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- Influence Weekly #358 - Why The Bank Of England Is Embracing Social Media
Influence Weekly #358 - Why The Bank Of England Is Embracing Social Media
YouTube Stars Sidemen, Paramount Team Up For A Shell-Shocking Surprise For Ninja Turtle Fans
Nii Ahene
October 11, 2024
Spotlight Stories
McDonald’s Taps Social Media Sensation Kai Cenat For Chicken Big Mac Face-Off
Meta Rolls Out Facebook Content Monetization Beta To Boost Creator Earnings
Why The Bank Of England Is Embracing Social Media
YouTube Stars Sidemen, Paramount Team Up For A Shell-Shocking Surprise For Ninja Turtle Fans
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Great Reads
McDonald’s Corporation has unveiled the Chicken Big Mac, a variation on its iconic Big Mac sandwich that replaces beef patties with tempura-battered chicken. The fast-food giant has partnered with Twitch streamer Kai Cenat to promote its launch.
“We’re excited to pay homage to one of our most iconic menu items, the Big Mac, and introduce it to a whole new generation of fans,” said Tariq Hassan, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at McDonald’s USA, in a press release.
The Chicken Big Mac features two chicken patties, lettuce and Big Mac sauce, mirroring the structure of its beef counterpart.
In a strategic marketing approach, McDonald’s has enlisted Cenat to participate in a taste test, comparing the new Chicken Big Mac to the original beef version. The company plans to broadcast this event on social media, leveraging Cenat’s popularity among younger consumers.
Meta announced the launch of Facebook Content Monetization beta, a new streamlined program merging three existing monetization tools - In-stream ads, Ads on Reels, and the Performance Bonus. The unified system allows creators to earn from multiple content formats like Reels, videos, photos and text posts.
Over 4 million creators have made money on Facebook since 2017, earning over $2 billion in the past year alone. Initially, 1 million existing monetizing creators are invited to join the beta, with plans to expand access in coming months before full open enrollment in 2025.
The performance-based payout model remains consistent with previous programs, tying earnings to eligible content performance across formats. As the core ad business drives profits, this move aims to boost creator earnings on the platform.
Campaign Insights
The Bank of England is expanding its communication efforts to reach younger audiences through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The central bank collaborated with finance influencer Abigail Foster for a video interview with Governor Andrew Bailey that garnered thousands of views.
This digital outreach aims to address declining public confidence, particularly among younger groups skeptical of financial institutions, and counter misinformation about BOE policies circulating online. Other central banks like the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank have also built social media presences to connect with younger demographics and influence inflation expectations.
The podcast advertising landscape is evolving rapidly with influencers and data-driven insights playing a bigger role. According to Pod Digital Media's Gary Coichy and Walmart's D.J. Vaughn, brands should nurture creator relationships, ensure audience fit, follow industry measurement standards, and embrace future trends like live activations.
With over 70 million monthly U.S. podcast listeners, the medium allows effective targeting of diverse audiences. Walmart is running campaigns featuring "dedicated moments" where hosts authentically discuss diverse-led products. A successful podcast campaign requires vetting influencers, understanding consumption habits, customizing messaging while allowing organic promotion, and tracking the dynamic industry closely.
The British YouTube group Sidemen partnered with Paramount Consumer Products to launch a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles merchandise collection. The 13-piece clothing and accessories range debuted at Sidemen's retail store in Birmingham, coinciding with the TV premiere of "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" on Nickelodeon.
The collaboration brings together the popular YouTube creators with over 140 million subscribers and Paramount's iconic characters. It marks Sidemen's second partnership with Paramount after a SpongeBob SquarePants capsule last year. The launch featured Ninja Turtles costumed characters celebrating the new line aimed at tapping into nostalgia for the franchise among Sidemen's fans.
The NBA is investing heavily in reaching Gen Z and multicultural audiences through targeted marketing campaigns, creator partnerships, and global outreach. The league's season-opening ad from Translation conveys energy and diversity, with NBA stars clashing on court while influences and fans storm the arena.
Around 25% of NBA fans are Gen Z and half are multicultural. To connect with these groups, the NBA is tailoring ads for platforms like broadcast, digital, audio, and out-of-home in multiple languages across 214 countries. It's leveraging creator strategy by giving digital influencers media access at events like the new In-Season Tournament, All-Star Game, and Summer League. The NBA aims to foster global fan engagement and loyalty through compelling storytelling around its players and cultural relevance.
VistaPrint, a leading provider of custom designs and marketing materials, has partnered with impact.com to streamline its creator platform and influencer relationships. The collaboration leverages impact.com's integrated platform to efficiently discover, partner with, and manage influencer campaigns aligned with VistaPrint's brand values and targeted towards expanding reach among small businesses.
