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- Influence Weekly #416 - TikTok Adds ‘Bulletin Board’ For Creators To Connect Directly With Fans
Influence Weekly #416 - TikTok Adds ‘Bulletin Board’ For Creators To Connect Directly With Fans
Radisson Hotel Group Launches Creator Hub Platform For Nano-Influencers
Nii Ahene
November 21, 2025
Spotlight Stories
TikTok Adds ‘Bulletin Board’ For Creators To Connect Directly With Fans
Radisson Hotel Group Launches Creator Hub Platform For Nano-Influencers
YouTube Pitches Late-Night, Creator-Led Show
How Emily Sundberg Built ‘Feed Me’ Into A Seven-Figure Substack Empire
Great Reads
Patreon launched new on-platform discovery features designed to reduce creator dependence on social media for audience growth, CEO Jack Conte announced in November 2025. The features, currently testing with several hundred creators, showed a 50% month-over-month growth in memberships during the beta period. Full rollout is scheduled for 2026.
The update includes "Quips," short public posts up to two minutes that appear in home feeds for existing and potential fans. Available exclusively on mobile, Quips allow creators to share quick updates and behind-the-scenes content for discovery purposes. The platform also introduced collaboration posts, enabling creators to co-author content and cross-promote to each other's audiences.
Patreon enhanced its recommendation system combining editorial curation, human recommendations, and algorithmic suggestions based on audience overlaps. The creator subscription platform, which has processed over $10 billion in creator payments since 2013, supports 25 million paid memberships and 300,000 creators. The company noted that 95% of creators now use direct-to-fan models, with 27% relying on subscription platforms for revenue.
TikTok launched "Bulletin Board," a broadcast messaging feature that allows creators to communicate directly with their followers. The feature rolled out globally on November 14 to creators with at least 50,000 followers who are 18 years or older, following beta testing that included participants like People Magazine and Paris Saint-Germain football team.
The tool functions as a one-way broadcast channel where creators can post text, images, and videos to their followers, who can respond with emoji reactions. Creators access the feature through their inbox and can control visibility settings and assign custom names to their channels.
The launch mirrors Instagram's Broadcast Channels feature introduced in 2023, reflecting platform competition for creator engagement tools. TikTok previously added direct messaging for live streamers in May 2025. All bulletin board content must comply with TikTok's Community Guidelines and standard safety features remain available within the new environment.
Meta launched Content Protection on November 19, a mobile tool in Facebook's Professional Dashboard that automatically protects original reels from content theft. The system scans Facebook and Instagram for full or partial matches using Meta's Rights Manager technology.
The tool provides creators with three action options when matches are detected. They can track matching content while monitoring performance, block matches to reduce distribution, or release claims entirely. Creators receive notifications about matches and can review details including views and monetization status of copying accounts.
Access is limited to creators in Facebook's Content Monetization program who meet enhanced integrity standards, plus Rights Manager users. The tool currently operates only on mobile, though Meta confirmed desktop testing to TechCrunch. Content protection requires reels to be posted directly to Facebook for detection across both platforms.
Creators can add accounts to "allow lists" to prevent notifications from authorized users. Meta implemented dispute processes through its IP reporting channel for creators whose original content gets incorrectly claimed by others.
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Campaign Insights
Vodacom launched its 2025 Summer Campaign on November 17, 2025, at the Radisson Red Hotel in Cape Town, marking the first influencer-driven initiative of this scale in the telecommunications company's history. The campaign represents a shift toward digital-first marketing to engage prepaid customers through creator-led content.
The initiative partnered with Pep Cell, a retail chain specializing in mobile devices and services, to offer an exclusive seasonal promotion. Customers who purchase any Vodacom device at Pep Cell stores nationwide and recharge with R29 Vodacom airtime receive 10GB Anytime Data, 10GB Night Owl Data, a 12-month Prime Mobile subscription, and 3GB Prime data for streaming, totaling over 23GB of value.
The influencer content will run across Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook throughout the summer season. The campaign combines device launches, in-store engagement, and social media activation into one integrated marketing approach, targeting Vodacom's prepaid customer base through what the company calls a "digital-first approach."
