’ve made for partner brands in the past. ... (READ MORE)
While the overall attitude regarding the current economy is lackluster, NRF reports that retail sales will still grow between 6% and 8% to more than the $4.86 trillion recorded in 2022.
Even if consumers are upset by inflation and the current state of the economy, the good news is they are still spending—especially during the upcoming holiday season. In fact, 30% of all retail sales typically happen between BFCM and Christmas.
If you’re an eCommerce brand or retailer, now is the time to double-down and prepare to grow your sales this upcoming season. Here are effective ways you can grow your sales this year, according to eComm industry experts. ... (READ MORE)
Last week I came across a podcast that Cole Bennett, generational music video director and founder of Lyrical Lemonade, was on. What he said caught my attention. “... maybe, success came at the wrong point in their life, or they’re not mentally grounded enough to handle that moment.”
It made me think about TikTok and how it may be negatively impacting the longevity of a creator’s career. Someone new blows up on TikTok every day. We celebrate how quickly you can find success. It sounds nice, but what are the long-term effects? ... (READ MORE)
According to a 2022 Knit Report, Gen Z makes up 40% of the global consumer population and has $600 billion in spending power. The report also states that 72% of Gen Zers think brands need to do a much better job marketing to them—especially if they want to win their loyalty.
Brands are failing to recognize what Gen Z values. As a result, brands miss the mark when trying to engage them through marketing messages. The worst part for brands? They are losing an audience whose buying power will only increase as Gen Zers get older and start making more money. ... (READ MORE)
Unless a shopper can picture him or herself using a product, it’s difficult to validate a buying decision. This is especially true within the eCommerce environment, as shoppers face the hurdle of not being able to touch/feel/try on an item before buying.
So why, then, are so many eCommerce brands still utilizing plain product images on a flat, white background?
Think about it: Would you be more apt to buy a sweater if you just saw an image of it on a white background? Or what if instead, you had the added visual context of the bag being held by a model and styled for different occasions? ... (READ MORE)
If you’re following DTC Twitter, chances are you’ve come across a post praising the new darling of the financial tool world, Parker. Parker describes itself as “an all-in-one financial solution designed specifically for your eCommerce."
According to its website, with Parker you can “track your financial metrics, campaign profitability, and pay all business expenses with a card that can keep up with your growth.” ... READ MORE
How Chipotle partnered with the 'Corn Kid' to produce a short-form video for their social media channels, which is now their highest-performing social media content. ... (READ MORE)
The world of eCommerce marketing is like a jungle, densely packed with mainstream content for as far as the eye can see. You need an appetite for experimentation to survive this saturated eCommerce space and create a standout brand name. With strategically designed marketing experiments, you can create mind-blowing campaigns to deliver a great customer experience that gives consumers a reason to hit the “buy” button. It’s a great way to test your risk tolerance, go beyond generic marketing tactics, and discover new solutions to maximize your marketing ROI. ... (READ MORE)
All creator content isn’t created equal. Consumers don’t want brands to simply throw money around and hire famous faces to promote their products. They want authenticity and content that is synergistic to both the brand and the famous face being used as a spokesperson. ... (READ MORE)
During the Drapers Future of Fashion conference in June 2022, Hilsum, the senior director of product innovation for the luxury fashion global platform Farfetch, took it a step further and shared that the metaverse (along with developing technology) will be “the next stage of luxury shopping.” ... (READ MORE)
So-called one-click checkout company Bolt scored a win today, going live on the Fanatics website.
Fanatics is an American online manufacturer and retailer of licensed sportswear, sports collectibles, NFTs, trading cards, and sports merchandise.
Fanatics is one of the largest websites to join the Bolt network, and it comes at a time when the SaaS has been fighting an uphill battle against lawsuits, layoffs and struggles to raising. ... (READ MORE)
Dating back more than 30,000 years with cave drawings, humans have relied on storytelling to make connections, teach valuable lessons, share raw emotions, and remember important experiences for a long time.
While storytelling isn’t a new form of communication (clearly), it’s only recently that online brands discovered its power to connect them with their consumers in a more meaningful way.
It’s clear that consumers are selective about where they spend their money, and brands that share specific beliefs and values have won the hearts of the modern-day consumer over brands that slap a logo on their product that’s made in the same factory as thousands of others.
But is storytelling the future of DTC? The founders of three modern brands believe it is. ... (READ MORE)
Picture this: You’re lounging poolside at a popular rooftop hotel, cocktail in hand, tagging your location, and posting it to social media. Or maybe you’re finally trying that home meal delivery kit and want to share an unboxing experience with your TikTok followers.
Congratulations, you’ve made what is called user generated content, better known in the marketing world as UGC.
Keep this in mind: We’re talking about UGC coming from customers and brand fans; however, there’s also paid UGC created on behalf of a brand, but that’s a different conversation for another day.
It’s no secret that we tend to trust the content that looks real or authentic on social media.
Mega-influencers and celebrities don’t always have the reach they used to because there’s a general consensus they’re being paid simply to post about a product or service they don’t care about or use. ... (READ MORE)
Brands that sell fully sensory products, especially senses that don’t translate well in a digital setting—taste and smell—have a unique marketing challenge.
After all, how do you successfully sell the sense of smell or taste when customers can’t…well…actually taste or smell your product?
It’s not an easy task, but some brands, like Pura, are still somehow knocking their eCommerce sales out of the park. ... (READ MORE)
Also known as @timesaver9000, Trevor Merchant condenses other people’s often clickbaity or unnecessarily long videos so you won’t have to waste time watching them—hence the username. Trevor has over 2.7 million followers on TikTok and a growing community of fans who feel he is saving lives (on social media, at least). No, really. They’ve said that. With concerns around social media’s impact on mental health and overall well-being, that doesn’t feel like a stretch. ... READ MORE
Latinidad. There’s a certain kind of pride that comes from the Hispanic and Latinx community that I have always admired. It’s a love and celebration of identity that creators are infusing into their stories to make content that embraces their culture and authentic life experiences.
I particularly remember when channels like mitú and Pero Like were launched in 2012 and 2016 to cater to a need for online Hispanic and Latinx content. The content was multicultural and cross-cultural, relatable to those identifying as Hispanic or Latinx and those who just had a love for the stories and could see themselves in them. With the U.S. Hispanic population reaching over 62.1 million in 2020 (an increase of 23% since 2010), there are even more stories to tell. Now media and entertainment brands like Refinery29, Netflix, and HBO Max are following suit with their Latinx community-centric pages like Somos, Con Todo, and Pa’Lante. Now, what do all of these brands have in common aside from celebrating and shining a light on Latinx culture? Creators—the people bringing the content to life. ... (READ MORE)
Furniture retailers see decline in sales, layoffs since height of COVID boom
What do you do when you’re forced to stay home for days, weeks, months at a time?
You make improvements to your home, of course.
With that, in the early days of COVID, furniture sales saw tremendous growth.
In February of 2020, Americans spent $11.3 billion on furniture and home furnishings, and monthly sales grew by 181% over an 11-month period from April 2019 to March 2020, according to Commerce Department data.
However, a cushy new sofa or mattress isn’t always enough to pad the discomfort of inflation and a down economy, and furniture sales are now slowing.
Layoffs have come from the likes of Wayfair, Article and more.
Should brands hire creators over agencies to produce high-fidelity content?
Stats show brands that understand the power of creator influence are winning.
Influencer marketing is booming, driving stellar results, and has an average ROI of $5.78 for every dollar spent. This is one reason why only 39% of marketers planned to grow influencer marketing efforts in 2018, but a whopping 72.5% are increasing their budgets today.
This begs the following questions. If creator content is so effective across social media, should brands be turning to creators for all kinds of high-fidelity content as well? And, is there a benefit to hiring creators directly instead of going the traditional route and hiring an agency?
Well the answer is yes and no. It depends on what you’re looking for.
The pros dive into the topic over at banknotes.co
What’s your sign? How brands are using astrology to start a conversation
If you feel like you’re seeing a lot of marketing campaigns focussed on astrology and the zodiak lately, you’re not alone.
This resurgence in focus on astrology has a lot to do with the movement toward wellness and self-care, and the declining interest in organized religion. As more turn away from traditional religion and delve deeper into spirituality (while still wanting to find a sense of guidance or understanding), the alternative for many is to dive into the varying layers of astrology.
As more become interested in star signs and birth charts, brands are catching on and looking for ways to market products based on zodiac signs.
There’s another motive for brands to do this, too.
Consumers love it when brands ‘get’ them on a personal level. And what’s more personal than offering products or recommendations based on zodiac signs?
Learn more over at banknotes.co
Market research still matters in the world of COVID and eCommerce
In a lot of ways market research is a legacy tactic, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored by brands big and small.
In fact, market research as come a long way from the focus groups of the past.
While formal studies and surveys are still on the table, the host of potential market research channels now open to marketers has grown exponentially.
Those conversations can be happening on traditional social media channels like Facebook and Instagram, or occurring on a Discord channel or on Twitch. Then there are of course sales and customer service calls that can be audited for research, along with one-on-one Zoom sessions.
Head over to banknotes.link/marketresearch to learn more about how market research is evolving.
In February of 2020, Americans spent $11.3 billion on furniture and home furnishings, and monthly sales grew by 181% over an 11-month period from April 2019 to March 2020, according to Commerce Department data.
However, a cushy new sofa or mattress isn’t always enough to pad the discomfort of inflation and a down economy, and furniture sales are now slowing.
“We saw an acceleration in sales throughout the pandemic which began to taper late last year. Sales have seen a decline into the second quarter of 2022 and have stabilized over the third quarter,” says Jordan England, co-founder and CEO of eCommerce furniture company Industry West. ... (READ MORE)
If you feel like you’re seeing a lot of marketing campaigns focussed on astrology and the zodiak lately, you’re not alone.
This resurgence in focus on astrology has a lot to do with the movement toward wellness and self-care, and the declining interest in organized religion. As more turn away from traditional religion and delve deeper into spirituality (while still wanting to find a sense of guidance or understanding), the alternative for many is to dive into the varying layers of astrology. ... (READ MORE)
Brands are constantly on the lookout for the next marketing technique.
From using organic social to paid media, there’s one thing every brand would love to improve: the ROI.
As much as influencer marketing and working with creators is a growing trend for most eCommerce brands, there are still plenty of options to create brand awareness, drive traffic back to websites or landing pages, and build a community.
One such technique, often referred to as whitelisting, creator licensing, or creator listing (really, various terms mean the same thing here), has shown to be beneficial for particular brands. ... (READ MORE)
Welcome to this week’s episode of Banknotes news for the week of September 9, 2022.
Each week we provide a short rundown of what we’re keeping our eye on across eCommerce, retail and the creator economy. You can always check banknotes.co for daily articles and insights from across the industry and subscribe to our channel wherever you download your podcasts.
So here’s what we’re keeping tabs on this week …
DTC brands turn to crowdfunding investments as recession looms
Recession looms, inflation is at a 40-year record high, and supply-chain issues and advertising uncertainty abound. As a result, DTC brands are facing a VC funding drought.
But it's not all doom and gloom.
Several DTC brands are turning to alternative, crowdfunding options to raise capital.
Learn more over at banknotes.link/crowdfunding
Influencer and publisher whitelisting is all the rage: And it works!
Brands are constantly on the lookout for the next marketing technique.
One such technique, often referred to as whitelisting, creator licensing, or creator listing (really, various terms mean the same thing here), has shown to be beneficial for particular brands.
In a nutshell, whitelisting is this: creators and publishers give access to their social platforms (usually Facebook and Instagram, though TikTok is growing) so brands can upload and boost posts.
Learn more over at banknotes.link/whitelisting
Chris Meade and how CROSSNET is creating a new sports category
Chris Meade is not only marketing a product, he's creating a new sport!
Through CROSSNET he's brought 'four square' to volleyball, soccer and pickleball; and he's done it all without raising venture money.
CROSSNET products are now sold in Dick's Sporting Goods and TARGET among others and it's even been featured on ESPN.
Read more about CROSSNET over at banknotes.link/crossnet
The uncertainty in the current eCommerce environment along with the pullback from VCs has led to tougher sledding for brands looking to raise capital rounds. But it’s not all doom and gloom.Over the past month, a group of community-driven DTC brands has turned to crowdfunding as a means to fuel growth. Obvi, CROSSNET, and Wunderkeks publicly launched investment rounds targeting different audiences—from customers, friends, and family to DTC founders and angels. ... (READ MORE)
In a lot of ways market research is a legacy tactic, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored by brands big and small.
