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- Influence Weekly #406 - Content Creators Left Unpaid As The Corner Agency Faces Liquidation Proceedings
Influence Weekly #406 - Content Creators Left Unpaid As The Corner Agency Faces Liquidation Proceedings
How Gymshark Taps Into Sorority Partnerships On Social Media To Fuel Growth
Nii Ahene
September 12, 2025
Spotlight Stories
Content Creators Left Unpaid As The Corner Agency Faces Liquidation Proceedings
How Gymshark Taps Into Sorority Partnerships On Social Media To Fuel Growth
Roblox Creators Earn Over $1B As Platform Drives Economic Growth Worldwide
U.S. Tennis Association Launches Creator Credentials Program To Boost U.S. Open Engagement
Great Reads
The Corner Agency, a London-based influencer marketing company, entered liquidation proceedings in July 2025, leaving content creators unpaid. The Corner Communications (London) Ltd had approximately 40 creditors according to Companies House filings, though this number has decreased.
YouTuber Fabulous Hannah claimed The Corner owes her £14,500 in a now-deleted Instagram post, describing the amount as significant for her maternity pay. Make-up artist Tyra Harrison called the situation "incredibly disheartening" and noted some creators took additional jobs to supplement income.
The Corner notified creators on July 25 that the communications business was entering liquidation and directed payment queries to liquidators. The Corner Talent Ltd continues operating separately and will focus on advertising and influencer marketing. CEO Neil Simpson stated liquidation was "a difficult decision, not taken lightly" but follows proper legal process. The company initially posted it was "still very much in business" on LinkedIn before deleting the statement.
David Choi launched Los Angeles-based Choi Music in 2012 after joining YouTube in 2006 as one of the platform's first monetizing musicians. The rights management company serves music publishers, labels, artists, and media companies, helping them recover revenue from content catalogs through YouTube's Content Management System and Content ID tools.
Choi's audits frequently reveal revenue discrepancies in client catalogs. One client earning $10-20 monthly with another company generated over $200 monthly after switching to Choi Music, representing a tenfold increase. The company operates on month-to-month agreements rather than standard one-to-three-year industry contracts.
Choi Music pays clients monthly, typically before month-end after receiving YouTube payments on the 21st. The company takes a standard administration fee that varies based on catalog size and revenue factors. Choi, who accumulated over 150 million streams as a creator, focuses on transparency by providing clients with backend analytics data that other companies typically keep hidden.
Manychat announced its Instagram Summit expanded to expect more than 17,000 attendees for its October 22-23, 2025 virtual event. The conversational marketing platform, which serves two million users across 170 countries, grew the event from 3,000 planned attendees in its first year to 8,000 actual participants, reaching 17,000 in 2024.
The company added an in-person component in Hollywood, California on September 19, 2025. Featured speakers include creators Zach King (23 million followers), Colin and Samir, and Brock Johnson, alongside business expert Natasha Willis, who generated over $87 million for brands through her company School of Bots.
Meta supports the event as Manychat's official partner. The summit focuses on business development rather than content creation, addressing creator isolation and providing networking opportunities. Manychat VP of Growth Anna Tutckaia said the company loses money on the event but views it as investment in the creator ecosystem to strengthen its market position.
Campaign Insights
British activewear company Gymshark partnered with U.S. university sororities during 2024-2025 recruitment cycles to target college-aged consumers through social media campaigns. The company worked with Alpha Chi Omega at University of Tennessee Knoxville, generating 2.4 million views on TikTok with a 570% engagement rate. Prime Hydration, co-founded by Logan Paul and KSI, co-sponsored the campaign.
Additional partnerships included Alpha Phi at San Diego State University on Instagram and Delta Gamma at University of Alabama. The campaigns coincided with sorority recruitment periods and member class reveals, when Greek life content receives peak engagement on social platforms.
The partnerships occurred as Gymshark reported revenue growth to $821.3 million for the year ending July 2024, up from $752.2 million previously. The global athleisure market reached $393.7 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow to $902.4 billion by 2033. Gymshark maintains a valuation between $1.3-$1.4 billion, competing against Nike's $109 billion market capitalization and Lululemon's $29 billion valuation.