Radisson Hotel Group launched Creator Hub, a platform connecting nano-influencers with 1,000 to 30,000 followers on Instagram or TikTok to its hotels worldwide. The program operates on non-monetary collaboration, offering three-night stays for two guests at participating properties in exchange for content creation.
Creator Hub operates across more than 210 Radisson hotels and incorporates gamification elements to incentivize engagement. Participating creators receive VIP benefits through Radisson Rewards, including upgrades and early check-in, while producing content aligned with brand pillars covering design, well-being, local culture, and gastronomy.
Radisson Hotel Group developed the platform with strategic communications agency Apple Tree. The company operates more than 1,580 hotels across over 100 countries in EMEA and APAC regions, with its Radisson Rewards loyalty program counting more than 24 million members. The hotel group plans to expand Creator Hub into new markets in 2026.
Tiltify published its 2025 Giving Season Report based on October surveys of 1,000 donors and 1,000 creators, revealing shifts in charitable giving patterns. The report showed U.S. charitable giving reached $592.5 billion in 2024, yet fewer than half of American households now contribute annually. Thirty-two percent of surveyed donors planned to reduce holiday season giving.
Generation Z donors demonstrated different behavior, with 67% increasing giving since the pandemic despite controlling only 6-7% of household wealth. Thirty-one percent of Gen Z respondents reported donating through creator-led fundraisers, compared to rates 31 times lower among Baby Boomers.
Tiltify platform data showed average campaign totals rose 46% between 2024 and 2025. Campaign frequency emerged as the strongest predictor of fundraising success, with creators hosting three or more annual campaigns achieving donor retention rates 36% higher than single-event organizers. Notable campaigns included MrBeast raising $40 million, Jacksepticeye totaling $30 million across campaigns, and Ryan Trahan generating $11 million through his fundraising efforts.
UN Tourism appointed Khaby Lame, TikTok's most-followed creator with 162 million followers, as its newest ambassador on November 17 during the organization's General Assembly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The appointment marks UN Tourism's effort to engage digital-first audiences through creator partnerships.
Lame will promote responsible tourism, support cultural heritage, and advocate for sustainable practices in his new role. UN Tourism plans to unveil Lame's first collaborations in coming weeks, focusing on youth engagement and showcasing "hidden gem" destinations, though specific locations were not disclosed.
The 24-year-old creator's appointment follows his February 2025 designation as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, making him active in multiple UN agency partnerships. Lame rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic after losing his factory job in Italy, where he moved as an infant from Senegal.
UN Tourism's Special Ambassadors program draws volunteers from sports, entertainment, business, and gastronomy sectors to amplify messages about tourism for sustainable development and equal opportunity.
Samsung TV Plus launched Mark Rober's first global FAST channel, Mark Rober TV, in November 2025 across the United States, Canada, Australia, and several European markets including Germany, Spain, and the UK. The channel features science experiments and educational content from the former NASA engineer, who has accumulated over 71 million subscribers across social platforms.
Samsung is expanding beyond hosting existing creator content into original production deals. In July 2025, the platform announced its first original content partnership with creator Dhar Mann, funding 13 exclusive episodes. Mann's content generates over 300 million monthly views on YouTube, with his team producing seven weekly videos that average 5-10 million views each.
The launch coincides with Rober's broader content expansion. In August 2025, he signed a multi-project deal with Netflix that includes bringing science experiments to the streaming service and developing a Kids and Family competition series for 2026, produced with Jimmy Kimmel's Kimmelot company.
YouTube launched "Outside Tonight," a live weekly late-night talk show hosted by social media personality Julian Shapiro-Barnum, the company announced Thursday at a creator event in New York City. The program marks the first attempt by a social media network to run a live late-night talk show format.
The show will film in New York City parks, plazas, and street corners rather than traditional studios, featuring celebrities, live music, and audience games. Shapiro-Barnum currently runs "Recess Therapy," which has 1.3 million YouTube subscribers.
YouTube announced additional exclusive projects featuring former "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah, film producer Dhar Mann, YouTuber Cleo Abram, "Brave Wilderness" host Mark Vins, and other creators. Google president of Americas Sean Downey told advertisers the programming addresses their requests for creator integration beyond traditional advertising placements. YouTube currently holds the largest share of monthly viewing among all streaming platforms in the United States.