In fact, market research as come a long way from the focus groups of the past.
While formal studies and surveys are still on the table, the host of potential market research channels now open to marketers has grown exponentially.
Just as the expansion of the internet necessitated search engines for content discovery, the early expansion of the American book trade necessitated book publishers for the acquisition, development, and positioning of books in different genres. As the market for potential readers within a literate middle class grew, book publishers who were traditionally resistant to the free market started to apply their artistic creativity to the promotion of their books. ... (READ MORE)
No one has mastered the art of emoting the feeling of all three like Leo González—a comedian and content creator from Hanford, Ca. He has already caught the attention of public figures like George Lopez and Will Smith with his POV-style comedy videos and has amassed more than 2.5 million followers on TikTok and over half a million on Instagram. There is no doubt that Leo is on the fast track to becoming a star on social media platforms and beyond. ... (READ MORE)
If you want to stay competitive in the world of eCommerce, you need to understand how social media algorithms work, how they’re changing, and how this will affect the way you market your business on social media.
According to a 2021 survey by Statista, more than nine out of 10 businesses in North America reported moving more of their eCommerce efforts to social media. At the time of the survey, 73% of those businesses were already selling through social media. ... (READ MORE)
In today’s digital age, the term “creator” has been taken hostage by those with a critical mass of followers and who make money exclusively from growing an audience.
But the reality is that being a creator doesn’t mean you have to have hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers, and being an influencer doesn’t mean you’re qualified to ‘create.’ ... (READ MORE)
Welcome to this week’s episode of Banknotes news for the week of August 25, 2022.
Each week we provide a short rundown of what we’re keeping our eye on across eCommerce, retail and the creator economy. You can always check banknotes.co for daily articles and insights from across the industry and subscribe to our channel wherever you download your podcasts.
So here’s what we’re keeping tabs on this week …
Wayfair announces layoffs
Online future giant Wayfair this week announced it was laying off 5% of its workforce, about 900 jobs.
"We were seeing the tailwinds of the pandemic accelerate the adoption of e-commerce shopping, and I personally pushed hard to hire a strong team to support that growth," CEO Niraj Shah wrote in an letter to employees. "This year, that growth has not materialized as we had anticipated. Our team is too large for the environment we are now in, and unfortunately we need to adjust."
This announcement comes on the heels of Canadian DTC furniture leader Article also announcing significant layoffs.
Yeezy Gap merchandising: Insensitive or innovative?
You may have heard a bit about Kanye West going retail and offering his clothing like at GAP.
Well that clothing line showed up not on shelves but in black, garbage-like bags in the stores.
The Internet was flooded with headlines about the Yeezy x Gap clothes in 'trash bags,' so the famous rapper had to address the controversy. According to Ye, those were not trash bags but rather large construction bags, and the clothes were placed inside to make dressing easier for customers.
Read more over at banknotes.co on whether this is smart merchandising or a social experiment.
Creators without influence can still benefit your brand
In today’s digital age, the term “creator” has been taken hostage by those with a critical mass of followers and who make money exclusively from growing an audience.
But the reality is that being a creator doesn’t mean you have to have hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers, and being an influencer doesn’t mean you’re qualified to ‘create.’
BANKNOTES writer Ashley Cummings dove into ways brands can work with creators regardless of how many followers they have.
Read more over at banknotes.co
Peloton rides over to Amazon
In a surprise move Peloton has decided to sell its exercise bikes and other fitness products and clothing on Amazon.
After months of mounting losses and supply-chain issues, the deal with Amazon is an effort for Peloton to get itself back on the right track and shore up sales.
“Post-COVID, the retail environment is continuing to evolve, and that’s something that we’re trying to understand better to make sure the Peloton of the future is calibrated appropriately for that,” Peloton Chief Commercial Officer Kevin Cornils told CNBC. “We want to make it as easy as possible to get a Peloton.”
Don’t forget to sign up for the upcoming BANKNOTES webinar, which will unpack how to get started on market research.
Join BANKNOTES editor in chief Ian Leslie as he speaks with Rachel Swanson, founder & principal at Method + Mode.
Swanson will discuss the importance of market research and how best for any business, regardless of size, to get started with a research project. Sign up for the webinar at banknotes.link/webinars
Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of BANKNOTES NEWS. Subscribe to stay on top of the latest digital trends for ecommerce, retail, and the creator economy.
See you next week.
Social media manager may be one of the most thankless jobs in marketing.
In addition to being a marketer, customer service rep, and eCommerce generalist, you also have to stay on top of the changes to the platforms: Which seem to come every day!
In fact, the world of social media is always changing. The trick to staying on top of social media is to watch for the changes that look less like tweaks and more like big friggin’ deals.
Here’s just some of what’s come down the pike over the past couple of weeks. ... (READ MORE)
Armed with a community of more than 1.5 million followers, a newly-released cookbook (more on that later), and a ring light and iPhone, Candice and Mari are carving their own path as creators and putting their sisterhood at the forefront. I recently interviewed the duo to learn more about their relationship, how they went viral, and their path to becoming creators. ... (READ MORE)
It’s no wonder Alisha Ether, also known as LeeshCapeesh across social media, is rapidly gaining a loyal fandom.
While her gaming skills are on point and it’s a riot to watch her play, her fun personality is what makes me continue to avidly consume her content. She’s conversational, warm, and absolutely hilarious.
So, when I heard LeeshCapeesh was going to be at the Creator Economy Expo in AZ, I immediately reached out to her for an interview. ... (READ MORE)
Traditionally, people have sought answers to these big questions from spiritual gurus, religious leaders, palm readers, prophets, books, community groups (sometimes cults), nature, psychedelics, and other physical sources.
But, with the advent of the Internet, the growth of the Creator Economy, and the rise of TikTok as a source of information, spiritual enlightenment is innovating right along with popular technology. ... (READ MORE)
Imagine scrolling through your feed, mindlessly sifting through photos and Reels, then suddenly your attention is overtaken by the warm, luxurious, and fantastical beauty of traditional, Southeast Asian garments and patterns. This is the experience I had when a reel from content creator, Anthony Gomes, popped into my Instagram feed in early 2021. Since then, I have not only become a fan of his eye for creative production but I have also admired his ability to transport me to the lush lakes and glamorous gardens of Sylhet, Bangladesh, all while sitting in the comfort of my home. Now my usual work attire is a palate of neutral colors and earth tones, but Anthony has managed to convince me that I need to show up to my next Zoom meeting adorned in a vibrantly colored saree and my finest gold jewelry. He is what I would consider a whole vibe. ... (READ MORE)
Investment in the metaverse isn’t slowing down!
This week, Metaverse focussed company TerraZero announced a partnership with tech, gaming and AI media and event company VentureBeat. The two companies will build a Metaverse event center and corporate showcase environment in Decentraland.
As companies continue to invest in Metaverse projects, consumers continue to engage. 74% of US adults are joining or considering joining the Metaverse. And, by 2026, 25% of people will spend an hour in the Metaverse per day.
Another week, another round of updates to social media platforms that marketers need to keep an eye on.
A lot’s been happening in social media recently, but not all of it is going to be earth-shattering. Recent trends—like Facebook getting away from long-form video—highlight why social media diversification is key.
BANKNOTES took a deep dive into the latest updates across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat.
Believe it or not, Cyber Week is right around the corner.
And though the economy has slowed, there’s still billions in potential revenue up for grabs during the holiday shopping season
Brands can’t underestimate the importance of creator marketing when planning their cyber week campaigns.
In fact, consumers are 71% more likely to buy products after seeing positive reviews on their social networks.
BANKNOTES breaks down how to get the most out of your creator campaigns for Cyber Week over at banknotes.link/cyberweek
New entrant emerges in DTC dog food market
A new brand focused on "empowering dog parents to prepare home-cooked meals for their dogs" has launched online and is trying to upend a busy direct-to-consumer (DTC) pet-food vertical.
Finix announce $30M in funding
Payments provider Finix today announced it has raised $30M in new capital, bringing its total funding to $133M.
"New and existing investors chose to back Finix thanks to the growth we’ve shown in the last six months, including Q2 2022 being our best quarter ever in terms of new deals closed," the fintech company said in a Wednesday blog post. ... (READ MORE)
This week on BANKNOTES News:
A new social media account and website is looking to shine a light on the influencer pay gap.
F You Pay Me’s mission is to bring more transparency, accountability, and fairness to the influencer industry, and to make sure influencers get paid what they’re worth.
Learn more over at banknotes.link/fypm
A new brand focused on "empowering dog parents to prepare home-cooked meals for their dogs" has launched online and is trying to upend a busy direct-to-consumer (DTC) pet-food vertical.
According to its website, Dog Child exists to "improve the quality of your dog’s life through easy home cooking and make it as special as it is to make homemade meals for your family.
Payments provider Finix today announced it has raised $30M in new capital, bringing its total funding to $133M.
This latest funding round for Finix comes on the heels of a May announcement that the company, which previously was focussed on helping businesses become their own payment companies, had transitioned to becoming a PayFac (payment facilitator) itself.
You’ve heard all the success stories of content creators turned business owners. Chris Grayson is one such success story. He started his career as a content creator in the gaming industry, and his success led him to start InfluencerMade, a hub with the resources aspiring creators need to experience success. ... (READ MORE)
While the creator-led economy opens the door for individuals to make more money than they made in traditional roles, the answer isn’t black in white in regard to how much any influencers are actually making (male or female).
Rates are all over the place and there’s little transparency into what (and if) brands pay influencers, making it difficult for influencers to understand their monetary value.
@MsYoungProfess, founder of F*** You Pay Me (FYPM) created FYPM in response to this problem. The organization’s mission is to bring more transparency, accountability, and fairness to the influencer industry, and to make sure influencers get paid what they’re worth. ... (READ MORE)
It’s no secret that social media has an effect on our mental health. From the dopamine reward we get every time our phone lights up with a notification to the FOMO-induced depression that comes when we swipe through Instagram stories, we all know that social media can impact our moods and our minds.
But we also live in a world in which being a content creator is a dream career for many. Being a content creator means being online often, crafting a career on addictive social media platforms, and subjecting oneself to 24/7 scrutiny. The negative mental health implications that social media has on users is even more amplified for content creators. ... (READ MORE)
Over the past couple of months YETI—known for their line of coolers, bags and a host of other outdoor products aimed at keeping your drinks and food cold—has put out several Instagram stories featuring products that have been through the ringer.
For instance the brand has posted examples of coolers that have survived (well at least they're still recognizable) boat fires and being dragged 20 miles along the highway. Another video shows a water bottle that was pulled out of a truck fire and still had ice in it. ... (READ MORE)
A new Govalo x Recharge integration makes it possible for merchants who have built a successful gifting program to capture all the benefits of both gifting and subscription commerce. ... (READ MORE)
This week on BANKNOTES News: In marketing: Authenticity is everything!
Learn about how YETI is leveraging authentic user generated content (UGC) to attract social media viewers and prove its product stands up to the worst situations.
Also this week:
BeReal: What’s the appeal of Gen Z’s new fave app
Shopify invests in marketing automation platform Klaviyo
Gifting platform, Govalo, launches new integration with Recharge
From mega-influencer celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Gwen Stefani to creators like Emma Chamberlain and the D’Amelio sisters—influencer-founded DTC brands are the next big thing in ecommerce. ... (READ MORE)
This week on BANKNOTES News for July 28, 2022:
- Yes it’s almost time to go back to school
- The growth of the community manager role
- Shopify announces losses and round of layoffs
- Instagram finds itself in the crosshairs
- DTC brands founded by influencers: The future is now
TikTok's Gay Bestie, Luke Franchina, talks about his content strategy, how he found his unique voice and offers his advice to fellow creators. ... (READ MORE)
The cost of running ads across Facebook and Instagram continues to dip as CPMs decreased year-over-year when comparing July 1-4, repeating the CPM declines that were seen over Memorial Day weekend. ... (READ MORE)
Tune in for Episode 1 of BANKNOTES news!
Each we’ll be provide a short rundown of what we’re keeping our eye on across eCommerce, retail and the creator economy. You can always check banknotes.co for daily articles and insights from across the industry and subscribe to our channel wherever you download your podcasts.