YouTube drew 17.3 million viewers globally for its first exclusive NFL broadcast on September 5, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs versus Los Angeles Chargers from São Paulo, Brazil. The viewership included 16.2 million in the United States and 1.1 million internationally, representing a 14% increase from last year's opening week Friday night game.
The broadcast featured creators throughout the programming. MrBeast, Haley Kalil, Michelle Khare, and Marques Brownlee provided exclusive content during the main broadcast. YouTube offered alternate livestreams hosted by creators including iShowSpeed and Tom Grossi in English, plus Spanish and Portuguese language streams targeting Brazilian audiences.
The pregame show hosted by creators Kay Adams and Peter Overzet alongside NFL veterans averaged 2.4 million U.S. viewers. The post-game show attracted 5.9 million viewers. YouTube acquired NFL Sunday Ticket rights in 2023 through a seven-year deal worth over $2 billion annually, providing access to out-of-market games.
Children's YouTube creators moved content to streaming platforms through repackaging deals in 2025. Netflix's "Ms. Rachel" became the platform's seventh most-watched show in the first half of 2025 with 53.4 million views, using repackaged YouTube content from her channel's 16 million subscribers.
Pocket.watch, a creator studio named to Time100's most influential companies, facilitated streaming deals for YouTube creators including Ryan's World, KidCity, and others. The company doubled its Hulu shows to over 30 in 2025 and saw fivefold viewership increases on Peacock compared to 2024. Pocket.watch distributed approximately 450 episodes across platforms including Disney+ and Hulu since 2018.
The model addresses declining cable viewership, which dropped 26% from 2015 to 2024 to 70 million households. Creators like KidCity's Michael and Aryn described streaming deals as "residual passive income" requiring minimal additional work. Netflix launched second seasons of both "Ms. Rachel" and "Blippi's Job Show" in September 2025, signaling continued platform investment in creator-originated content.
Popfly, a platform connecting outdoor brands with creators, partnered with Hyundai to create a "Director of Influence" position offering $70,000-$80,000 salary, $2,500 monthly travel fund, and a Hyundai Palisade XRT Pro for one year. The role launched in late August and attracted over 600 applicants.
The position requires field-based content creation at outdoor destinations rather than traditional desk-based social media management. The director will manage Popfly's social channels, travel to locations like national parks, and serve as the brand's public face. Hyundai approached Popfly after seeing the initial job posting and offered to provide the vehicle.
Popfly aims to announce the selected candidate by end of September, with first-round interviews already underway. The company interviewed over 20 candidates from the initial pool. Director Maren Hamilton, formerly of The North Face, joined Popfly three months ago to lead the initiative, viewing it as a model for future creator employment that combines brand partnerships with creator opportunities.
The U.S. Tennis Association launched a credential program for social media creators at the 2025 U.S. Open, granting approximately 50 creators official access to produce content across food, lifestyle, entertainment, fashion and family categories. The program provides creators with easier venue access and perks including food and beverages, marking the first such initiative by a major tennis tournament.
The move follows last year's record 2.3 billion engagements across USTA platforms during the three-week tournament period. The organization set higher internal engagement targets for 2025 but declined to disclose specific figures. USTA social media lead Jonathan Zipper said creators highlight activities beyond tennis matches through their "unique lenses."
The initiative reflects broader sports industry trends toward creator partnerships. The NBA expanded its creator program for 2024-25, generating 650 million video views last season. TikTok and the Association of Tennis Professionals recently announced a global partnership creating a Tennis Creator Network. ESPN signed creator Katie Feeney, noting creator content generates engagement rates up to 13 times higher than typical benchmarks.
Metricool released a study analyzing over 12,000 social media posts from the top 100 U.S. podcasts over a 30-day period. The social media analytics platform found that 87% of leading podcasts maintain a YouTube presence and 82% use Instagram, with short-form video clips becoming the primary promotional tool.