Key features include an influencer marketplace, flexible payment options with bonus incentives, and performance tracking capabilities. Both companies aim to capitalize on the rapidly growing creator economy by fostering authentic collaborations that drive engagement and business growth.
Simon, a real estate company focused on shopping malls, has launched a nationwide "Meet Me @themall™" campaign celebrating malls as a preferred hangout spot for Gen Z. The nostalgia-driven effort features a reimagined version of "Don't You (Forget About Me)" as well as partnerships with over 250 influencers.
Simon cites data showing 97% of Gen Z shop at physical stores, and the campaign targets both Gen Z consumers and their parents. It spans streaming services like Netflix and social media, aligning with research that Gen Z increasingly uses social platforms for online searches instead of Google. The campaign aims to strengthen connections with customers by positioning malls as community gathering places.
Microsoft, Adobe and Google are employing influencer marketing to promote their generative AI tools and address consumer apprehension. The tech giants are partnering with various creators, from micro-influencers to celebrities, who produce sponsored social media content demonstrating AI use cases and assuaging fears around the emerging technology.
Microsoft recruited TikTokers like Keith Lee and Speedy Morman to showcase its Copilot chatbot in everyday contexts. Adobe collaborates with smaller artists highlighting creative projects using its Firefly platform. The companies view influencers as trusted voices to educate the masses, steer narratives around AI, and foster adoption amidst public skepticism over issues like data privacy and human displacement.
GetYourGuide, a global marketplace for travel experiences, introduced new features to streamline operations and enhance differentiation for its 30,000+ experience partners. In a limited rollout, GetYourGuide added videos produced with creators to provide authentic views of destinations and experiences.
An AI Content Creator tool reduces listing creation time by up to 40%. New "Insights" functionality offers data like "Likely to Sell Out" predictions to better manage inventory. The company also expanded language support.
This aligns with growing consumer spending on experiences, outpacing discretionary goods spending, driven by online booking platforms and preferences for authentic, immersive travel. GetYourGuide aims to give experience partners better tools in the estimated $1.7 trillion experience economy.
In a significant shift for the gaming industry, YouTubers and social media influencers are now flocking to the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas. Once unwelcome, content creators are now embraced by the convention, with organizer RX creating a dedicated influencer pass category last year.
Attendance in this category has grown over 150% in just one year, with about 125 influencer badges approved for the 2024 event. The expo now features an influencer lounge and specialized preview tours, recognizing the growing role of influencers in gaming marketing.
Slot machine manufacturers like AGS are integrating influencers into their G2E strategies, seeing them as valuable sources of player feedback. This shift represents a broader trend in the industry, with casinos and gaming companies increasingly partnering with content creators to amplify brand visibility and engage consumers in the digital age.
Travel Tech Startup NextTrip Unveils Video Platform With 1,000+ Hours Of Influencer-Promoted Content
Travel tech startup NextTrip has unveiled Compass.tv, a video platform featuring over 1,000 hours of influencer-promoted travel content. The platform aims to inspire viewers to book vacations directly through NextTrip's booking engine.
It targets Gen Z and millennial audiences who increasingly use video for travel planning. Compass.tv partners with popular travel influencers and content creators like Geography Now's Paul Barbato, offering a revenue-sharing model.
The launch reflects the travel industry's shift towards video discovery, driven by younger consumers' desires for authentic, experiential travel content shareable on social media. Key industry reports highlight factors like authenticity, authority, comparative insights, and reliability shaping choices in 2024.
Interesting People
TikTok star Charli D'Amelio, known for her viral dance videos with over 155 million followers, is making her Broadway debut in the hit musical "& Juliet." The 20-year-old influencer will join the cast for a three-month run starting October 29, taking on the dance-heavy ensemble role of Charmian.
D'Amelio previously showcased her dance skills by winning Season 31 of "Dancing with the Stars" in 2022. Her theatre debut marks a transition from her successful social media career to live performance. "& Juliet" reimagines Shakespeare's classic with pop hits, exploring Juliet's life had she survived. The jukebox musical has found international success since originating in London's West End.
YouTuber KSI is set to join the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent for the 2024 season as a guest judge. The 31-year-old social media star, known for his extensive online following of 80 million, will serve for three out of five days during the show's first round of auditions in Blackpool.
This move aims to tap into KSI's substantial digital audience and expand the show's reach among younger, tech-savvy viewers. KSI, who has achieved 2.7 billion music streams, sees this as an opportunity to showcase fresh talent. He also co-founded the beverage company Prime Hydration with Logan Paul, which recently faced trademark infringement and breach of contract lawsuits.