Read more over at http://banknotes.co/
Listen in as leaders in the fintech and eCommerce space discuss the future of payment not just across websites but in retail and around the world.
Featured speakers are Osayame Gaius, founder and CEO of the mobile commerce platform, Parrot; and Mason Lin, founder of checkout platform Pockyt.
Or watch the interview online at: https://hashtagpaid.com/banknotes/ecommerce-payments-its-about-making-life-easier-for-consumers
They come every year without fail: Back-to-school sales and ads.
Let's be honest—most people could live without the constant barrage of ads everywhere.
With $37 billion in revenue up for grabs this season, you can bet brands are going to be all over back-to-school ads.
So how do you make your brand stand out in the noise of back-to-school ads?
One way is collaborating with creators. ... (READ MORE)
Instagram versus TikTok: Which platform is better for turning content creators into successful independent businesses?
This article was going to answer that question. But it turns out that was the wrong question—because the answer is that they both suck.
Instagram and TikTok are doing anything they can to attract creators. Anything, that is, except the one thing that would create a fair value exchange between platform and creator: partial ownership of the platform company. ... (READ MORE)
Title IX has created many opportunities for women on and off the field. Fifty years after it’s been passed into law, there are still areas where equality is lacking. However, progress is being made. ... (READ MORE)
Here are the top soccer creators you need keep your eyes on leading up to and during the upcoming World Cup. ... (READ MORE)
As more and more DTC brands start moving into retail stores (and legacy brands move toward adding a DTC arm to the company), there’s going to be a blurring of the lines – making it essential for brands to incorporate a variety of sales channels into a strategy in order to remain competitive. ... (READ MORE)
Today, Gwella launched its latest product, Mojo Macro, which the company says is a “supercharged evolution of their original Mojo Microdose chewable gummy, containing 2.5X the amount of active ingredients.” ... (READ MORE)
It was only in the 1970s that government regulators would finally begin to listen to the medical community and restrict cigarette advertising in any meaningful way. But does that mean cigarette advertising stopped? ... (READ MORE)
Ashley Pradhan and Cierra Valor know this, and that’s why they created IN BOLD PRINT—a platform that evaluates the impact a product has on the planet and gives brands and their products a grade. The grades and badges are displayed on a brand's website and customers are able to sort products by their sustainability score. ... (READ MORE)
At the end of the day, Web 3 isn’t going anywhere though its adoption may be a bit slower than advertised, and all of this needs to be considered as you prepare your company for the future, considering that the global eCommerce market will expand by $1 trillion by 2025. ... (READ MORE)
To help bring conversations from and center, TooD (short for attitude) Beauty is taking the teen magazine playbook and flipping it on its head.
Designed to cultivate engagement around various topics while highlighting related products, TooD Beauty is using nostalgia for teen magazines to create content for both the website and social platforms. ... (READ MORE)
From CPA at a top VC fund to a small business owner, Sarah Moret is no stranger to thinking big.
During her time on a VC fund’s investment board, Sarah met with founders from all over the world. Inspired by their determination to bring their visions to life, she realized that if she wanted to, she could do the same.
Her eventual foray into the life of a founder was the result of a frustration with natural body products that didn’t work–aluminum-free deodorant being the number one culprit. Increasingly frustrated by the lack of effective products on the market, she decided she’d develop her own…and that’s how Curie was born. ... (READ MORE)
How often should I post? Should I post the same content twice? Should I post the same content in different places? That’s what I’ve heard being asked by marketing operators at small and large brands.
If your brand is spending thousands on getting content from influencers, should brands be looking for ways to repurpose that content. Yes. Especially with marketing budgets shrinking. Why pay your agency for more creative, when your expert influencers have already made it for you?
You don’t need to just rely on your agency or in-house team for fresh creative assets. Your influencers are content creators—work with them to reuse their incredible photos, videos, stories—and anything else they’re creating for you. It’s a great way to increase your asset library, without having to ask your CEO or CMO for more budget?
Here are some of the most creative ways brands are extending the life of their creator content from Amazon listing, pinterest, and email marketing. ... (READ MORE)
In the last few years, we’ve seen creators informally attempt to make people aware of their workload with behind-the-scenes footage and explainer content. But this hasn’t been enough. The creator space is still a wild west industry vulnerable to exploitative pay rates, harassment without recourse, and inequities for marginalized people.
With 500,000 active influencers on Instagram alone, this leaves a significant portion of the working population vulnerable to poor labor conditions.
Now creators are pushing back with more aggressive organization efforts. They’re fighting for union representation. Online communities and formal organizations are creating pay transparency. Marginalized creators are advocating for equitable pay and protection from harassment. ... (READ MORE)
43 percent of people say they recently changed their digital behavior to "protect their algorithm or identity," according to the 2022 Visions Report just released by the retail media research startup Future Commerce.
The themes and finding of the Visions Report were based on an online survey with 1,000 consumers across the United Stated between the ages of 18 and 64. The survey was conducted in May 2022 and all respondents were screened for shopping behaviors, personally earned income, and digital savviness. ... (READ MORE)
With creators playing an ever-increasing role in marketing across all verticals, it was just a matter of time before they found their way into live sporting events: And the major networks are taking notice.
Sports entities are being forced to make their games more engaging, using eSports codes, gamification strategies, pushing daily fantasy, interactive experiences, and sports betting. Simply put, Gen Z doesn’t want to just sit back and watch traditional sports broadcasts. Alternative broadcasts allow viewers to essentially watch a live podcast with the game playing on the screen at the same time. ... (READ MORE)
The trend of eCommerce brands moving off of so-called enterprise content management solutions—like Adobe Commerce (previously Magento) and Salesforce Commerce Cloud is continuing in earnest, with several websites announcing their move to Shopify over just the past couple of weeks. ... (READ MORE)
From sharing behind-the-scenes news and trends in respective categories to highlighting and sharing the latest marketing insight, there’s plenty of room for podcasts as long as there’s value to both the brand and the listener. ... (READ MORE)
We already know creators have influence over niche communities on single platforms. On YouTube, 22,000 creators have reached the one million followers threshold. On Instagram, 500,000 have achieved 100,000 followers or more.
But once you’ve reached the summits of creator success on your platform, where’s the space to grow? If you feel tapped out by the possibilities present in your current community or current platform, it can be difficult to explain trends like this:
The truth is, even after you hit mega-success as a creator, there’s always somewhere to go. Recent boosts in digital technology have poured money into just about anything creators can touch: digital retail, crypto and NFT initiatives, even TV streaming. ... (READ MORE)
TikTok took the world by storm—and not just with platform users, but with businesses as well.
From being seen as just one more social media channel to becoming an important part of every successful brand’s marketing playbook—TikTok has revolutionized social media marketing. By the end of 2022, TikTok’s ad revenue is expected to triple, and they’re projected to own 20% of the social media market share, according to CNBC.
As with most social media platforms, things change quickly here and trends evolve at a rapid pace. The good news: We’ve gathered some of the top TikTok trends brands need to know about in 2022. (READ MORE)
Active and engaged users spend considerable time on TikTok, making it a powerful tool for brand awareness. And marketers have quickly caught on, launching creative, fun, and viral campaigns that generate impressive results.
QYOU, for example, launched a viral multi-phased campaign for “Sing 2.” It was a smashing success. The campaign drove 26.4 million views, 2.2 million engagements, and a 9% engagement rate on posts featuring key characters, music, and messaging. ... (READ MORE)
Long before pictures of models with washboard abs adorned the front of Abercrombie stores in malls across America, Abercrombie & Fitch started as a retailer selling outdoor gear and equipment in New York City.
For a serious dive into the history and timeline of the brand, head over to Abercrombie & Fitch’s approach to marketing: then and now; but first, let’s back up the reason why we’re even talking about this brand.
At one point, it looked like Abercrombie was as good as gone. ... (READ MORE)
Faced with driving inflation and continued uncertainty along the international supply-chain, retailers and etailers are aligned in their uncertainty over how beneficial Memorial Day sales will be in filling their cash coffers.
It was only last month that Salesforce reported a year-over-year decline in global digital sales for Q1 2022 as recorded by its Shopping Index, the first-ever decline in the nine-year history of the index. ... (READ MORE )
Even though consumers spend an average of seven hours a day online, it’s more challenging than ever for marketers to get digital mileage out of their efforts.
Consumers are being inundated with an average of 10K ads a day across all platforms and they’re not happy about it. In fact, 91% of people believe ads are more intrusive now compared to two or three years ago, and 79% believe they’re being tracked by retargeted ads.
As such, it’s common practice for online buyers to ignore ads, install blockers, hide sponsored posts, decline cookies, unsubscribe from lists, and participate in other actions that reduce irrelevant exposure to brands. ... (READ MORE)
“Mr. Condom” may not have been the nickname Mechai Viravaidya aspired to have, but it’s the one he got — and he’s honored.
In 1974, Thailand tackled poverty with an unconventional approach: promoting the use of condoms. That same year, the average Thai family had seven children. Women didn’t have many opportunities outside the home, and supporting a large family was next to impossible on small wages during a recession. ... (READ MORE)
Most of your customers will trust your brand’s “About Us” page as far as they can throw the writer. We all know marketing and slick copy when we see it.
But people still trust each other. That’s why DTC brands that leverage user-generated content are thriving.
Take Viome, for instance. They’re a health and wellness company on a mission to digitize the human microbiome and solve chronic illnesses. They do this by sending a self-testing kit to your home, analyzing your blood and stool samples, and sending back personalized data, health recommendations, and a custom list of supplements designed uniquely for your biology. ... (READ MORE)
In an eCommerce world constantly shouting about faster website launches and one-click checkout, Kelsey Hunter is betting on an economy not dependent on websites but rather conversions via direct messages across social media.
As founder and CEO of Paloma, Hunter has long understood the power of DMs. In 2018 she launched Paloma’s first product, which allows merchants to connect their backend catalog with their Facebook and Instagrams DMs. This essentially streamlined the discovery process for customers who engaged with brands via DMs, pointing them to the right products and aiding them in checkout. ... (READ MORE)
If you’re a TikTok fan, you’ve likely seen awesome ads from creators promoting up-and-coming movies.
You may have even participated in some of the viral, movie-related TikTok trends, including the “Voice of Ghostface” sound, the “Big Red Dog” effect on TikTok, or the branded “#GhostYourProblems” effect.
When I learned how QYOU leverages TikTok’s tools to partner with creators on viral social media campaigns for some of the most beloved pop culture films, I knew I had to talk to their team. ... (READ MORE)
Instagram is officially doubling-down on its product tagging feature, recently announcing it will be rolling out the functionality to all users in the United States, no longer reserving it for just brands.
Instagram has already well documented how an increased cadence of tagging increases a brand’s on-site conversion rate: Tag a product at least five times across a month’s time and almost double your purchases, per Instagram. ... (READ MORE)
Ecommerce personalization and customer experience platform Nosto has announced the release of shoppable Instagram functionality, adding its product to a growing market of softwares looking to help brands make the most of their creator partnerships and user generated content.
“Our new Shoppable Instagram module lets brands repurpose Instagram (IG) content to be featured across their online stores and made ‘shoppable’ (in other words, can be tagged with products that shoppers can click through to in streamlining their paths-to-purcahse),” a Nosto blog post states. “Shoppable Instagram lets brands pull from the visuals they’re tagged in on IG, are mentioned in, as well as those they’ve posted themselves.” ... (READ MORE)
Tampax didn’t invent the tampon. Throughout history, women have been soaking up their periods with everything from paper (Japan) to moss (Europe).
Earle Haas, however, did invent the first tampon with an applicator. In the late 1920s, Haas, an osteopathic physician who struck it rich with his previous invention of a flexible ring for a contraceptive diaphragm, wanted to invent a better period product than the rags his wife used every month to manage her period. ... (READ MORE)
There are two ways to think about Anine Bing: as the influencer-turned-brand-owner or the brand itself.
Regardless of which you choose, you’re bound to be impressed by the trajectory of Bing’s influence over fashion and social media.
Like millions (literally) before me, I first learned about the Anine (pronounced A-nina) Bing brand on Instagram. From the editorial feed to classic styling, Anine Bing Official strikes that perfect balance between curated feed and the use of trending tools to keep followers engaged and interested. ... (READ MORE)
How brands position and talk about cultivated meat — meat that was grown from animal stem cells — will in part flow from how it’s regulated. In the United States, regulators aren’t sure how to classify cultivated meat. Is it science or is it food? The answer matters because the FDA regulates foods that are the product of cell culture, whereas meat is regulated by USDA. ... (READ MORE)
Remember when Slack launched and enthusiasts thought it would make us all more productive? They couldn’t have been more wrong. Now we struggle to keep up with our Slack messages while our inboxes continue to overflow.