Instagram delivered the strongest engagement performance, with podcast posts receiving 724% higher engagement than the platform average. Instagram Reels comprised nearly 80% of podcast content on the platform. Despite having the lowest posting frequency at 37.24 posts monthly, Instagram generated 5,517.51 interactions per post on average.
YouTube showed a 3.13% engagement rate and averaged 537.16 comments per post. X had the highest posting volume at 96.55 posts monthly but delivered only a 0.35% engagement rate. Facebook maintained 71.30 posts monthly with a 0.87% engagement rate.
The study revealed no correlation between posting frequency and follower growth across platforms except Facebook. Podcast content generated comment rates exceeding platform averages by 229.28% on YouTube, 2,431.51% on Instagram, and 1,849.96% on Facebook.
College-focused social platform Fizz partnered with food delivery company Gopuff to integrate grocery delivery directly within its application. The collaboration allows students to order items with delivery times as fast as 15 minutes, according to the company.
Fizz operates across more than 620 U.S. campuses with over 27 million posts shared to date. The platform, founded in 2021, allows students to connect anonymously with peers at their universities and already features a marketplace where users buy and sell items locally.
The integration provides pre-selected grocery collections, including Gym, Study Fuel, and Rush bags, to streamline shopping. CEO Teddy Solomon said the expansion addresses existing user behavior, as students already coordinate group food deliveries through the app.
The startup has secured more than $40 million in funding to date. Solomon positioned Fizz as "the social app for the 99% of life that is not on Instagram and TikTok," contrasting it with entertainment-focused platforms.
The NFL partnered with YouTube creator MrBeast for the platform's first exclusive NFL broadcast on September 5, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers in São Paulo. The game streamed free to YouTube's 2.5 billion monthly users globally, with blackouts in Canada and several other countries due to existing agreements.
MrBeast appeared in promotional content and multiple broadcast segments, alongside other creators including iShowSpeed and Tom Grossi who hosted alternative commentary streams. The collaboration aimed to reach younger audiences as YouTube accounts for over 13% of total TV consumption according to Nielsen data.
Traditional NFL viewers criticized MrBeast's prominent presence throughout the broadcast. One viewer wrote they would pay DirectTV three times their current rate to avoid "12-year-old MrBeast garbage," while others compared the integration unfavorably to Taylor Swift coverage during Chiefs games last season.
The partnership aligns with recent STN Digital research showing personality-driven content outperforms traditional sports content across leagues. NFL content generated over 350 million viewing hours on YouTube in 2024.
TikTok partnered with Fandango to enable direct movie ticket purchases within its app, launched September 8, 2025, with Disney's "TRON: Ares" as the debut title. The integration uses TikTok Spotlight technology to display "Get Tickets" buttons on movie-related content, allowing users to buy tickets without leaving the platform.
The partnership builds on TikTok's expanding e-commerce strategy, which includes existing integrations with Booking.com for hotel reservations and Ticketmaster for concert tickets. TikTok reported that nearly 50% of U.S. users discover theatrical releases on the platform, with 36% taking action after discovery.
Fandango, owned by NBCUniversal, operates as the leading online movie ticketing service in the United States. The companies plan to expand the feature beyond "TRON: Ares" to additional films. The integration represents TikTok's continued push into transactional commerce, complementing its existing "TikTok Go" program that pays creators commissions for promoting local merchant services.
Roblox creators earned more than $1 billion globally from March 2024 to March 2025, representing a 31% year-over-year increase through the platform's Developer Exchange Program. The gaming platform, which allows users to create and monetize interactive experiences, released its annual Economic Impact Report conducted by analysis firm Nordicity.
The report showed Roblox generated $1.62 billion in GDP for the U.S. economy between 2017 and 2024, while contributing 22,000 full-time job equivalents. Top performers saw substantial earnings growth, with the top 1,000 developers averaging $820,000 in 2024, up 570% since 2019.
Roblox's economic impact extended beyond traditional tech centers, with 75% of creator payouts over eight years going to states where tech employment remains below 10% above the national average. The platform reached 111.8 million average daily active users worldwide as of July 2025, up 41% year-over-year.