Snapchat partnered with Publicis Media and Ipsos to conduct a multi-market study revealing that 45% of creators with more than 100,000 followers prefer long-term brand partnerships over single campaign activations. The research surveyed 1,120 professional content creators aged 18-49 between May and August 2025 across six markets including the United States, United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia.
The study found brands contact creators through multiple channels: 54% via social platforms, 45% through direct messaging apps, and 44% via email. Approximately one-third of creators view their followers as community members rather than passive audiences, engaging with them as friends and fostering environments where followers actively discuss content and share user-generated material.
Content strategy approaches varied among creators, with 42% tailoring content to each platform's characteristics while 49% maintained consistent content across all platforms. Snapchat emerged as a platform where creators felt comfortable sharing unplanned daily content, with creators 1.3 times more likely to post authentic daily updates on Snapchat compared to other platforms.
TikTok drove Connie Francis' 1962 song "Pretty Little Baby" to No. 5 on the platform's global Song of the Summer list in 2025, generating 2.4 million videos and averaging 600,000 daily posts at its peak. The track, which was never released as a single, reached No. 1 on TikTok's U.S. Viral 50 and Top 50 charts and No. 67 on Spotify's Global Top 100, accumulating over 120 million Spotify streams.
A February 2025 Luminate and TikTok Music Impact Report found that 84 percent of songs entering the Billboard Global 200 in 2024 went viral on TikTok first. Other catalog revivals included tracks by Black Eyed Peas, Radiohead, Rihanna, Imogen Heap, and Pierce the Veil, with the latter achieving their highest Billboard Hot 100 entry from TikTok virality.
TikTok's "Add to Music App" feature has generated over three billion track saves to streaming services. The platform offers programs including "New Music," "On Tour," and TikTok for Artists to help musicians optimize their presence.
Sky Sports shut down its female-focused TikTok channel Halo after three days following widespread criticism that the content was sexist and patronising. The broadcaster launched the channel Thursday as an "inclusive, dedicated platform for women" but faced backlash for posts that referenced "hot girl walks" and matcha while featuring primarily male athletes.
Critics called the channel's "little sister" branding damaging to women's sports progress. Emily Trees, 23, told BBC that positioning women's sports as an extension of men's sports undermined decades of work building recognition for female athletics. GirlsontheBall, a women's football platform, questioned whether this approach served women sports fans.
Sky Sports posted a statement Saturday acknowledging it "didn't get it right" and stopped all activity on the account. Andy Gill, head of social media at Sky Sports, had initially promoted the launch on LinkedIn before the broadcaster reversed course and deleted most posts from the Halo account.
Interesting People
Emily Sundberg's newsletter "Feed Me" became one of Substack's top-grossing business publications, reaching over 150,000 readers and projected to generate seven figures in revenue in 2025. The daily newsletter about business and culture grew over 60% in the past twelve months and consistently ranks among Substack's top 10 business and culture newsletters.
Sundberg launched Feed Me while working at Meta's marketing department, then focused on it full-time after being laid off in 2022. The newsletter covers business news with cultural analysis, featuring sections like "If We Had a Watercooler, I'd Talk to You About..." and "Guest Lecture" interviews with industry experts.
Feed Me expanded beyond newsletters with merchandise drops that sell out and events in New York and London. Sundberg recently launched "Expense Account," a food podcast hosted by Jason Lee and produced with Substack, marking her expansion into a studio-model media business. The podcast debuted with chef Alison Roman as its first guest.
Substack reported surpassing five million paid subscriptions as of March 2025. Feed Me's subscriber base spans New York, London, and Los Angeles, with readers ranging from Wall Street professionals to service industry workers.
Science communicator Lindsay Nikole expanded her digital education business with the November 11 release of her book "Epic Earth: A Wild Ride Through the History of Life on Our Planet." The zoology content creator built an audience of more than five million followers across TikTok and YouTube, with her YouTube channel generating more than 500 million views in two years.
Nikole launched her creator career during the pandemic after graduating from Oregon State University with a zoology degree, when traditional fieldwork opportunities were limited. She developed content around animal facts, prehistoric species, and conservation topics, establishing partnerships with organizations including The Cheetah Conservation Fund and Save The Elephants.