Something similar happened to women during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Between 1860–1965, we saw the invention and mass adoption of the electric washing machine, dishwasher, and vacuum cleaner. Paper towels reduced the amount of rags to clean. Liquid soap and germ-killing disinfectant sprays made it easier to sanitize surfaces. ... (READ MORE)
While brands still often recruit celebrities for big marketing campaigns, superstars aren’t the only—or best—option for building brand credibility anymore.
With the advent of social media and the rise in creator fandoms, brands are now turning to creators for endorsements. What’s more, many creators lend greater clout to a brand than big celebrities do. ... (READ MORE)
Brands and creators are partnering to leverage TikTok’s creative power—and the results are eye-popping. With a recent TikTok report outlining impressive results from these partnerships, there’s no time like the present to team up with your favorite creators to establish social proof, boost brand and product awareness, and increase sales. ... (READ MORE)
Most people would argue that in any relationship—whether platonic, romantic or somewhere in-between—communication is the key to success. This idea can be applied to relationships between brands and content creators as well. With more brands wanting to get their message delivered to consumers, the battle for visibility is making it harder for them to stand out. Additionally, with a multitude of content-based, digital platforms (i.e. Instagram, Twitch, YouTube, etc.) to choose from, marketers need help. ... (READ MORE)
The NFL's Washington Commanders have named social media influencer Katie Feeney the team's first-ever 'Social Media Correspondent.'
Feeney's collective Instagram/TikTok audience of 7.6 million people well exceeds that of the Commanders, which sits at about 2.5 million. ... (READ MORE)
Oh, Cyberpunk 2077. Why’d you need to represent everything that’s wrong with the gaming industry?
Maybe we needed a reminder that creating a beloved game means prioritizing development over marketing. Maybe we needed a meaningful conversation about the disconnect between upper management and development teams at gaming companies. Maybe we needed to acknowledge that decisions made based on profit alone sometimes produce a bad product.
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most expensive games ever made, with a production cost of $174 million and a marketing budget of $142 million. While it may be normal for a game’s marketing budget to take up 45% of its total costs, Cyberpunk 2077 is at least a cautionary tale about what can go wrong when a game’s hype-cycle is more important than the product’s quality. ... (READ MORE)
On a bright, dusty day in the fall of 2018, Samir Chaudry stood at the Grand Canyon on the precipice of a dream realized. He had gone, he would later reflect, from working in a “cockroach-infested warehouse” as a fledgling content creator to here, in the red Arizona dirt, filming the actor Will Smith leap via bungee cord from a hovering helicopter. ... (READ MORE)
The days of celebrity and creator being one and the same are over. It’s time to embrace a new class of creators – something called the ‘creator middle class’. Ask anyone to list off a roster of top creators and you’ll get a mix of names depending on which platform they frequent.
From Mr. Beast and Ryan’s World on YouTube (with a combined 100 million subscribers) to Charlie D’Amelio and Addison Rae on TikTok, these creators have hit celebrity status in terms of popularity and earnings.
But what about the two million-plus creators who run professional-level productions? And there’s more: Influencer Marketing Hub states there are an estimated 50 million individuals out there who consider themselves to be part of the creator economy.
From Twitch to Instagram, YouTube to TikTok, platforms are evolving. Along with the rapid growth of platforms like TikTok, for example, comes a wave of new tools and resources to help creators get their start.
Of 50 million creators out there, 46.7 million identify as ‘amateurs’ – those who are making money as creators but not gaining enough income to step away from regular paychecks.
That’s where a ‘creator middle class’ comes into play.
As more creators step onto respective platforms and carve out a niche of the market, there’s going to be a need for more attention to be placed on this sector of the creator economy.
In 2020, Li Jin wrote an article for Harvard Business Review titled, ‘The Creator Economy Needs a Middle Class.’
Source: Business Insider
In the piece, Jin highlights much of the changing behaviors as popularity for social media platforms – and the desire to create content – has grown. Here are just some of the impressive statistics highlighted:
- 30% of kids (between the ages of eight and 12) want to be YouTubers/Creators when they grow up.
- Monthly AdSense checks for David Dobrik, a popular YouTube creator, hit approximately $275,000 for every 60 million views.
- TikTok creator, Charli D’Amelio, was worth a whopping $4 million dollars at age 16.
And it’s not just video creators making this kind of splash in the creator economy, either. Top writers and creators on Substack pull in at least $7 million dollars annually, according to the Harvard Business Review.
But is having a creator middle class really that important? Actually, yes, and here’s why:
Aside from spreading the wealth and avoiding a few big names from monopolizing space across various platforms, there are other benefits to paying attention to this emerging segment.
- There’s increased trust when promoting products or services
- A healthy sense of competition exists, driving improvement and innovation across the board
- Demand for products is stabilized over time rather than gaining fleeting attention
- Social platforms actually grow and become stronger when there’s an equal opportunity
One example of this is Vine (RIP).
Source: Dextero
Despite its massive growth and short-form video content format (not to mention the 200+ million users), the platform ultimately lost creators as they moved to platforms like Snap, Instagram, and YouTube. Why? These platforms started to create tools and monetization opportunities for creators.
Where Vine failed, TikTok succeeded.
But that’s not to say that any of the current platforms are a utopia for creators, either. Creators on TikTok are noticing the discrepancy between payments and as the platform continues to grow it will be even harder for creators to stand out.
Here’s a takeaway: There will always be popular figures in the creator economy. Whether on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, high-level creators will continue to emerge. But in order to move forward and create innovation, a middle-class creator economy needs to exist.
The Creator Economy is ChangingWith over 50 million content creators coming up with new ways to engage audiences every day, the face of the creator economy is has been changing for a while. While most of us are tired of hearing about the pandemic, it has played a major role in accelerating the growth of the middle-class community on social media.
While only the top 2% of creators retain a vast majority of revenue, the creator middle class is finding its place and learning how to succeed. As the social media landscape changes, the rise of small business-like content entrepreneurs is starting to take a bigger, more important role. And unlike influencers with an overly large fan base, the creator middle class is taking an approach that is resonating with the industry.
What does this look like?
It’s all about being more approachable and offering a different type of content that might not currently be as profitable as the revenue generated by more famous creators. This can be seen in the growing demand for micro and nano influencers.
As more creators tap into the market and use the available tools or platforms, the middle-class segment of the creator economy will continue to grow.
Who is considered the creator ‘middle class?’While most social media platforms offer the ability to become a content creator, the creator middle class is looking at things a little differently. Rather than relying on existing entities to release their content, they are taking ownership of their content. Although they still must rely on participating with and paying third-party software, unlike regular creators, the middle class is opting to retain ownership of the things they publish. In other words, middle-class creators are taking their already existing entrepreneurial skills and turning them into personalized content. We see this with creators connecting with users through paid-for newsletters and exclusive communities.
As the creator economy has grown, creators have started to realize that what they develop is more than just content they upload to a platform. This shift in going from influencer to creator has also helped creators understand that what they have to offer is not much different from any other service provider.
Operating more like a small business than an influencer offers the ability to turn interests and personal pursuits into fully branded content.
Growth and the creator middle class From music teachers to eBook writers and software engineers, the creator middle class has a much broader appeal than more narrowed advertorial content.
While some middle-class creators are looking for a part-time income, others are quite successfully utilizing their everyday skills to make a living. And the industry is adjusting.
Sites that allow direct payment like WordPress and Twitch are changing the way that creators make money. Rather than relying on an algorithm that pushes views toward the top tier of creators, monetization is becoming more accessible.
From sites like Patreon that offer subscriptions to TikTok tip jars, monetization is moving away from algorithm-based hits to digital gifts or payments that go directly to the creator.
The future of creators: how brands should work with this segment of the creator ecosystem Brands looking to take advantage of the transition from mega influencers to a creator middle class are destined to reap some of the same benefits.
Source: Digital MR
Influencers might thrive on popularity rather than trust, but the shoe is on the other foot with middle class creators. Creators in this tier offer a lot of educational expertise and brands can rely on trustworthy material that speaks in their brand’s voice.
Because those on the top-earning tiers suffer from a flash-in-the-pan style of earning, brands can also benefit from longer-term relationships with the creator middle class.
When brands invest in this level of creator, the obligation doesn’t end with popular content. By hiring skilled creators who are not necessarily looking to rake in six figures, there’s a greater opportunity for long-term work and tailored continuing education.
Expectations for the Creator Middle ClassAlthough the creator middle class is still gaining notoriety, more and more corporations and tech giants are noticing.
As the industry moves away from content that’s owned by a platform to content that’s privately produced and published, it creates independence that allows for a lot of future flexibility.
With growth expected to continue to foster niche creators, it’s expected that there will be another shift in the future.
Trends are showing that media companies will begin to seek and employ content talent on a more specialized and granular level. Deeper than that, it’s expected to morph into more specialized outlets for specific industries.
Rather than the freelance free-for-all creators are experiencing now, content houses and influencer agencies are expected to tailor the current state of affairs to become even more profitable.
At present, the top 90th percentile of creators makes over $70,000 a year, but it’s forecasted to become a much more evened out number. The rise of the middle class is all but certain to level the playing field. Rather than rely on a near-celebrity status to monetize, the creator middle class relies on their skills and the future of content that they’ll be able to bring to the table.
The creator middle class might just be starting to see exponential growth, but it’s projected to become another cornerstone of digital marketing.
As more and more brands invest in the specialized content expertise of these creators, the middle-class tier will continue to expand…creating even more of a demand.
March 2020 was eye-opening in more ways than one.
For me, I learned how much I appreciate in-person school and how absurd the idea of online public school is for my children.
The evidence?
The Atlantic ran a story about how remote learning was a bust for many children, but here’s a peek into my personal experience with at-home school.
It didn’t take long for my daughter to dream up this scheme:
The pandemic boosted the use of social media and online shopping: people were stuck at home and spent a lot of time endlessly scrolling. Along with that, social commerce exploded, too.
Quick definition: Social commerce is when brands let customers complete their online purchases using social media platforms instead of only offering purchases via an ecommerce website. Social commerce grew so much that eMarketer nearly doubled its original 2020 forecast for social commerce growth: bumping it from 19.8% up to 37.9%.
So how exactly can brands adapt to this shift in behavior? By integrating their existing ecommerce operations with social commerce.
Don’t be naïve. The decentralization dream of Web3 won’t come true any time soon, if ever.
At least not as it was originally conceived. As Moxie Marlinspike, founder of Signal, explained, centralization emerged in the first place because people don’t want to run their own servers. Until running your own server is as accessible as turning on your router, the promise of true decentralization will remain a fairy tale.
In the meantime, venture capitalists will continue to pour colossal amounts of money into Web3 companies like OpenSea and Coinbase for years to come. Investors know the barrier is high for the average user to turn away from the accessibility of centralized platforms, especially when market forces are strengthening our ties to those same third parties.
But does the delusion of decentralization even matter for creators — the artists, musicians, gamers, vloggers, and entrepreneurs who should be fairly compensated for their work?
Probably not. Whether via Web2 or Web3 mechanisms, peer-to-peer transactions between creator and follower are normalizing as we monetize more aspects of our lives.
Nearly every social platform is making it easier for creators to get paid, and more companies that fall outside social media want a cut of the creator economy. Twitch launched their Bits program as far back as 2016. Instagram finally made it possible to pay creators directly with badges in May 2020. Twitter launched a digital tip jar last year. TikTok announced their Creator Next program in December 2021. Even Stripe started expanding their service for creators near the end of last year.
While there are some important differences between on-platform payments and NFTs, for example, what matters more is the behavior Web3 ideology is normalizing: Someone like you or me likes someone else’s digital presence enough to pay them for something they created.
Ask anyone who they consider to be an influencer or a creator and the answer is bound to be different. Here’s what’s adding to the confusion: brands are still on the fence about whether to call someone an influencer or creator.
In fact, what one brand might consider an influencer or a creator might not be by the same definitions of another brand—or the individual themselves–which seems to add to the confusion even more.