Creator marketing budgets expanded by over 12 percent in 2025, but creators reported their sponsored content revenue remained flat as brands shifted spending toward paid media inventory rather than direct sponsorships. Companies including Unilever committed to spending half their marketing budgets on social channels by year-end.
Between January and August, affiliate marketing spend grew at 6 percent monthly on YouTube compared to 2 percent for sponsorship videos, according to CreatorDB data. Collective Voice surveyed 1,200 creators and found 70 percent expected traditional sponsored posts to comprise less than 25 percent of their holiday content.
Brands increasingly allocated budgets to third-party managed inventory like Meta's partnership ads and TikTok's Spark Ads, which account for 60-70 percent of creator-driven ad spend on TikTok according to Insider Intelligence. This shift stemmed from algorithmic changes making follower counts unreliable metrics and platforms suppressing branded content organically. Creators responded by raising rates to account for multi-platform ad usage and focusing more on performance-driven strategies like affiliate marketing rather than traditional sponsorship deals.
Vodafone tested an AI-generated presenter in a TikTok advertisement targeting German audiences, confirming the artificial nature of the spokesperson after viewer comments questioned why the company didn't use a real person. The telecommunications company stated it was "testing different styles of advertising" and noted that "AI is so much a part of everyday life these days that we also try it out in advertising."
This marked Vodafone's second use of generative AI in advertising, following a commercial released in 2024 where every shot was AI-generated. The TikTok ad displayed visual indicators of artificial generation including unnatural hair movement, disappearing facial features, and uncanny valley facial expressions.
The test aligns with a broader industry trend toward AI-generated influencers. Lil' Miquela, created by tech company Dapper Labs, has appeared in campaigns for Calvin Klein, Prada, and BMW. According to industry reports, fake AI influencers are gaining popularity as brands explore alternatives to human creators.
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Interesting People
TikTok creator Khaby Lame, who has over 160 million followers, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday to begin a tour of China. The Senegalese-Italian influencer posted about his visit on Sina Weibo and plans to travel to Tianjin, Chongqing, and Guangzhou for cultural experiences.
Chinese short video platform Kuaishou announced the itinerary through a livestream. Lame's visit follows American YouTuber Darren "IShowSpeed" who toured China in March, visiting the Great Wall, Palace Museum, and Shaolin Temple.
China's visa-free policies contributed to the influencer tourism trend. The National Immigration Administration reported that 76 countries now have visa-free entry arrangements, with 13.64 million travelers entering China visa-free in the first half of 2025, representing a 53.9 percent year-over-year increase. Tourism experts told state media that international influencers provide content that reaches younger audiences more effectively than traditional promotional methods.
Social media comedian Dylan Kevitch built his career through spontaneous comedy content on Instagram and TikTok, focusing on prank calls and unscripted videos. The content creator, who describes himself as the "gay Kim Kardashian," gained recognition through his improvisational approach to content creation.
Kevitch transitioned from dance training at Pace University to digital content after realizing comedy suited his personality better. His breakthrough moment came when Paris Hilton recognized his work and invited him to events, validating his career shift. The creator monetized his content when followers began sending him money via Venmo to make prank calls.
Kevitch generates revenue through brand partnerships, adapting his comedy style to work with various companies. He recently expanded his Instagram strategy to include lifestyle content alongside comedy, aiming to deepen audience connections. The creator is developing a television show with his cousin and pursuing acting opportunities beyond social media platforms.
His content philosophy centers on encouraging audiences to embrace their "inner child" and approach life with less seriousness, positioning comedy as an antidote to modern anxiety.
Travel content creator Nathan Allen transitioned from corporate marketing to full-time content creation after reaching 100,000 followers and matching his corporate salary through social media earnings. The University of Kentucky graduate built his business over two years while working full-time, strategically using paid time off to travel and create content.
Allen signed with G&B Management and has secured partnerships with Canon USA, Hyundai, Delta, and American Express. His monetization comes primarily through brand partnerships rather than platform revenue sharing. He focuses his content strategy on Instagram and TikTok, describing his style as "cinematic storytelling" with high production value using cinema cameras.