Tyler Chou, founder and CEO of Tyler Chou Law for Creators, is leveraging her legal expertise to champion the rights of online content creators. With a background at major companies like Disney and Buzzfeed, Chou is now focused on helping creators navigate legal pitfalls.
She advises creators to establish LLCs, secure contracts, register trademarks, and prioritize intellectual property protection. Chou exposes common contract mistakes, such as undervaluing work and predatory deals, and recommends provisions like liability caps, indemnity clauses, and kill fees.
As the creator economy matures, Chou notes an emerging focus on equity stakes and exit strategies. Ultimately, Chou aims to equip creators with the legal tools they need to build sustainable businesses and protect their intellectual property.
Content creator Bobbi Althoff, best known for her TikTok persona and podcast, spoke with Wired about her rapid rise to fame, financial independence, and recent divorce. Althoff revealed that her primary motivation was achieving financial security, which she lacked growing up.
At her peak last year, she earned $250,000-$300,000 from brand deals and TikTok's Creator Fund. This financial success enabled her to divorce her writer husband earlier this year, as she felt it was the right time for her children. Althoff addressed rumors about an alleged relationship with Drake after their infamous podcast interview, denying any impropriety.
The Drake appearance marked a turning point in her celebrity, though she dismisses claims of being an "industry plant." Throughout her journey, Althoff has maintained a singular focus on building her career and ensuring financial stability.
Industry News
YouTube recently announced a significant update to its Shorts platform, extending the maximum video length from 60 seconds to 3 minutes for square or vertically-oriented videos. This change, effective October 15th, aims to provide creators with increased storytelling flexibility.
Additionally, YouTube introduced several new features, including templates for remixing popular Shorts, enhanced remixing capabilities using clips across YouTube, AI-generated content for backgrounds and standalone clips, a trends page for discovering trending content, comment previews in the feed, and feed customization options.
These updates build on previous enhancements and respond to creator demand, aiming to empower self-expression, inspiration, engagement, and staying current with trends in the rapidly evolving short-form video space.
TikTok introduced new advertising solutions aimed at boosting business results for brands. The key updates include an automated campaign tool called GMV Max to streamline TikTok Shop campaigns, an in-store digital ad offering displaying TikTok content at retail locations, improved measurement capabilities with Conversion Lift Studies, and privacy-enhancing technologies integrations.
TikTok also launched an automated ad tool called Smart+ that optimizes targeting, bidding and creatives. Early tests show GMV Max increased merchants' sales by 30% on average, while Conversion Lift Studies revealed TikTok's impact is undervalued when only measuring last-click attribution. The new ad solutions are designed to simplify campaign management, provide better insights into effectiveness, and address privacy concerns.
Meta has unveiled Movie Gen, a suite of AI models aimed at transforming video creation on Instagram. Set for release in 2025, Movie Gen comprises four main components – a video generation model, an audio generation model, a personalized video model, and an editing model.
These tools will enable Instagram users to create high-definition videos up to 16 seconds long with synchronized audio using text prompts and editing capabilities. Meta claims Movie Gen outperforms competing models in generating consistent visuals with natural motion.
However, concerns have been raised about potential unauthorized use of copyrighted content in training the AI models, mirroring recent lawsuits against tech companies for scraping online videos without creators' consent to train AI systems.
YouTube's top sports executive forecasts that viewers may soon have the option to choose commentary from emerging creators over traditional broadcasters for live sports broadcasts. Jon Cruz, Head of Global Sports Partnerships at YouTube, predicted that fans could select creator-hosted commentary streams, like from football strategist Brett Coleman, instead of established broadcast teams like Tony Romo and Jim Nantz.
This aligns with YouTube's growing success in streaming sports content, with sports views up 45% year-over-year. However, Cruz emphasized careful integration of creators beyond just featuring popular influencers.
He believes the future lies in the relationships between viewers and content creators, regardless of production budgets or platforms. With YouTube paying $2 billion annually for NFL rights, strategically incorporating creators into sports broadcasts is a priority.
TikTok Shop has gained traction as a platform for livestream shopping in the US, but its success has been limited to niche products like vitamins, fragrances and women's apparel. While appealing to sellers restricted on other platforms, TikTok must attract mainstream brands and merchandise to truly establish video shopping.
Currently, top sellers mostly cater to impulse buys and leverage TikTok's lax advertising policies around sensitive topics. For sustainable growth, TikTok needs to demonstrate its ability to drive sales of general consumer goods while instilling brand safety guardrails. Its unique strengths in driving viral engagement remain both an opportunity and challenge.
Google is set to host an exclusive Creator Summit at its Mountain View headquarters on October 28th and 29th. This invite-only event, led by Google Search Liaison Danny Sullivan and other Search team members, aims to connect with small and independent publishers, particularly those affected by recent algorithm updates.