The book represents Nikole's expansion from short-form social media content into long-form publishing. "Epic Earth" covers 4.6 billion years of Earth's history in a conversational format, mirroring the tone she uses in her digital content. Nikole previously worked as an intern at conservation organizations in South Africa and Namibia before transitioning to full-time content creation.
Isabella Chen launched BECCA MGMT in 2023, a New York-based creator management company that applies entertainment law standards to influencer representation. Chen, who studied at Princeton and earned her law degree from NYU, worked in corporate and entertainment law before entering the creator economy.
BECCA MGMT addresses what Chen identified as a structural problem in creator management: 99.9% of managers in the space are not attorneys, leaving creators vulnerable to exploitative contracts. The agency focuses on three contract clauses that frequently harm creators: usage rights, exclusivity terms, and indemnification provisions.
Chen cited cases where creators unknowingly signed year-long exclusivity agreements that eliminated income streams, forcing them to return to corporate jobs. The company operates with an intentionally small roster and maintains an in-person team structure in New York City. BECCA MGMT has grown from Chen operating solo for the first year and a half to a small team, driven by demand from creators seeking legal protection in brand partnerships.
Adam Breneman co-founded College Sports Company in 2022 alongside Porter Grieve and Andrew Spano to create athlete-driven media content for universities. The company has launched media networks at nine universities: Penn State, Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina, BYU, Louisville, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Kentucky.
College Sports Company's partnership with University of Louisville's NIL collective 502 Circle created Floyd Street Media, which generated 137,000 YouTube views from two preseason games and $750,000 in NIL revenue in its first month. The company takes a percentage of revenue generated, with the majority going to student-athletes.
Breneman, a former Penn State and UMass tight end who later coached at Arizona State, has built a social media following of over 600,000 followers. He was named to Forbes 30 Under 30 2025 media list and hosts "Next Up with Adam Breneman" podcast while providing analysis for ESPN and CBS Sports. With Division I universities now required to pay players $20.5 million per season, Breneman believes schools need to operate like media companies to generate new revenue streams.
Cumulus Media's Fall 2025 Podcast Download report revealed YouTube maintained its position as the leading podcast platform for the third consecutive year, ahead of Spotify. The study, conducted October 8-21 with Signal Hill Insights, surveyed 603 adults who consumed at least one hour of podcasts weekly.
YouTube drove podcast discovery, with nearly half of weekly podcast consumers who started new shows in the past six months finding them on the platform. However, exclusive "watchers" remained under 10% of weekly users, unchanged since 2022, as most consumers preferred listening over watching.
Podcast advertising adoption reached record levels, with roughly 70% of advertisers now buying podcast ads, up from 10% a decade ago. The percentage of marketers using podcast advertising climbed from the mid-teens in 2015 to the high-fifties in 2025.
The podcast audience expanded beyond early adopters, with 40% of Americans now listening weekly and 30% qualifying as heavy users consuming six or more hours weekly. Among newcomers who began listening in the past 12 months, roughly 30% identified as Black or African American and 12% as Hispanic.
Hong Kong Tourism Board partnered with more than 440 influencers this year to boost tourist numbers, including Khaby Lame, the most-followed creator on TikTok. The board announced Tuesday that the influencers had a combined following of 440 million people.
Lame, a Senegalese-Italian content creator known as "Speechless Brother," completed a three-day visit to Hong Kong as part of the campaign. During his stay, he participated in activities including learning the fire dragon dance in Tai Hang.
The tourism board organized themed experiences for the visiting influencers covering mega-events, Chinese and Western art, popular culture, traditional festivals, fine wines, cuisine, and countryside exploration. The board stated it aimed to generate positive word of mouth through the influencers' content sharing to leverage their influence in attracting more tourists to Hong Kong.
The campaign represents Hong Kong's strategy to use creator economy partnerships to rebuild its international tourism appeal through social media influence.
Industry News
Spotter deployed over $1 billion in the past 24 months to acquire YouTube back catalog rights from creators, according to CEO Aaron DeBevoise. The company provides upfront capital in exchange for monetization rights to creator content libraries, treating them as yield-producing media assets similar to music publishing rights.
Goldman Sachs reported that digital media assets with recurring viewership are attracting growing interest from alternative asset managers. Mr. Beast raised $200 million at a $5 billion valuation while Steven Bartlett's company was valued at $425 million, with institutional investors recognizing catalog value as growth platforms.