Allen highlighted payment issues in the creator economy, noting payment terms have extended from net 30 to net 60-90 days. He emphasized treating content creation as a business rather than just a creative pursuit. With a second child expected, Allen plans to expand beyond social media into product development and brand building while maintaining his "Get Busy Living" philosophy that guides his content strategy.
Ciera Hudson built her family content business from a photography hobby into a career creating spontaneous family content across Instagram and TikTok. The Utah-based creator started posting wedding content before transitioning to family life documentation when brands began reaching out for partnerships.
Hudson's content strategy centers on unplanned moments with her four children, often filming 30 minutes to an hour before posting. She previously worked as a professional dancer for Donny Osmond and appeared in commercials before moving to New Mexico, where increased posting helped grow her audience.
The creator is represented by Illuminate Social management company, which handles business coordination and brand partnerships. Hudson has expanded from Instagram to TikTok, where she now has more followers than her original platform. Her viral content includes a video of her daughter listening to a record player that received millions of views.
Hudson maintains content boundaries, refusing to post embarrassing moments and seeking her children's approval before sharing videos that feature them.
An 11-year-old Indonesian boy's traditional dance video sparked a viral phenomenon that generated $2.5 million in tourism revenue for his coastal village in Sumatra. Rayyan Arkan Dikha, dubbed the "Aura Farming Boat Kid," performed traditional steps during the Pacu Jalur festival, unaware his 30-second clip would be copied by celebrities including NFL's Travis Kelce, BTS members Jungkook and V, and soccer players from Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan.
Google searches for "aura farming dance" surged 700% in August 2025, becoming Indonesia's top trending phrase that month. Flight bookings to the region increased 48% following the viral moment, with hotels now offering "authentic aura dance experiences" to capitalize on tourist demand.
Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism reported the festival generated four times its usual revenue this year. Travel agencies in Jakarta and Bali created "Boat Kid Festival Packages," though Dikha's family received no direct income from the commercial activity surrounding his performance.
Dude Perfect announced it will launch "Almost Athletes," a weekly digital series debuting September 10, marking the YouTube group's first venture into long-form personality-driven content. The sports entertainment company, which has more than 100 million subscribers across platforms, partnered with Wave Sports & Entertainment to produce the show.
The series will be hosted by Dude Perfect founding member Garrett Hilbert and crew member Kevin Sparkman, with other group members appearing on rotation. Wave Sports & Entertainment, named one of TIME100's "Most Innovative Companies of 2025," brings experience in creator-focused programming and works with athletes including Kylie Kelce and Paul George.
Episodes will release every Wednesday on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast platforms. Hasbro joined as an official partner, integrating two games into show segments. The launch coincides with Dude Perfect's theatrical documentary "The Hero Tour," which screens in over 800 theaters worldwide starting September 26.
Creators expanded their use of connected TV channels to justify higher sponsorship rates as CTV platforms added more creator content in recent months. Creator collective Jomboy Media signed a licensing deal with Tubi in August and leveraged its TV presence to negotiate premium multi-year deals with sponsors like T-Mobile and Corona.
Team Liquid partnered with Mirage Digital to license content about its Esports World Cup run to Roku audiences from August 12-24, generating 1.3 million minutes watched and 480,000 unique viewers. Creator Television announced additional creator signings on September 4, with viewership growing 300 percent year-over-year.
Creators typically license older content to CTV platforms while keeping new content on their social channels first. However, advertising executives reported that creator-led CTV content performed similarly to traditional CTV inventory and delivered lower engagement than direct creator partnerships. Brands found more value in sponsoring creators whose content appeared across both social and TV channels simultaneously.
Industry News
Roblox launched Roblox Moments, a short-form video app allowing players to capture and share gameplay clips within its ecosystem, at its annual Developers Conference on September 10. The beta feature follows the format popularized by TikTok and YouTube Shorts, aiming to retain user-generated content that currently generates billions of views on external platforms.