The influencer has long been a staple of the social media landscape. Check out any lifestyle hashtag and you’ll scroll through endless accounts of women wearing sponsored clothing, advertising wellness supplements, or promoting a meal-sharing company.
It wasn’t long ago when influencers were considered celebrities of the social media world. Or maybe just celebrities in general? But, as it turns out, the term influencer isn’t as desired as it once was.
Increasingly, those with a social following (and a focus on growing their platform) now prefer to be viewed as creators rather than influencers.
Why?
Some creators feel that the term ‘influencer’ has a negative connotation.
This Atlantic piece by Taylor Lorenz, The Real Difference Between Creators and Influencers, explores the differences between the two and—perhaps more importantly—why they’ve been set apart.
Lorenz takes us back to 2011 when the term creator started to hit the social vernacular.
And while no one really knows where the term came from exactly, there’s a general consensus it started with bloggers and them being referred to as content creators. It’s also important to note that around this time, the phrase ‘content’ was used very broadly–from drafting up blog posts to uploading an #OOTD on Instagram.
Meet Pontus Karlsson, the founder of Off-Script.
I’ve known Pontus for a while now and have loved watching his journey unfold, going from a kid in Sweden with no startup connections, to working in management consulting, to launching and building a business of his own.
Pontus is one of the few people you will meet who has insatiable passion and optimism. He’s progressive and forward-thinking, always thinking about ways to improve and make life better. At the same time, he’s creative and artistic in nature. What he’s building right now will play a pivotable role at the intersection of creators and brands.
So, here’s our conversation with him where we cover topics like:
Growing up in a small Swedish town…
Breaking into tech without connections…
What we mean when we say we don’t like influencers but love creators…
What it was like joining the Launch House residency in Los Angeles last year…
And his predictions for the creator economy…
Let’s dive in!
11,000 retail stores closed in the U.S. during the pandemic, a number some called the “nail in the coffin” of retail. The logic seemed to add up: stuck-at-home buyers grew even more accustomed to the conveniences of online shopping, transitioning away from in-person stores.
But that’s not exactly how things played out. 2021 and 2022 have proved retail is anything but dead. Some brands are even discovering that physical retail still offers many advantages that online simply can’t.
Retail hasn’t died—it has evolved. Smart DTCs and brick-and-mortar stores reinvented themselves as true destination experiences... (Read more).
From having their database stolen and held for ransom (yes, really) to almost running out of money, Alec Ellin has hit every obstacle imaginable—but that hasn't stopped the co-founder of Laylo from forging ahead.
After launching a little over a year ago, over 4,000 musicians, merch sellers, podcasters and video creators now use Laylo's unique landing-page-meets-fan messaging tool to send millions of messages each month. The company recently secured $5m in venture capital from big names like Eldridge, Sony Music, The Orchard, and Y Combinator.
I recently connected with Alec to discuss his entrepreneurial roots and how he started his career in the tech and music industry. He also shared his thoughts on influencers, product development, and why Laylo hasn’t had to invest in marketing yet...(Read More).
Talk about makeup, and one of the first names that pops into your mind is likely Bobbi Brown.
An idol and inspiration for makeup lovers across the world, Brown’s fiery entrepreneurial spirit has driven a wide range of success with Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. When Brown’s 25-year non-compete agreement expired with Estée Lauder in 2020, she and her husband Steven Plofker joined forces to launch their own DTC beauty brand, Jones Road... (READ MORE).
Creators today wield enormous power. We all have our favorite creators—those who inspire us when we need extra motivation, who we seek out when we need a good laugh, or who we trust when looking for recommendations for what to buy.
(My favs, in case you were wondering, are Emily Zugay and Ceara O’Sullivan. I cannot even with those two.
Their TikTok comedy is a welcome burst of sunshine in bleak times, and I get as much joy from their 30-60 second videos as I do from an entire episode of SNL or 30 Rock. Sorry, Tina.)
That’s why Fanjoy CEO Chris Vaccarino went all-in on helping creators build their brands with custom merchandise.
Working with top creators like Addison Rae, David Dobrik, Hannah Rylee, and Emily Zugay gives Vaccarino unique insights into building successful partnerships with top influencers, and the kind of content that resonates well with today’s tech-savvy generations.
I had the opportunity to interview Chris and Fanjoy’s VP of Talent, Josh “Caru” Glodoveza, to learn more about why they built this business and the power of partnering with creators in today’s economy. I learned more about the Creator Economy from Chris and Caru in this short interview than I have in a long time, and I’m excited to share their insights with you.
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)... (READ MORE).
The first thing you should know about Emily Singer is that she has a separate Instagram account just for following brands. Dozens of brands. Maybe hundreds of brands.
Well, okay, that’s only partially true. “I do,” Singer, Alma senior marketing manager by day, brand geek and Chips + Dips newsletter proprietor by night, says with a laugh. “But I don’t really use it anymore.” Still, appreciate the exercise for a moment: If for years you surrounded yourself with a never-ending feed of direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand transmissions, imagine the level of expertise you’d develop on how brands think, breathe, and behave, too.
From her home in Brooklyn, Singer discusses the types of DTC marketing tactics that really impress her, how brands should and should not show up on Instagram, and why this new intersection of brands becoming media companies—and media companies becoming brands—is a phenomenon that’s maybe not built to last. “The reality of the situation is that media companies rarely make money,” she says. “They're not impressively profitable. [But] you can make a good amount of money by selling products.”
(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)... (READ MORE).
User-generated content works magical wonders on me. Show me a product review from another user saying I need something, and I usually buy it.
My husband, on the other hand, is not such an easy sell. He begins the purchasing journey the same way most informed and careful consumers do—by diving deep into product research.
As it turns out, my snap purchasing decisions put me in the minority. When it comes to influencing purchases, what other people think about a product matters—a great deal. In fact, 99% of consumers read reviews before making an online purchase, and 98% consider them an integral part of the purchasing process... (Read more).
If David T. Abercrombie were alive today, he wouldn’t recognize the brand he created. What started as a sporting goods store for elite outdoorsmen turned into a luxury clothing brand for teens blessed with generational wealth.
Abercrombie, who left the company over explosive disagreements with his business partner Ezra Fitch, would have loved that the Abercrombie & Fitch brand continued to cater to elite classes for many years after his departure. When Ezra Fitch became convinced that the secret to company growth was to make the outdoors more accessible to the general public, Abercrombie sold his shares rather than dilute his brand for the casual outdoorsman.
At the same time, Abercrombie may not have known what to think about the shirtless models manning his stores, the sexy ads, and a thong for young girls with the words “eye candy” printed on the front. (For one, Abercrombie was already dead when the first thongs made their appearance at the World’s Fair in New York City.)
No matter what Abercrombie would have thought about Abercrombie & Fitch’s past and current incarnations, he would have certainly enjoyed learning about the death and resurrection of a brand that just won’t give up. Keep reading to find out more about Abercrombie & Fitch’s peculiar history of success, failure, and controversy.
At 23 years old, Joanne is the former Head of Retention at Aisling Organic Cosmetics and is now the new Assistant Manager of Retention Marketing at Jones Road Beauty, a clean beauty company founded by legendary makeup artist Bobbi Brown.
Joanne shared her rapid career growth story as well as tips for new marketing professionals. She also gave a behind-the-scenes look at Jones Road’s influencer marketing and overall marketing approach.
The Great Resignation is happening all around us. Millions of people are voluntarily leaving their 9-5 jobs every month in search of greener pastures.
In fact, the latest figures show 4.5 million people voluntarily left their jobs in November 2021 alone. Health and tech have had especially high turnover rates, with a 3.6% and 4.5% increase in year-over-year resignations respectively.
So…what’s going on? Are people really dropping out of the economy completely, or are they just changing jobs?
The statistics alone don’t tell the full story. The truth is, the economy is shifting. Employees are free to find followings online—and with those followings, they can leverage new opportunities.
Jay Clouse has seen it first-hand. Clouse worked at Smart Passive Income where he lead its Community team. He saw people quitting their jobs and becoming creators…and decided to try it out himself.
After building a personal brand and following online, his side gig with Creative Elements eventually became too lucrative to ignore—he could either work two jobs (with the requisite time spent away from his family) or join the Great Resignation.
He says he was able to join the creator economy thanks to one important factor: his followers trusted him, which meant they were willing to support him.
Walgreens was founded in 1873 and grew its drugstore empire through early innovations in store design and product offerings. As of August 2020, Walgreens operates more than 9,000 locations in the U.S. with a total revenue of $139.5 billion and a 19% share of the prescription drug market.
CVS was founded 90 years later in 1963, but the company made up for lost time by acquiring every pharmacy-related business it gained permission to buy. CVS now operates more than 9,900 locations in the U.S. with a total revenue of $268.7 billion and a prescription drug market share of nearly 25%.
You may be thinking the American independent pharmacy is dead in the water, but you’d be wrong. According to a March 2020 report by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), “between 2010 and 2019, the number of independent pharmacies increased by more than 2,600 stores (12.9%), whereas chains lost around 80 stores (0.2%) on average.”
So what’s really happening with large chain pharmacies?
Meet Hidden NY, arguably the most hype-worthy mood board on Instagram. In many ways, Hidden is an enigma. He stays anonymous; that’s part of the allure. What we do know about him is that he’s a British ex-pat living in NYC in his mid-late twenties.
And he says “mum” instead of “mom.” Yep, 100% British. That’s about it.
But Hidden is more than a cute mood board on Instagram. He’s not simply a repost account. He’s a cultural curator, and as a creator, he runs a legitimate media business that competes with the old guard of fashion outlets, and he should be treated as such. His content is a blend of art, fashion, design, and cultural references, primarily in the streetwear genre.
In a few years, he’s scaled his audience to over 700,000+ Instagram followers, is Substack’s #1 Art+Fashion newsletter with thousands of paid subscribers, each of whom he’s charging at least $15 per month.
And for those who are privy, you can’t say we didn’t see this coming. It’s long felt like an imminent move for both parties.
“I think [this investment] it drives home the point that a number of younger American brands are exerting significant influence in the market right now,” says Julie Zerbo, founder and editor-in-chief of The Fashion Law. To be clear, ALD has been securing the bag for a while, as they’ve consistently sold out of seasonal collections with brands like New Balance, Drake’s, Porsche, Clark’s, and Woolrich. They have carefully curated retailers who sell in their respective stores, they have a booming online business, and they’ve created a surmountable social buzz with their standalone flagship store on Mulberry Street in Soho.
What are NFTs?NFT stands for non-fungible token.
A more descriptive name would have been “a 100% unique, non-replaceable digital asset recorded and authenticated on computer databases,” but that’s too long.
So, let’s stick with “non-fungible token” and break it down.
Token: A token is a digital asset (e.g., image, gif, video, a digital object in a video game, etc.) that lives on the blockchain.
Non-fungible: Each token (asset) is non-fungible, which is fancy talk for saying it’s 100% unique. For example, physical art is non-fungible. Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” is non-fungible. Michelangelo’s “David” is non-fungible. Van Gough’s “Starry Night” is non-fungible. If you’re an art collector, you could trade one masterpiece for another—but you couldn’t replicate the Mona Lisa or David. There is only one of each and will always only be one. You could have a picture of the Mona Lisa, but it’s not the actual Mona Lisa.
Did you experience a traffic surge in 2021? How about higher conversions for your ecomm store? What about attracting new audiences that you previously couldn’t engage?
I’d venture to say these swells in attention can be attributed mainly to global social media growth.
Stats support this idea. Most notably, the world has seen:
- A 30% increase in global internet usage
- More than half of the world active on social media
- Boosts in online social, community, and e-commerce
- A flurry of audience growth on Facebook, Instagram, and, especially, TikTok
There’s no getting around it—the world is becoming increasingly more digital, and consumers are flocking to social media with credit cards in hand/digital wallet, ready to make purchases.
If you’ve ever been to a standup comedy show, you’ve experienced the intrinsic relatability of self-deprecation.
Great standup comedy is about timing, delivery, and surprise — but it’s also about vulnerability. Standup comics execute vulnerability by building tension through stories rife with personal conflict, only to release that tension with a punchline that gives us permission to laugh at their misfortune.
We’re laughing with the comic, but we’re also laughing at ourselves for similar blunders. The moment we see ourselves within the comic’s vulnerability is the moment we form a connection with them.
How do you put your brand on the map—even when you’ve been around for nearly 40 years?