Content Partners Capital, which owns film assets including Black Hawk Down and Black Swan, is evaluating creator content investments. Partner Alphonse Lordo said the firm sees long-term value and is watching for creators who can evolve into content studios. Industry analysts expect U.S. back-catalog transactions to double by 2026, with new capital vehicles emerging to purchase creator intellectual property.
Denmark announced an agreement to ban social media access for children under 15, requiring formal legislation and parliamentary approval before becoming binding. Digital Affairs Minister Caroline Stage Olsen cited data showing 94% of Danish children under 13 have social media profiles, with over half of those under 10 active on platforms.
The proposal would use Denmark's national electronic ID system and a new age-verification app for enforcement. Companies could face fines up to 6% of global income through EU channels for non-compliance. Parents may grant access starting at age 13 following an assessment process.
Denmark joins a growing regulatory trend. Australia became the first country to enact a nationwide ban, setting the minimum age at 16 with penalties up to AU$49.5 million for platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. The law takes effect December 10, 2025, affecting approximately 450,000 underage users across Meta's platforms.
France's parliamentary commission recommended similar measures after families sued TikTok over suicide-related content exposure.
Newsletter platform beehiiv announced seven new features at its Winter Release Event on November 17, expanding beyond email publishing into commerce and website creation. The company launched Digital Products, allowing creators to sell links, files, and time-based offerings directly through beehiiv with 0% commission on sales.
beehiiv introduced an AI-powered website builder that creates pages through conversational prompts and chat interfaces. The system offers AI Chat for building full pages and AI Custom Elements for creating specific widgets. The platform also added native podcast functionality that automatically publishes episodes as dedicated webpages with audio players and integrations with YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Additional features included Website Analytics with real-time tracking, a native Link in Bio tool, and updates to its Automation Suite with new triggers and performance tracking. beehiiv serves clients including Codie Sanchez, Colin & Samir, TIME, TechCrunch and The Ringer.
Billion Dollar Boy Group partnered with Portal to launch what the companies called the creator economy's first solution for tracking full-funnel conversions across third-party retailer sites. The integration connects Portal's measurement platform to Billion Dollar Boy's Companion system through an exclusive Application Programming Interface.
Portal-powered URLs track consumers' anonymous browsing sessions with consent, providing brands data on product views, basket additions, and which creators drive conversions. A global personal care brand attributed a 20% increase in add-to-basket rate on TikTok and 30% increase in average session time to creator content through the partnership. A hair and beauty brand tracked a 226% increase in conversions and 96% increase in add-to-basket rate.
The partnership addresses measurement gaps as 72% of marketers identify measurement as their top challenge in creator marketing, according to Billion Dollar Boy research. While 79% of consumers trust influencer recommendations, 76% who browse social commerce platforms complete purchases on retailer websites, disrupting attribution tracking.
Sprout Social launched "Trellis," an AI agent that converts social media data into business intelligence through conversational queries. The Chicago-based social media management company, which serves approximately 30,000 brands, described the November 2025 launch as its most substantial intelligence update to date.
Trellis allows users to ask plain-language questions to analyze billions of social data points for market research, competitive analysis, and customer feedback. The system operates within Sprout's existing platform and draws on data from premium partnerships with social networks rather than generic language models.
The AI capabilities extend to Sprout's NewsWhip product for crisis detection and automated sentiment monitoring. Additional features include Optimal Send Times for post scheduling and AI-generated content creation tools.
The launch follows Sprout Social's September 2025 integration with Canva and builds on the company's expanded product ecosystem, which includes an influencer marketing platform acquired in 2023 and rebranded in February 2025.
Veritasium, Derek Muller's YouTube science channel with nearly 20 million subscribers, launched its second Kickstarter campaign on November 11 for "Elements of Truth," a science trivia board game. The campaign marks Muller's return to crowdfunding exactly 10 years after launching molecular model kit Snatoms in 2015.
The tabletop game features a bidding mechanic where players wager on their confidence in answers, with each card providing scientific explanations alongside questions. Veritasium chose Kickstarter to collect community question submissions for future expansion packs and offer limited collector editions rather than solely for funding purposes.