The gaming platform simultaneously increased creator cash-out rates for Robux by 8.5%, giving developers higher returns when converting virtual earnings to real money. CEO David Baszucki said the creator community earned over $1 billion in the past year, with more than 100 games surpassing $1 million in annual revenue.
Roblox reported 111.8 million daily active users in the quarter ending June 30. The company previously partnered with Google earlier this year to support new ad formats for its advertising business. The dual announcement positions Roblox to compete directly with platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch for creator activity while offering financial incentives for developers to remain on its platform.
Gaming talent management company Fenix Down, founded in 2020 by former account manager Janessa Christine, has built a business around streamlining partnerships between gaming creators and brands. The San Diego-based company represents over 50 content creators, primarily Twitch streamers.
Fenix Down operates through a team-based structure where all employees work with all talent but in specialized functions, rather than traditional one-agent-per-creator models. Christine launched the company after her previous employer closed during COVID-19 and creators approached her directly for representation.
The company focuses on educating non-gaming brands about live streaming content, which Christine describes as more like "a booth at a fair" than traditional advertising. Fenix Down highlighted Electronic Arts' three-year creator consultation process for "Battlefield 6" as an example of effective brand-creator collaboration.
Christine cited challenges in the reverse direction, where creator-initiated campaigns struggle to gain brand attention compared to brand-initiated partnerships, indicating structural gaps in the current creator economy ecosystem.
KINETK, a technology company formed through Trips' July acquisition of IP protection platform Mentaport, launched a content tracking system that uses invisible watermarking, AI fingerprinting, and blockchain registration. The company enables creators and IP holders to track their content across the internet, even when modified or embedded in other works.
The system embeds invisible watermarks in content while creating AI fingerprints based on content characteristics. Metadata gets registered on blockchain for ownership records. Autonomous AI scanners continuously search the web for these markers and report findings back through the blockchain.
KINETK serves individual creators on YouTube and TikTok as well as enterprises with large IP portfolios. Users can connect existing channels or upload content directly for protection. The platform provides a dashboard showing where content appears online, with customizable filters and response options including automated takedown requests.
The company plans to launch its platform to early access users in September and is developing a Sentinel ambassador program to expand content identification capabilities beyond automated scanning.
Warner Music Group sued Designer Shoe Warehouse in March for allegedly using over 200 copyrighted tracks in influencer-created TikTok and Instagram ads without proper licensing. Warner sought statutory damages of up to $150,000 per song, potentially exposing DSW to claims exceeding $30 million.
The case illustrates mounting legal risks as influencer marketing reached $32.5 billion globally in 2025, according to Statista. QBE North America identified three primary exposure areas: copyright infringement, defamation, and disclosure violations.
Copyright issues dominate claims against influencers and brands. Social platforms provide blanket licenses for personal use, but commercial-use music libraries remain limited. Influencer Avery Cyrus faced a defamation lawsuit from her former manager over remarks made during a TikTok livestream.
Class action suits targeted Celsius energy drinks, Shein, and Revolve in California for allegedly hiding material connections between brands and influencers. QBE developed specialized influencer marketing insurance policies after repeated instances where brands faced liability when influencers lacked adequate coverage or financial resources.
Meta launched a new text attachment feature for Threads that allows users to add up to 10,000 characters of text to posts, extending beyond the platform's original 500-character limit. The feature addresses user behavior of sharing screenshots from books, articles, newsletters, and podcast transcripts.
Users access the expanded text option through a new icon in the post composer, which opens a blog-style editor. The attached content appears with a "Read more" prompt within posts. Unlike competitor X's approach to longer content, Threads positioned this feature to support promotion of external content and doesn't penalize posts containing external links.
The update arrives as Threads reached 400 million monthly active users, adding 50 million users in recent months. Mobile usage rose to 115.1 million daily active users in June, up 128% year-over-year. The platform continues developing features including analytics for creators, trending topics, live sports scores, and advertising options introduced when it surpassed 320 million monthly users earlier this year.