For Amsterdam-based Scotch & Soda, it means rebranding and going on a global crusade to open dozens of directly owned stores, as well as in-store locations.
This move doesn’t make sense for all DTC brands, and in many ways, it’s a risky move. Rapid expansion and trying to reach new markets might seem daunting to most, but CEO Frederick Lukoff is ready to take things to the next level.
The brand isn’t just focused on retail offerings, either.
As part of its expansion, Scotch & Soda aims to integrate its commerce and omnichannel offerings, too.
This is key: retailers who face a decline in sales or foot traffic—especially once consumers get back in-store—will need to shake things up if they hope to compete with brands like Scotch & Soda.
From brands starting in eCommerce (or doubling down on building eCommerce departments from the ground up to remain competitive), it’s been anything but a smooth ride.
Now, there’s even more for brand owners and eCommerce managers to consider: port congestion, shipping container, and equipment shortages, and snarled supply chains.
While retail brands are trying to figure things out as they go, direct-to-consumer brands have had an equally stressful time trying to keep products in the hands of their customers.
If there was ever a buzzword for 2021, that word would be community.
It swept the internet like a freight train. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a founder on Twitter mention community, I’d be stupid rich! In the mid-late 2010s, all brands used to care about was good branding and low-cost acquisition funnels to entice customers and users. Then, suddenly, Ads became expensive, and brands were forced to start selling everywhere. Overnight, it felt like everyone was then looking for a Head of Community, or Community Manager, to cultivate relationships with an existing customer base.
It seemed that no one cared about audiences anymore and everyone cared about tribes, dedicated groups of people who support your cause.
Community. Everyone talks about it, and yet few seem to understand it, let alone get it right. So, I’d like to introduce a few community experts into the conversation, people who actually understand what it takes to build and grow tribes of their own. Because if we’re all supposed to be building communities, we should probably know why we’re building them in the first place, and what we’re (possibly) up against.
Let’s explore…
What do Salt-N-Pepa, Wilson Phillips, and Whitney Houston all have in common?
They are all prominent figures that some of my Gen Z friends have never heard of. Ever. I know it’s mind-boggling, but there are people in this world who don’t know all the lyrics to “Shoop” by heart.
Do you know who members of Gen Z heard of, though?
Younger megastars who rose to fame on YouTube and TikTok like Charli D'Amelio, Loren Gray, and Brent Rivera.
There’s no getting around it. Gen Z has different celebrity heroes than older generations. They also favor content that’s very different than content from a few years ago. They have grown tired of being fed polished, picture-perfect ads and have flocked to TikTok in search of something new and more authentic.
To better understand how brands can engage Gen Z; I interviewed Charlie Naus, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Carson+Doyle.
Carson+Doyle is an agency composed solely of Gen Z employees and they work to help brands market to Gen Z audiences.
It’s barely 2022 and we’ve already seen the first brand $&@! up of the year from Pabst Blue Ribbon.
In a tweet that has since been deleted, Pabst Blue Ribbon attempted to make fun of the Dry January trend by suggesting people replace alcohol with … something else.
What the tweet lacked in wit it made up for with virality. Some people thought it was edgy (was it?) while others took offense to the original tweet and some of the brand's replies, particularly one that quipped, “Ask your mom” when someone compared the taste of ass to Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
I recently came across this killer tweet from Gumroad.
I loved the short bits of advice—especially:
- Don’t be the person telling yourself “no”
- Promote. If you don't promote, no one will
- Learn the mindset, patterns, habits, and systems of the creators you idolize, and incorporate those into your daily lives
But, these <280 character tweets weren’t enough to fully satiate my curiosity on how creators are thriving.
It made me want to dive deeper.
So, I connected with some of my favorite people to get more advice about how creators can grow, find a niche, connect with brands, and be successful.
Here’s what they had to tell me.
While content and commerce strategy is nothing new to forward-thinking brands, it could require a mindset shift for some businesses who’ve long had a mentality that’s anchored in paid ads. However, making the step towards content and commerce strategy will help you generate hype, and boost sales.
Sounds good, right? Let’s see why the combination of content and commerce is a marriage made in heaven...(Continue).
2021 has been the year of unimaginable and rapid-fire innovation for the Creator Economy.
We’ve seen everything from individual creators experimenting with blockchain to traditional Venture Capital firms investing heavily into tools for creators.
Much of what has become the status quo in 2021 was unthinkable for both creators and brands only a few short years ago. And momentum is only growing as we move into 2022... (Continue).
If you want to amp up your social media game and come face-to-face with a significant Gen Z audience, TikTok is the place to be.
Many other social media platforms are taking note, too. We’re seeing a shift toward TikTok’s short-form, snackable video content concept with platforms shifting focus to similar offerings (like Instagram Reels, Facebook Stories, and YouTube Shorts).
In 2021 TikTok has more than a billion active users, and brands have only just started waking up to the advertising opportunities this bite-sized content platform offers when it comes to brand/consumer interactions. This platform allows brands to get in front of new audiences while giving creators a stage on which they can spotlight their individual creative talents (and achieve impressive results).
Before Disneyland opened in 1955, Frito-Lay’s founder Herman Lay wanted in on the action. Lay struck a deal with Disney to open a Mexican restaurant, Casa de Fritos, as part of the theme park’s experience.
Enter Alex Foods, Casa de Fritos’ tortilla distributor. Owned by the Morales family, California immigrants from Sonora, Mexico, Alex Foods delivered ingredients to the restaurant for years. One day a salesman noticed stale tortillas in the garbage and told the kitchen they could salvage them by frying them up and serving them with seasoning.
The salesman’s name is lost to history, but the idea itself wasn’t original. Doritos are a variation of the totopo, a tortilla that’s been fried, baked, or toasted. That nacho cheese dust, though? Yeah, that’s not a Doritos’ invention, either: James L. Kraft patented processed cheese in 1916, and with the help of Samuel Percy’s 1872 invention of spray-dried dairy products, cheese dust emerged. ... (Continue).
It has been five years since the HBO tv series, Insecure premiere. The show—written and produced by Issa Rae—has gained massive media attention and a loyal following of fans. With the series recently coming to an end, fans are not only praising Insecure for its writing but also for the relatability of its characters and... (Continue).
Charles Walgreen didn’t find his life'sdidn't calling until he lost part of his finger.
While working at a shoe factory, Walgreen accidentally severed the top of his finger. The doctor who treated him convinced him to become an apprentice for a local druggist, and Walgreen soon got a job working at Horton's Drugstore...(Continue).
If you were to stumble upon r/Unbalanced_athletica, you’d be scrolling through a byproduct of Taylor’s evolution from YouTube creator to CEO of two brands that don’t always live up to their promises...(Continue).
If it seems like everyone is talking about CBD products, it’s because they are. But that’s not necessarily great for any one CBD brand... (Continue).
Meet Eli Weiss, the Director of Customer Experience at OLIPOP. I’ve known Eli for a while now and have loved watching his journey unfold, going from working at a flailing luggage brand (not Away!) to where he is now, a thought-leader on how to take care of your customers. Even better, he looks after his people like they’re his own... (Continue).
Not to be dramatic, but I was shaking with excitement after watching the Marvel Phase 4 Teaser. All the emotions of witnessing beloved characters coming back to life and the excitement of new stories to be told... (Continue).
Gen Z is the world’s first digital natives. Unlike their Millennial parents, these young adults grew up on social media with devices glued to their hands... (Continue).
I started my Sunday morning out as everyone does—laughing at the dogs of TikTok, trying to decide whether or not I have “Renegade” worthy dance moves (I do not), and searching for Shibu Inu advice (Ohhhhhh, I should have bought last year—thanks TikTok)...(Continue).
If you’re a cat parent, you’re probably familiar with the (rather unfortunate) necessity of having a litter box inside your home. In addition to being an item you want to be tucked out of the way, traditional litter boxes require you to scoop the litter by hand, which is an entirely...unpleasant task...(Continue).
The value creators bring to the table for brands both large and small is undeniable.
From increasing brand awareness to generating millions of dollars in sales, creators and influencers have become powerful tools for brands who want help connecting with customers... (Continue).
He’s the son of Ghanian immigrants who wound up in Rockford, Illinois. Raised on skateboarding, hip-hop, and indie rock music, he was surrounded by creativity.
And resourcefulness... (Continue).
Growing up, my mother pretended to enjoy shopping with me. Many times, when shopping for school or special occasion clothes, she said I would take 10 times longer than any normal person because I’d obsess over products’ stitching, construction, materials, and value...(Continue).
Vodka may be most commonly associated with Russia, but the drink is just as important to the country’s maritime neighbor, Sweden.
Sweden is part of the “vodka belt”, a group of countries in Eastern and Northern Europe that produce and consume primarily spirits (as opposed to beer in Germany or wine in France)...(Continue).
Over the past twenty years, I’ve worked in a variety of marketing roles at both brands and agencies.
The common thread? It’s all been in tech.
I was fortunate to start my career as the first marketing hire of a tiny startup telecommunications brand in New Zealand. We grew to become the number three brand in the market, and I spent six wonderful years there. I learned from great leaders and enjoyed incredible opportunities to test myself...(Continue).
Last week, Balenciaga made a bold announcement. It’s creating a new company division: The Metaverse.
Sounds wacky, until it’s not. If ever there was a moment to believe that luxury fashion has a place to coexist in the metaverse, that time is now... (Continue).
It’s still in its infancy, with Instagram running the feature for testing. However, brands should keep an eye on this new, promising feature. Let’s look at what it is, how it works, and what brands can do with it... (Continue).
Simply put: Creators are already running the world. Let’s take a closer look at some surprising examples of how creators influenced the masses, how industry bigwigs are changing to support creatives, and why now is the best time for brands to partner with and support creators... (Continue).
Stumped on how to run a kickoff call for your creator marketing program? Look no further! Follow along as we cover the 5 topics to include in your call to help you succeed… (Continue).
When brothers Edouard and Andre Michelin took over their grandfather’s family business in the 1880s, it was in the hopes of reviving a failing company. Michelin et Cie. mainly made vulcanized rubber products for agriculture, small tools, and other farm equipment. But in 1889, a cyclist came sniffing around their rubber factory, hoping to repair his flat tire ... (Continue).
“Fast fashion” vs. “sustainable fashion”—you know one is bad, the other is good, and that more clothing brands are advertising sustainability to satisfy eco-conscious consumers.
But have you ever stopped to wonder what makes fashion sustainable?...(Continue)
There are plenty of holiday gift guides online filled with generic gift ideas, but they rarely encompass varying sectors (like beauty, food, drinks, clothing, pets, kids, home, etc).
We wanted to create a gift guide that solved these problems, so we talked to 19 leaders in the eCommerce and DTC spaces and found their top three gift recommendations for the holiday season...(Continue).
Here’s a weird fact: In the 1960s, many athletes were told not to drink water during their training sessions. Coaches thought water caused nausea and cramps.
At the time, it was normal for a football player to lose several pounds of water weight during a game. Then in 1963, University of Florida football coach Dwayne Douglas asked a simple question: Why would football players lose so much weight during practices and games … but didn’t seem to ...(Continue).
In mid-August 2021, OnlyFans once again hit the news cycle—but this time it wasn’t because of what you might expect. The platform announced it was banning ‘explicit content’—causing an uproar on social media for days.
Why is this significant? You might even be thinking: isn't’ that what the platform is all about?...(Continue).
Zenni Optical is everywhere.
Its gorgeous glasses light up social media, with hundreds of Creators praising Zenni’s name. Its frames rest on the faces of celebs like Rashida Jones and Iris Apfel. Zenni’s logo is even on the Chicago Bulls jerseys...(Continue).
I lived in Europe for a long time working as a software expert in an enterprise company, but life has a way of throwing you curveballs. I loved my job, but after numerous corporate mergers, I ended up leaving that industry and found myself working in tourism.
This was way back in the day—Facebook was coming up and smartphones were getting popular, and I was learning how to apply my knowledge of computers and help small to medium-sized businesses market themselves in this new online world...(Continue).
Do you feel it’s your patriotic duty to pay for the costs of the pandemic?
Probably not—but not because you’re a monster. You’re but a humble citizen of your nation who’s trying to get through it as much as the next person. You’re doing what you can with the resources you have.
Also, the American government would never ask you to pay—at least not directly... (Continue)
Sometimes the drive to scale and expand is front and center in the minds of brand owners.
