Business of Creators 💬

Stay ahead of the curve in the creator economy...

Welcome to your Super Bowl special! Creators were at the spotlight of this year’s games and we love to see it! However… 

Creators lost out to celebrities in Super Bowl ads…

Given the ever mounting popularity of using creators in ad campaigns, this year’s Super Bowl was tipped to be the biggest one yet for creator representation. Yet, it didn’t. Traditional celebrities dominated the field, with some promoting their new country album through a network provider ad (Beehive, please don’t come for me). In fact, through the 59 ads aired, 80 celebrities featured. So what can we, as a collective creator community, do something to change that?

Well, it’s not an easy summit. Take it from James Nord, founder of influencer marketing shop Fohr who says “now that culture has fractured into hundreds of thousands of small branches, even somebody who is hugely influential in a number of those branches is going to be completely anonymous to others”. There is an element of truth to this, the Super Bowl is the largest advertising event of the year and you need a familiar face. Matt Fleming, svp of The Marketing Arm also mentions the shortcomings of experience for creators and influencers in executing commercial productions. 

Yet it’s not all doom and gloom, as founder of Village Marketing Vickie Segar mentions, influencer campaigns ran in tandem on social media, proving a far more accessible avenue for opportunities. Expanding those horizons to network television is always going to be an arduous task, and maybe it’s naive to expect a linear progression of creators making such feats, however as creators - we must embed a perception across industries of our reliability, ability to perform, professionalism and our star quality to keep moving the grain. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the Super Bowl next year. 

^{Sponsored by Epidemic Sound}

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AI is at the center of many innovative features, including:

Ear (Epidemic Audio Reference) - cut down time wasted by highlighting a specific portion of a track you like and EAR will analyze the mood, BPM and genre to find more music that sounds just like it. 

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With a vast catalog of genres and vibes, elevate your next project using Epidemic Sound.

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Industry news & events

👗London Fashion Week arrives 16-20 February. 

🎵South by Southwest (SXSW) hits Austin, TX on 8-12 March. Renowned as one of the most influential events that brings together media, design, technology, and music. 

🤖Google has rolled out an upgraded AI system, renaming Bard to Gemini. This advanced AI bot enhances text and image generation, competing strongly with other major language models. 

📹YouTube is celebrating Black History Month with a new lineup of programming, focusing on highlighting influential Black creators and their impact on the platform. The community spotlight series will showcase various stars, including Black Yogi Nico Marie, DIY enthusiast Niky Foster, and NBA 2K Gameplay creator Vladd Wavy.

🧠Reddit's new 21-page guide reveals a growing trend of consumers relying on real people's opinions on the platform to inform their buying decisions. Based on analysis of millions of posts and a survey of 11,000 users, the guide emphasizes the shift towards subreddit insights across various product categories, noting a decline in trust in traditional social channels like influencers and AI algorithms.

📈Meta's recent roundtable on AI-driven ad tools highlighted successful adoption of AI content generation features, such as text variation and image expansion, leading to improved performance for brand partners. The discussion also emphasized the growing popularity of click-to-message ads and the significant impact of AI recommendations, contributing to a 7% increase in time spent on Facebook and a 6% increase on Instagram in the past year.

The Super-Creator-Bowl future still looks promising

Super Bowl fever has had the nation in a chokehold, and despite the disappointment in creator representation across television ads, brands are increasingly recognizing the power of creators in navigating the social media landscape before, during, and after the big game. 

With audiences, especially younger Gen Zers, opting for a more interactive and social media-centric experience during the event creators are continuing to put a stamp on their presence at the games. Take TikTok sensation Addison Rae who starred in an ad for candy brand, Nerds, this year. 

Social media experts from various agencies are emphasizing the transformative role creators can play in capturing diverse audiences and driving engagement off the traditional TV screen. The NFL, in particular, has embraced creators through initiatives like the NFL Creator of the Week program, offering behind-the-scenes access to YouTube creators. This approach aims to authentically connect with communities worldwide and create a unique Super Bowl experience where the excitement of the game meets the creativity of creators. Getting more young people on board is clearly on the agenda for the NFL to continue the legacy of the sport, just take their decision to commission Dora The Explorer to introduce eagerly watching Swifties to the ‘rules of the game’. 

Experts predict a shift toward more real-time reactive content on platforms like TikTok during the game, emphasizing engagement over passive commercial viewing. As creators continue to break through the constraints of traditional media, brands are finding a direct and inclusive bridge to diverse audiences, making the creator takeover a significant force in Super Bowl marketing. 

Platform round-up

Leverage the latest updates and features across digital platforms to help you get ahead of the game…

🤳YouTube is now integrating live-streams into the Shorts feed

🎙️Podcasters can upload their RSS feed in YouTube Studio, generating static images for each episode. With YouTube enhancing podcast options and analytics, it provides an opportunity for creators to expand their reach and connect with new audiences, particularly effective for those with an established YouTube presence.

🔢Meta recently gave insights into its Threads algorithm, explaining how it determines post visibility within the app and contributes to expanded reach.

😜Instagram now lets you use the cutout sticker option on videos too, allowing you to create animated stickers from any video clip posted in the app.