YouTube established itself as the leading educational platform for European teenagers, according to research published September 10. The study by youth agency Livity and Google surveyed over 7,000 teens aged 13-18 across seven European countries including Ireland, Poland, Spain, Greece, France, Sweden, and Italy.
Seventy-four percent of respondents used YouTube for school-related learning, outperforming TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. Additionally, 71% accessed YouTube for recreational learning outside school. The research found 73% of teens watched educational video content at least weekly.
Teachers adopted YouTube widely, with 84% across the EU incorporating the platform's content into lessons or assignments. Two-thirds of educators agreed YouTube increased student engagement. Among parents using YouTube, 80% believed the platform provided quality educational and entertainment content.
The findings emerged as separate European Parliament research showed social media platforms, including YouTube at 23%, now lead traditional media as primary news sources for Europeans aged 16-30. The complete report releases in October.
Nine Agency, recognized as the "World's Best Boutique Agency" in July, launched from Nouw.com, a Scandinavian blogging platform with 1.3 million weekly users. Founded in 2018, the European influencer marketing agency developed its own technology solution called CIMS, which provides access to 250 million profiles across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
CIMS celebrated its first anniversary as a standalone product after emerging from Nine Agency's need for better campaign management tools. The platform consolidates content collection, scheduling, messaging, tracking, and analysis for influencer campaigns. Client demand led Nine Agency to offer CIMS access directly to in-house marketing teams alongside agency services.
The agency serves clients across multiple industries including fast-moving consumer goods, digital services, and business-to-business sectors. Nine Agency is undergoing a complete brand revamp with new identity, website, and visual language launching within weeks. The company plans to create more specialized roles to enhance expertise in key areas while maintaining its focus on making influencer marketing a foundation of modern marketing strategies.
EKI Technologies, a digital incubator founded in August 2021 in Benin City, Nigeria, launched Find African Creators, a discovery platform connecting brands with African content creators. The company received a $20,000 grant from the Gates Foundation in 2024 to support its expansion efforts.
CEO Uche Eze said the platform focuses on micro-creators rather than accounts with millions of followers, operating on a transaction-fee business model. EKI addresses what it calls the "99% challenge" - the disparity where only 1% of African creators earn substantial income while 99% earn significantly less.
The company operates a four-stage ecosystem covering training, growth, discovery, and monetization. EKI launched a Creator Apprenticeship Program and Creator Entrepreneurship Program to develop creator skills before connecting them with brands through Find African Creators.
The platform allows brands to search creators by location, niche, and follower count, handling end-to-end campaign management and payment processing. EKI plans to expand beyond Nigeria and is building a physical creative campus for in-person creator collaboration and training.
Digital content creators and influencers became eligible for President Donald Trump's "No Tax on Tips" policy, according to Treasury Department draft documents. The provision allows service professionals to deduct up to $25,000 in tips from federal income taxes, in addition to the standard deduction of $15,750 for single filers in 2025.
The Treasury Department classified content creators under "Entertainment & Events," alongside musicians, performers, and gambling dealers. The deduction phases out for workers earning above $150,000 annually, decreasing by $100 for each $1,000 earned over the threshold.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated the policy will cost $40 billion through 2028, when the temporary provision expires. Implementation details remain unclear, particularly regarding what constitutes a "tip" on digital platforms. The law requires tips to be paid voluntarily without consequences for nonpayment.
The deduction applies to tax returns filed in 2026 for the 2025 tax year. Approximately 4 million Americans worked in tipped occupations as of 2023.
Captions, an AI-powered video creation app serving over 10 million users who produce 3.5 million videos monthly, rebranded to Mirage in September 2025. The company expanded beyond creator tools to position itself as an AI research lab focused on multimodal foundational models for short-form video content on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
The rebrand unified the company's consumer app with Mirage Studio, launched in June for brand advertisement creation. Mirage Studio costs $399 monthly for 8,000 credits and allows brands to generate video content with AI avatars and backgrounds from audio files.
Mirage has raised over $100 million in venture capital at a $500 million valuation. The company completed a $60 million Series C in July 2024 led by Index Ventures, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Adobe Ventures, HubSpot Ventures, and actor Jared Leto. The platform shifted to a freemium model in January 2025.