The campaign offers three product tiers, with the premium "Einsteinium" edition including a wooden box and 800 questions across multiple categories. Shipping covers the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with delivery scheduled for August 2026. The channel has accumulated over 2.7 billion views since 2011 and generates over 40 million monthly views.
TikTok launched multiple incentive programs during the fourth quarter to boost Shop partner sales while facing regulatory challenges in the United States. The platform offered Shop Partners cash bonuses ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 between October and December based on incremental daily gross merchandise value growth. Partners could earn up to $10,000 additional for upgrading through TikTok Shop's partner rankings.
TikTok provided $1,000 to $10,000 per creator for successfully incubating creators on the platform's target list. The company offered ad credits between $1,000 and $5,000 monthly for partners meeting minimum GMV requirements, with bonus credits for top-15 ranking performance.
Black Friday challenges delivered up to $25,000 in cash rewards based on partner ranking levels and daily GMV thresholds. TikTok Shop recorded $2.5 billion GMV and moved 139 million units between September 2024 and August 2025, doubling from the previous year's $1.1 billion GMV and 67 million units.
Streamlabs, a Logitech G brand that makes broadcast software, launched Stream Shift at TwitchCon San Diego 2025. The feature allows creators to move live broadcasts between desktop, phone, and tablet without ending streams or losing audiences. The idea came from Minecraft streamer Tubbo, who requested the capability at TwitchCon EU earlier in 2025.
Stream Shift addresses a technical gap where creators previously had to terminate streams entirely to switch devices, losing viewer momentum. The system accepts feeds from multiple devices simultaneously but broadcasts only the selected active feed, enabling instant transitions. The feature includes disconnect protection to maintain viewer connections during technical issues.
The launch coincides with growth in IRL streaming content, exemplified by creators like Kai Cenat and iShowSpeed. Streamlabs operates from San Francisco under Head of Product Ashray Urs, who joined in 2019 and assumed leadership in 2024. The company also runs sponsorship marketplaces, donation platforms, and charity streaming tools that route funds directly to causes without fees.
Agentio, an AI creator advertising platform, raised $40 million in Series B funding led by Forerunner, bringing total capital to $56 million and valuing the company at $340 million. Benchmark, Craft Ventures, AlleyCorp, Antler, and Starting Line also participated in the round.
The platform automates creator campaign processes from brand-creator matching through payments and performance tracking. Agentio reported 5x year-over-year growth and said over 100 enterprise brands including Uber, DoorDash, Cash App, and Olipop shifted tens of millions in paid media budgets to creator campaigns on its platform in 2025.
Founded by Arthur Leopold and Jonathan Meyers, Agentio operates as a two-sided network where brands build automated creator programs while creators access brand opportunities. The company plans to use the funding to advance AI infrastructure, expand beyond YouTube to Meta Partnership Ads and other platforms, and grow from 35 to over 100 employees in 2026. Despite creator economy projections of nearly $500 billion by 2027, less than 2% of digital advertising spend currently flows to creators.
Creator platform Stan, which helps creators monetize content and build businesses, announced winners of its annual 25 in 25 Awards in November. The awards program recognized creator-entrepreneurs across 25 categories including community leadership, revenue milestones, and creative innovation.
Stan launched the awards in October, with community members voting for fan-selected categories through Instagram engagement. Notable winners included Brittany Forrester for Highest Earning Creator with the highest gross merchandise value on the platform in 2025, and Irina Nikolaev for The Momentum Award after reaching $10,000 in earnings.
The awards spanned multiple segments: Community Leaders, On the Fast Track business growth categories, Up-and-Coming Creators, and platform engagement recognition. Fan Choice Awards were determined by community voting, while partner-selected categories included awards chosen by Gary Vaynerchuk and Steven Bartlett. Stan's CEO John Hu stated the awards celebrate creators who built businesses "with heart, conviction, and community."
German consumer protection research revealed that influencers promoting food supplements violated health regulations at a 90% rate, compared to 39% for the companies they represent. A 2022 study by Stuttgart food control authority examined nearly 5,000 posts with approximately 1,000 health claims from 38 supplement companies in Baden-Württemberg.
An EU-wide investigation by the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network found that 97% of over 500 influencer profiles regularly publish content for profit, but only 20% consistently label content as advertising as required by EU consumer law. This means 77% of profit-generating influencers failed to adequately disclose commercial relationships.