And while that’s a good thing depending on where you see the future of your business going, there’s another thing to set your sights on that will help you get there.
Brand loyalty... (continue).
When you hear “SEO,” your mind probably thinks about long-form articles and Google search. But the truth is SEO is baked into everything online, and that includes social media platforms—like Instagram.
Jess Sanfilippo is the Head of Social at House of Wise. From organic to paid social, she’s worked with it all.
But her experience with Instagram lies beyond the surface: Jess is a strategist, and she saw an opportunity with SEO... (Continue).
A few weeks ago...
I was sitting in a Discord channel with 1,500 raging crypto heads. We were waiting for a link to drop that would let us Mint an NFT before the real NFT. Think of it as the drop before the drop.
The link hit Discord and before you knew it all 888 NFTs sold out. In three minutes. Three. Minutes.
“We sold them for free”, Jeremy Booth said. He’s the ringleader behind Bushidos, a creative community that’s building projects on the blockchain, centered around the theme of samurai lore and culture. “All you had to pay were gas fees, which were about $60 that day. And the floor price for buying that same artwork has jumped well over 1 ETH (~ USD 4,000+). It’s incredible.” ... (Continue).
There isn't a day that goes by where some brand or creator announces another "collab", "drop", "capsule collection", or "partnership". Have we lost the plot? Collabs used to mean something.
The more noise there is, the higher chance there is that we're losing the meaning of what makes a great cultural collab... (Continue)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the most successful movie franchises of all time, was created over 80 years ago.
Marvel's journey started as a comic book series back in 1939. After selling more than 80,000 copies of the first issue, the creators of the comics launched the second edition—setting in motion what would become a massive brand in today's world... (Continue).
The primary benefit of user-generated content (UGC) to brands is that it directs customers—customers who you may never find through other marketing initiatives—right to your product pages. And, it influences them to buy.
Stats show 93% of buyers find Creator content useful when making a purchase. Want anecdotal evidence as well? This week alone, I’ve already purchased two products (a pillow and a pre-workout) that Katie recommended. Not to mention some killer sunglasses ... (Continue).
Is advertising art?To answer that question, you may need to ask yourself more questions.
Think about the last time you saw an ad that made you feel something. When your brain registered that you were looking at an ad, did your emotional response change? ... (Continue).
If you want to test your relationship, assemble some IKEA furniture with your partner.
If you make it through the experience with your relationship intact, you can probably handle whatever life throws at you. If you make it through without yelling at each other, you should probably ... (Continue).
What’s the hottest marketing trend for ecomm brands? Personalized online shopping experiences.
Relevant stats say:
- 91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers
- 71% of consumers are frustrated with impersonal shopping experiences
While these stats are powerful alone, ... (Continue).
Remember back in 2016 when what felt like everywhere you went people were glued to their phones, huddled together in groups, and trying to catch a nearby Pokémon?
App-based Pokémon Go offered huge lessons to brands everywhere on what happens when you combine community, offer rewards for doing certain actions, and having fun doing it. More on that in a minute ... (Continue).
Did you know jeans are a direct byproduct of the California Gold Rush?
From 1848–1855, 300,000 people moved to California to make their fortune in gold. While most miners came up short in the end, the companies that supplied the exploding population with goods made a killing...(Continue).
I recently stumbled across a TikTok account that I adored, @growithjessie. Every year, I try to grow a garden, and every year, it turns into a rotten pile of weeds. Because I wasn’t born with a green thumb, I’ve started to consult the internet for gardening pointers.
When I saw that Jessie was sharing tips on how to grow literally anything in the comfort of your own home, I was hooked... (Continue).
While in college, I would frequent flea markets and explore design magazines at every chance I could. I was drawn to art history classes, and had a curiosity to understand the culture and story behind each piece we studied... (Continue).
Walk around any city and you’re bound to find one. Hop on social media and you’ve probably seen friends’ posts about visiting one.
What used to be limited to mall kiosks is now finding its way into vacant retail spaces.
We’re talking about pop-up shops, and while they seem to appeal to shoppers...(Continue).
The old DTC was simple, and it worked. Brands would launch a flagship product, promote it heavily via paid ads on social media, and sales would roll in. Early adopters of this strategy did well, and their customer bases grew quickly...(Continue).
The other night I was drinking with friends at a neighbourhood bar when a dude I've never met walks up and ordered a drink. He's wearing normal clothes, you know, like a polo, shorts, shoes... (Continue).
I grew up dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player. When life threw me some curveballs as a baseball player, I stepped into the beverage industry and grew my business skills. Down the road, I adopted my Dalmatian, named Molly... (Continue).
If you’re searching for a reason to hope that the climate crisis won’t burn the whole world to a crisp, look no further than clean meat.
Clean meat, otherwise known as “cultured” or “lab-grown” meat, is meat that was grown from animal stem cells. Stem cells are harvested from the muscles of an animal and fed nutrients in an external ...(Continue).
Toilet paper. Sourdough starter. Houseplants. These are the domestic items we’ll remember as staples of the early pandemic.
If you were fortunate enough to experience boredom as your main affliction in 2020, you may be one of the thousands of people who mastered the art of bread baking or learned how to nurture a ...(Continue).
“Fashion changes, but style endures.” —Coco Chanel
Whether you know her as a fashion icon or an anti-Semitic Nazi collaborator, Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel left her mark on the world when she rejected convention and freed women from their corsets in the... (Continue).
Just ten years ago, Instagram was in beta, Snap was in the womb, Vine (remember them?) and TikTok didn’t exist, your mom and dad weren’t “regulars” on Facebook, the iPhone 4S was about to be released, and ...(Continue).
Last year the pandemic accelerated a shift to digital that was already underway. Existing brands scrambled to improve their online experiences. New eComm brands popped up without any brick-and-mortar...(Continue).
Here’s a quick question for you: how many brand collaborations have caught your eye over the last few years (whether good or bad)?
Chances are you can name a few. Some of them because it meant a partnership between favourite brands or it’s ... (Continue).
The Allen Edmonds recrafting story starts with a shocking math equation.
There are nearly 8 billion people globally, approximately 16 billion feet, and the average shelf life of most shoes is only 8 to 12 months...(Continue).
When you think of instant photography, the first name that comes to mind is Polaroid—the brand that made the crazy invention of printing a photograph as soon as it’s taken.
Polaroid was founded over 75 years ago in 1937 by the American scientist and Polaroid founder Edwin Land. In 1944, Land ...(Continue)
You hear it all the time: The key to success is customer obsession. Simple, right?
Sort of. Building a profitable company is an infuriating process because it’s both complex and simple...(Continue).
Before founding tuft & paw, the company that now has my heart (and all my time), I dabbled in several “real jobs” as well as founding two other DTC brands. Since I can remember, my passion has always had to do with creating. I like to bring ideas to life...(Continue).
Many of us would not have imagined TikTok as a powerful marketing tool when it came into the social media scene in 2016...(Continue).
Social media creators have risen to prominence in the past decade as powerhouse sales channels. They cultivate large audiences on various platforms and communities with whom they hold a tremendous amount of sway...(Continue).
Before we get to the meat of this article, we need to express an unpopular opinion: No one cares about your brand’s origin story...(Continue).
Pop into a Costco any day around lunchtime and you’ll find the place swarming. It’s not just the massive quantities and wholesale deals that attract shoppers, either—it’s usually the samples...(Continue)
The first time I met Yuanrun Zheng (he goes by Z) was over FaceTime.
He’s on a road trip. Not the vacation kind, the work kind. I call him and he picks up while driving in his minivan. He tells me he’s on a sneaker run...(Continue).
It was 2013, and a friend and I were on a surf and ski road trip through California.
One morning was particularly cold, and it got me thinking about how grateful I was for the warmth of my sleeping bag... (Continue).
I grew up in a big family.
Like 1 of 8 kids kind of big.
Buying “new” was never an option. If I wanted clothes, I’d skim the racks of Goodwill or wait for hand-me-downs. And since...(Continue).
In 2010, I started Pura Vida—a handcrafted bracelet and jewelry brand with my best friend and business partner, Paul Goodman...(Continue).
I’m Berkley Bering, the founder of Past Life the Collective. We’re a slow fashion company out of Boulder, Colorado making choices primarily guided by what’s sustainable and ethical for our planet, our ...(Continue).
I’ve always been a lifelong believer in the power of routine. Every morning I wake up, do my Headspacemeditation, and light a candle. And after a long day at work, I plop down on the couch, exhausted ...(Continue).
From hanafuda card company to the most recognizable name in video games, Nintendo’s 130+ years as one of the world’s most joyful brands is no accident... (Continue).
The leading sports brand we know today as Nike started back in 1964, where it started as Blue Ribbons Sports (BRS). Founded by Philip Knight, a track athlete at the University of Oregon, and his coach Bill Bowerman, the pair distributed ...(Continue).
Brands have a visibility problem when it comes to ads. The numbers may not shock you: 40% of laptops already use ad blockers, and the rest of the Internet is catching up with this trend. As a result, one-third ...(Continue).
Have you noticed how media companies are rolling out physical product collections to springboard off the hype of a new show and its engaged audience? This trend is called linear commerce, and it's on the rise... (Continue).
It’s Gucci’s 100th birthday. 1 0 0. To commemorate it, they threw a runway show in April. Online. It’s a short film introducing their latest collection to songs like Gucci Gang (Lil’ Pump) and Green Gucci Suit (Rick Ross). Apparently, as of today, there are 22,705 songs out ... (Continue)
Nutrition. Exercise. Sleep. Most people know that they need to eat well, move their bodies, and get some rest if they want a healthy lifestyle. But if you talk to anyone on a health kick, you’ll probably learn more ...(Continue)
Great news: You don’t need millions of followers to make a living as a content Creator. Most people who land brand sponsorships have fewer followers than you think. Micro-influencers—accounts with less than 25,00... (Read more).
People who work in advertising love watching ads. Everyone else? Not so much. Except for this one. If you haven’t seen Dollar Shave Club’s first ad ... (Read more).
In August 2019, YouTubers sued Google for discrimination.
LGBTQ+ creators on YouTube took action after several of their videos were demonetized and suppressed...(Read more).
From new clothing rental platforms to traditional retailers, businesses in the fashion industry jumped on the rental trend well before the pandemic. However, even after the initial shock caused by ... (Read more).
You already know that digital purchases are growing at remarkable rates. Stats show the portion of total retail sales will rise from 15.5% in 2021 to 22.7% by 2025. Additionally, experts at eMarketer predict that ... (Read more).
It all started with a stomach ache in 2015. Several.
After years of living in NYC and going out for meals every night, my partner and I decided to start using our kitchen again.
Having been raised in a family of passionate cooks, I grew up cooking. But moving to the city for undergrad made me rebel against that. For years, I didn’t even ...(Read More).
How many times in the last month have you been shopping online, only to exit out of the website before completing the transaction?
On your side of the experience, there could be many reasons why you don’t click ‘place order.’ Maybe you found a better deal elsewhere or you impulsively add items to your shopping cart and ... (Read more).
I recently connected with 12 inspirational Black Creators, many of whom started their social accounts because of the glaring gap in the Creator Economy. Namely, these individuals weren’t getting enough... (Read more).
The Age of the Creator is here.
People have never had as much choice as they do now when they’re deciding what to buy. Americans see an estimated 4,000–10,000 ads per day. Likely as a result of the swelling influx of ads, 45% of people ... (Read more).
As a kid...
I still remember the aroma of dark roasted coffee every morning. I’d run downstairs and pour a bowl of cereal while my dad was on his second (or fourth?) cup. He was a Maxwell House guy. And sometimes a Folger’s fan too. I used to ... (Read more).
You’ve probably heard that some significant changes are coming to how websites are tracking you online. These updates will have a lasting impact on the advertising content you see, how you shop, and ... (Read more).
Creator rates are unstandardized, unregulated, and shrouded in mystery. And it makes sense why they would be––every partnership with an influencer is unique, and a variety of factors ... (Read more).
When most people think of creators or influencers, they think big.
They remember the TikTok insta-star who saw overnight fame for their pandemic ... (Read more).
It was 2017 when I started to swap out all my makeup and skincare products with non-toxic, clean alternatives. With so many fantastic products coming out that worked and were made with safe ingredients, the chemical-laden ones ... (Read more).
I recently woke up one Saturday morning to my Twitter timeline yapping about some app called Dispo that was in beta. If you know anything about the mythical community known as “Tech Twitter,” you’re ... (Read more).