The summit, officially named "Google Search Web Creator Conversion Event," will focus on Google Search and publishing. It offers selected creators a rare opportunity to directly engage with Google engineers and representatives who can influence search algorithms. The agenda includes sessions on how Google builds and refines its search systems, as well as an open forum for creators to share feedback and concerns.
This livestreamed session will be broadcast to Google employees not in attendance. This initiative reflects Google's efforts to address concerns from content creators impacted by recent algorithm changes, particularly the helpful content update from September 2024.
YouTube's rise over the past 20 years has been relentless, transforming it from a quirky video-sharing site into a cultural juggernaut rivaling TV networks and Hollywood studios. Originally conceived as a dating platform, YouTube pivoted to allow users to upload any video, sparking an explosion of creativity and the "creator economy."
Its 2007 Partner Program enabled people to monetize content, turning hobbies into full-time careers. While early viral hits like "Gangnam Style" showcased YouTube's global reach, recent years have seen the platform's influence solidify. It has become the world's largest open classroom for learning skills through instructional videos. Hollywood now views YouTube creators as a path to discovering original stories and talent, striking deals for shows and films.
However, controversies over misinformation and content moderation persist. Looking ahead, YouTube faces competition from TikTok's short-form videos while exploring generative AI's creative potential. But two decades on, the former startup's gravitational pull on entertainment, education, and culture remains unmatched.
A new global study by podcast company Acast highlights the growing influence of podcast advertising worldwide. The research surveyed over 2,600 weekly podcast listeners across 13 countries. Key findings reveal that more than half of daily podcast listeners globally have made a purchase after hearing a podcast ad. The influence is even higher in emerging markets like India and Brazil.
Podcast ads outperform radio and streaming music ads in listener engagement. The study also analyzes podcast listening habits, discovery tools like YouTube, the host-listener connection, and emerging trends like live events. As podcasting rapidly grows, especially in emerging markets, the report indicates significant opportunities for brands to reach highly engaged audiences through podcast advertising.
Podcast platform Podimo has acquired Podads, a leading Danish podcast agency and advertising platform, in its third acquisition. The acquisition creates new avenues for creators and businesses to increase earnings through multiple revenue streams and expand their audience.
Podads will continue to operate independently under CEO and Co-Founder Anne-Kathrine Pommergaard. “The market for podcast advertising is growing, but we see even greater commercial potential that goes hand in hand with the growth of Podimo’s subscription model,” says Morten Strunge, Podimo co-founder and CEO, in a news release.
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To build deeper connections with followers, influencers are leveraging multiple platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Substack, moving beyond reliance on a single source. While macro-influencers reach wider audiences, micro-influencers often have more engaged followings.
Platforms like ShopMy offer influencers transparency and control over content, aligning with their desire for authenticity over prescriptive brand briefs. As the line between influencers and creators blurs, influence remains the key commodity. By understanding their goals, brands can optimize influencer campaigns to effectively connect with target audiences in this nuanced landscape.
In the heated race for the White House, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are making strategic moves to reach voters through the increasingly popular podcast medium. Both candidates are appearing on top podcasts spanning genres like dating, finance, and pop culture to amplify their messages and connect with audiences who may be tuning out traditional media.
With one month until Election Day and the race deadlocked, the campaigns' embrace of podcasting highlights the industry's growing influence and ability to engage diverse listeners. As voters seek new ways to consume political content, these unconventional outreach efforts could prove pivotal in swaying undecided voters.
Audi has launched an innovative marketing campaign, putting influencers in the driver's seat for thrilling test drives. This initiative, developed by their Canadian agency Bensimon Byrne, introduces Audi's new global positioning platform: "This is Audi." The campaign aims to create heart-racing experiences for influencers as they test Audi vehicles, leveraging their reach and authenticity to connect with target audiences.
By providing memorable, adrenaline-pumping drives, Audi seeks to generate genuine, shareable content that resonates with potential customers. This strategy aligns with Audi's focus on innovation, including advancements in electric vehicles and technology. The "This is Audi" tagline encapsulates the brand's identity, emphasizing its unique driving experience and positioning in the automotive industry.
MrBeast's $100 million Beast Games reality show on Amazon is moving forward despite mounting controversies and lawsuits. The YouTuber sensation revealed he spent over $100 million producing the show, offering an unprecedented $5 million cash prize. While criticized for inadequate living conditions and alleged misconduct during filming, experts believe MrBeast's massive fanbase will still tune in.
However, the controversies could make brands warier of funding his future high-budget projects if he doesn't address concerns transparently. With legal sensitivities ongoing, MrBeast has remained tight-lipped, relying on excitement from fans, but that strategy has risks for his reputation long-term.