Jesse Uram, VP of strategic partnerships at Ventureland, argued that the creator economy has become "creatively exhausted and strategically incoherent" in an opinion piece published September 9, 2025. He cited Morning Consult data showing over 50% of consumers express skepticism about influencer endorsements.
Uram contended that social media platforms have evolved into "lean-back experiences" resembling television with comment sections. He pointed to Nielsen data confirming two years of streaming dominance, with more viewing occurring on TV screens than mobile devices.
The executive highlighted YouTube's positioning as "the new TV" and noted that traditional studios are migrating content catalogs to the platform. He referenced examples including ITV and Channel 4 launching YouTube-native series and TikTok developing competition programming.
Uram recommended brands shift from influencer programs toward original content creation, citing Dunkin's "Truth or Putt" series and Chime's various formats as examples. He warned that organizations defaulting to scaled influencer programs risk being relegated to "skippable pre-roll" advertising rather than creating proprietary content experiences.
We Are Social Dubai appointed Maya Abdulazim as its new influencer marketing lead in September 2025, reporting to senior leadership to expand the agency's creator capabilities across the Middle East. Abdulazim will oversee end-to-end creator campaign development including strategy, talent sourcing, activation, and performance reporting for clients.
The agency, which rebranded from Socialize earlier in 2025, serves clients including Azadea, TikTok, Switz, and Sony. The appointment comes as the UAE Media Council introduced mandatory permits for social media advertisers, requiring individuals publishing promotional content to obtain free three-year permits after a three-month grace period.
Abdulazim's role involves integrating influencer marketing with broader social and brand objectives while aligning regional practices with global standards. She will partner with platforms, talent agencies, and creators to deliver culturally relevant campaigns as We Are Social continues its growth trajectory in the Middle East region.
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Snapchat and Instagram shifted their strategies to address declining public sharing as users moved toward private messaging. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel wrote to employees that the platform faced "challenges by declines in Friend Stories," which historically served as conversation starters between users.
Snapchat now relies on Spotlight, its short-form video feed launched in 2020, to spark conversations. Spotlight content reached over 550 million monthly active users in the second quarter and accounted for more than 40% of total content time spent. The company plans to adjust ranking systems to prioritize sharing and conversations while developing new status updates and social features.
Instagram experienced a similar shift from public to private sharing. Meta's Instagram head Adam Mosseri told Business Insider in May that the platform was "doubling down" on messaging and released multiple new direct message features. Instagram recently added a repost feature, expanded its friends tab for instant DM replies, and introduced a social map feature similar to Snapchat's offering.
Former actress and model Denise Vasi launched beauty brand Maed in 2024, leveraging her three decades in entertainment and over 260,000 Instagram followers. The lip-focused line offers products priced $26 to $36, now available at Sephora stores nationwide after launching online.
Vasi's signature crimson lipstick anchors the collection, which includes exfoliators, serums and balms designed as a complete "lip ritual." Beauty expert John Barnett praised her strategic focus on dominating the lip category rather than spreading across multiple product areas. Vasi acknowledges that her influencer background created skepticism about her business credentials, despite extensive experience working with legendary makeup artists like Kevyn Aucoin and Bobbi Brown throughout her modeling career.
Pope Leo XIV canonized Carlo Acutis as the Catholic Church's first millennial saint on Sunday, recognizing the tech-savvy teenager who died from leukemia in 2006 at age 15. Known as "God's influencer," St. Carlo used computer programming to spread the Gospel, designing religious websites and cataloging miracles online. His iconography often shows him holding a laptop.
Over one million pilgrims visited his tomb in Assisi last year, with many young Catholics viewing him as a modern role model who combined faith with digital lifestyle. His embalmed body, displayed in jeans and Nike sneakers, is livestreamed on YouTube continuously. The canonization process moved unusually quickly, based on two authenticated miracles including healings in Brazil and Florence. His relics now command thousands of dollars in black market auctions.