As you’ve likely noticed, product bundling has become an increasingly popular strategy used by eCommerce merchants to boost average order value (AOV).
This trend is happening for good reason: Bundles perform phenomenally... (Read more).
What’s been a leading factor behind DTC brands’ massive growth over retail for a few years?
Perception.
Removing the middleman has long created a perception ... (Read more).
I think we are all over grocery shopping in 2021.
To top it off, once you take your sweaty mask off and finish unloading ... (Read more).
It all started at a party in 2014.
My friend Sakari Manninen and I had come from Finland to America for a ... (Read more).
If you’ve ever walked down Lafayette Street in Soho, NYC, you’ve likely weaved through the crowds of hypebeasts—humans devoted to acquiring the latest sneakers or limited-run apparel—waiting in line for the latest Supreme drop.
Maybe you thought: who in the hell would wait hours in ... (Read more).
If you’re a millennial, you must know by now that your side part looks ridiculous.
Those skinny jeans you wore before the world transitioned to sweatpants? Deeply ... (Read more).
Healthcare consumer products are a thriving sub-category in the DTC space. In 2018, digital health saw record investments of $8.1 billion—42% more than ... (Read more).
Depending on whom you ask, the HelloFresh ascent to the top of the meal-kit subscription category is either “admirable” or “brutal.”
Contrary to the passionate founder lore that seems almost ubiquitous within the startup world ... (Read more).
People say Aristotle was a lot of things. A student, a philanthropist, a philosopher. But even the most devout of followers often forget his greatest power: influence. To this day, institutions follow the... (Read more).
Pandemic aside, the demand for online shopping is steadily growing thanks in part to the convenience and relatively quick speed between adding an item to your cart and getting a delivery notification.
Smaller businesses, in particular, are looking ... (Read more).
Here's something that might shock you: Most creators aren't satisfied with the revenue they're earning.
Yes, we see tons of influencers living lavish lifestyles, working with the industry's biggest names, and earning millions. But for the vast majority, making a living from being ... (Read more).
Everyone wants quality goods at fair prices, right?
The problem is that brands don’t sell the products they source for the same prices they pay for them. To make a profit they mark their prices way up, meaning ... (Read more).
“This innocent-looking shirt has something which isn’t innocent at all: touchability. Heavy, silky Italian cotton. A fine, almost terry cloth-like feeling. Five-button placket, relaxed fit. Innocence and mayhem at once.”
If you’re a Seinfeld fan, you may recognize that product... (Read more).
If you’re one of 40,000 MeUndies superfans, you may have upwards of 50.
In MeUndies membership time, that’s more than four years of brand loyalty and a drawer overflowing with MicroModal, “softer-than-soft” underwear. Some people have replaced ... (Read more).
In 2014, energy waste and consumption in North America was on a troubling upward trend.
Combating energy waste became a massive movement that saw large players like Nest, Ecobee, and Google enter the fray. Competition increased as brands ...(Read more).
What happens when you combine an eComm business with the powers of social media?
You get something called ... (Read more).
Packaging is an expense that’s often left to the last minute. It’s a problem that’s solved reactively rather than proactively.
For many eComm retailers, that’s a lost opportunity. Packaging is the first physical touchpoint between your business and your customer. Plus, it’s the only marketing channel ... (Read more).
I never would have imagined that I'd find a career that married the skillsets for being an engineer at a nuclear power plant, chief-of-staff at a personal styling startup, and a financier at a ... (Read more).
The first step to loving anything in life is loving yourself.
No matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to get over the fact that you come first. You can’t help anyone without first looking in the mirror and ... (Read more).
The pandemic rewrote the retail playbook in just a few months. Those who thought eCommerce was far from mainstream and the ones who thought traditional retail was dead were proven wrong.
In fact, the number of companies investing ...(Read more).
It seems like all eyes are on TikTok these days—and for a good reason. This platform is bringing a whole new world of opportunity to social media marketing.
The numbers are jaw-dropping when it comes to TikTok. They have ... (Read more).
In 2007, Michael Bay directed a film that turned out to be more impactful than the explosions in its trailer. Both for a worldwide fan base and a car company struggling to sell their signature muscle car.
It was a film boasting a huge cult following, massive ... (read more).
Mastering the viral launch strategy: Vacation by Poolside FM In April, Poolside FM, an app and internet radio station that transports you back in time with its 80’s aesthetics and upbeat beachside music, crossed over to the physical product realm in the ... (Read more).
“Don’t build your house on rented land.”
It’s an old marketing adage that’s finding new relevance for DTC founders and marketers who rely on paid social for a huge chunk of their revenue.
Paid social is a ... (Read More).
Every day more brands are coming online. Some are moving to the world wide web out of the necessity of pandemic lockdowns, with others are launching as DTC ecommerce brands. Alongside that ...(Read more).
Artistic endeavours, case studies, research papers … a tidal wave of historical documentation are on their way to capture this moment of our collective experience as ... (Read more).
If you’re a Shopify groupie, you work in eCommerce, or you just keep up with the times in general, you might remember when the tech giant launched Frenzy in 2016. It was initially...(Read more).
As a single mom of three, I am extremely familiar with difficult days–trust me.
Four years ago, I was living in NYC, was the marketing VP at a major wedding brand, had three kids under five, and was in the middle of a divorce. I was ... (Read more).
If you had told me 5 years ago...
I could soon own a fraction of Michael Jordan’s game-worn sneakers from his rookie season, or a first-edition signed copy of The Great Gatsby, or the rarest ... (Read more).
Investing in content is, well...an investment.
As such, most ecommerce marketers are looking for ways to get additional mileage out of the content they already have on hand. The question is... (Read more)
I started my career as a designer but always wanted to launch my own business. This dream became a reality when I introduced my clothing brand called Ugmonk in 2008.
At the time, there weren’t a lot of digitally native brands like this. I took zero outside funding. I didn’t use any flashy advertising tactics. Much of ... (Read more)
The cookie apocalypse is here, and it’s going to change advertising as we know it.
But with change comes opportunity. The loss of one channel as you’ve come to rely on it is a chance to build a new pipeline.
Depending on your product and category, community building—or, in some cases, community listening—may be the long-term play that can make up for some of the short-term revenue loss... (Read more)
It’s Summer, 1983.
The Beastie Boys are a couple of girl-crazy high schoolers looking for a DJ to run their next show in lower Manhattan. A friend convinces them he “knows a guy” and guides them to a random dorm room at NYU. They knock on a door... (Read more)
Have you noticed a subtle shift in the way people talk about discovering brands?
It used to be: “I read about…”
These days, you’re more likely to hear: “I heard about…”
Why the difference?
The answer is simple. We like to say “heard” when... (Read more)
“Five, four, three, two, one,” she says before the consumer floodgates open, and her product deal is released. Viewers of Huang Wei’s nightly Livestream can’t click fast enough to buy; the host’s featured products sell out in mere minutes. If her audience pleads for more discounted products in the chat, she’ll advocate for them, asking her off-camera producers to deliver. Sometimes... (Read more)
One of the largest threats facing our world is the ongoing climate crisis, and this understanding has filtered its way into our consumer habits. Reducing our environmental impact is no longer just a buzzy phrase touted by hippie do-gooders and trendy brands sniffing around for some brownie points—it’s essential to our survival.
Customers recognize this, too. Products marketed...(Read more)
2021 might not seem like the best time to think about getting a tattoo. Are tattoo parlors even open near you? What would you even get if you could get an appointment? Never fear—Inkbox is here—and their unique semi-permanent tattoos will give you the thrill of the ink without the commitment. Whether this is your first “tattoo” or the latest of many, the brand experience Inkbox has created will make you feel like tattoo culture was made for you ... (Read more)
“I want to start a company selling boxers with pockets,” my soon-to-be business partner Jack Ambrose told me over coffee in June of 2019.
I think some wires in my brain crossed. I was 100% in.
I’m now co-founder and co-CEO of Jambys, a company specializing in those aforementioned (unisex) boxers with pockets, as well as several other highly comfortable variations of what we... (Read more)
Meet Emmett Shine, co-founder of Pattern—a family of consumer brands with the shared mission of enjoying daily life. Pattern’s two brands are Equal Parts (cookware) and Open Spaces (home goods).
I’ve known Emmett for a few years now and have loved watching his journey unfold, from the glory days of Gin Lane, where he launched other people’s brands... (read more)
DTC brands want to diversify their strategy and offer new experiences or personalized products for their customers. Especially after everything that happened in 2020.
What are they offering? Subscriptions... (read more)
"Twitch is an untapped reservoir for doing good."
Maya Higa is a Twitch streamer of another kind: She doesn’t play video games.
Now known as a conservationist and falconer, Higa started her Twitch channel in 2019 after a few friends saw her singing videos on Instagram and encouraged her to start live streaming. Now, as of this writing, she has 418... (read more)
Top-of-funnel (TOF) advertising creates brand awareness and educates customers, but it doesn’t necessarily drive sales. As a result, it’s often difficult for B2C marketers to see a significant ROI. With shorter sales cycles, many B2C marketers usually try to go right for the sale rather than taking the time to nurture their leads.
However, some brands are trying to maximize their top-of-funnel marketing. Several marketers in the direct-to-consumer (DTC) space are reimagining what top of funnel ad content should look like, experimenting with user-generated content (UGC) along with their ... (Read more)
Historically, being a Creator wasn’t a career path. Creators have influence, but legacy institutions always controlled the influence.
Actors moved to Hollywood to chase their dreams.
Models relied on agents to book photoshoots.
Musicians needed record labels to write.
Writers needed publishers for book deals or newspapers for distribution.
Then computers came along. And cell phones. Suddenly, sharing information was democratized, and with it came the rise of new platforms, products, apps, and ways of consuming content, which democratized influence.
The 2000s gave us WordPress and Tumblr.
The 2010s brought us Instagram and TikTok.
Meanwhile, other products came and went (RIP Path, MySpace, and Vine).
As the mediums have changed over the decades, one thing has remained: influence.
The rise of influencers on Instagram during the 2010s--who solely relied on affiliate marketing and charging obscene amounts of moolah for a single post about a brand--made them walking billboards.
But we’re entering a new chapter with “influence.” People aren’t simply billboards; they’re Creators.
... Read the full article
You might think TV is dead.
You see people cutting the cord and making the switch to user-friendly streaming services. You witness your friends and family cling to their smartphones and iPads. It seems television has fallen out of style.
But then the Super Bowl comes around, and you are reminded of the sheer scale of the event. The behemoth that combines sporting and live performance still represent the largest live audience on the planet. Brands of all sizes compete to stand out amongst the sea of agency copywriting and video production.
Over 100 million prospective customers glued to the TV. A game that is designed for stoppages and timeouts. It’s the yearly gold rush of advertising.
If TV is dead, why are traditionally DTC companies spending millions of dollars on ads?
Read the full article on Banknotes: https://hashtagpaid.com/banknotes/6-dtc-super-bowl-ads-that-prove-tvs-not-dead
I still remember where I was when I found out.
My phone would not stop vibrating in my pocket as I lounged around my parent’s place. “It’s probably just another group chat going off...” I thought. I wasn’t in the mood to jump into a long-winded mindless conversation about how Dennis Rodman was why Donald Trump and Kim Jon Un shook hands.
But as the notifications got more consistent, I decided to look at my phone. Facebook messages, texts, emails, literally the entire gaming world was in a frenzy. And for a good reason.
“DRAKE IS PLAYING FORTNITE...WITH NINJA...ON TWITCH...RIGHT NOW…”
For gamers, the hysteria was real. It’s not every day that you get to watch one of the largest names in music play a free video game that you enjoy live. But for Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Twitch, and Fortnite, this moment was bigger than the 600,000 viewers it attracted.
Read the full article on Banknotes: https://hashtagpaid.com/banknotes/ninja-drake-fortnite-twitch-streaming
You’ve seen it: the pink pan.
Its beauty calls to you: Touch me. Caress me. Cook something delicious with me.
You want to feel its terracotta texture under your fingertips. You want it to reproduce your grandmother’s signature dish. You want it to help you become the master chef-in-quarantine you know you can be.
It’s called The Always Pan. And it seems like it’s everywhere, all the time.
Read the full article here: https://hashtagpaid.com/banknotes/how-the-always-pan-inspires-authentic-user-generated-content