German companies typically allocate over €10,000 annually for influencer marketing, targeting audiences where influencers can reach up to 600,000 followers compared to companies' few thousand. Among young Germans, 62% of girls and 47% of boys reported purchasing influencer-recommended products. The Federation of German Consumer Organisations received trusted flagger status under the Digital Services Act in June 2025.
Registration Required
Reddit-reading podcasts have become Gen Z's preferred talk show format. Shows like Two Hot Takes, Smosh Reads Reddit Stories, and Comfort Level Podcast pull dramatic stories from advice threads and deliver commentary across multiple episodes. The format abandons traditional host storytelling in favor of curating viral Reddit content for audio audiences. These podcasts have built massive followings by transforming online drama into entertainment.
The trend creates partnership opportunities for brands through podcast tour sponsorships, live show integrations, and potential Reddit collaborations. The genre taps into Gen Z's appetite for niche content and relatable narratives, with creators serving as curators rather than subjects. Multiple stories per episode keep content fresh and engagement high, turning anonymous internet posts into must-listen entertainment for creator economy professionals tracking emerging formats.
Japan's government has launched a renewed effort to improve working conditions for content creators under its Cool Japan strategy. Minister Kimi Onoda, a former video game industry worker, cited widespread "passion exploitation" where artists work excessive overtime for low pay despite creating globally recognized properties like Super Mario and Hello Kitty. The government will publish surveys on film and anime production practices and develop antitrust guidelines.
Tokyo aims to reach 130 billion dollars in annual overseas content sales by 2033, more than quadrupling the 2022 figure. Japanese content exports now match the country's steel and semiconductor industries in value. Officials position entertainment as a core growth engine and foreign currency earner, with broader targets exceeding 320 billion dollars annually through content, tourism, and related sectors.
G&B Digital Management hosted free "Flipping the Script Master Class" sessions in Los Angeles and New York to help film and television professionals transition to the creator economy. The 10-year-old talent management firm that represents creators including Blake Scott Silva and Dr. Marie Mansaray-Lahai organized the courses amid widespread Hollywood layoffs and production cuts.
Around 40 attendees from film and TV attended one Brooklyn session, most with over a decade of traditional Hollywood experience in production, directing, writing, and performing roles. The four-hour course addressed concerns about adapting team-based skills to solo creator work and translating long-form content experience to short-form social media.
G&B founder Kyle Hjelmeseth and education director Joey Gagliardi taught attendees that behind-the-scenes professionals could work as educators or industry insiders rather than on-camera personalities. The session included a panel featuring Amber Kemp-Gerstel, who transitioned from unscripted television to DIY content creation, demonstrating pathways for traditional media workers to leverage existing skills in the creator economy.
Scooter Braun was negotiating to acquire OnlyFans until talks broke down in recent weeks, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The former music manager had secured financial backers and was in advanced talks with CEO Keily Blair and deals executive Jamie Sharp about purchasing the creator platform.
OnlyFans generated $6.6 billion in revenue in 2023 and was valued at approximately $8 billion during the sale process. The platform is currently owned by Ukrainian-American businessman Leonid Radvinsky through his company Fenix International. OnlyFans retains 20 percent of creator revenue.
Braun's music industry connections attracted OnlyFans executives, as the platform's top creators have included musicians Cardi B and Iggy Azalea, along with actress Bella Thorne. The talks ended for undisclosed reasons, though sources suggested Braun may have been concerned about potential negative publicity associated with platform controversies. Los Angeles investment firm Forest Road Co. was previously reported as another suitor for the company in May.
Gamma, an AI-powered presentation software company, closed a $68 million Series B funding round at a $2.1 billion valuation led by Andreessen Horowitz this week. The company reported reaching $100 million in annual recurring revenue and 70 million users.
Cofounder Grant Lee attributed the growth to a hands-on influencer marketing strategy where he personally onboarded every micro-influencer during the company's early days. Lee focused on creators with smaller followings who were "committed to giving value to their audiences" rather than those with millions of followers.
The approach involved walking influencers through the product, brainstorming content angles, and providing feedback. Word-of-mouth marketing now accounts for over 50% of Gamma's subscriber growth, with influencers helping to amplify that reach.
Gamma was founded in 2020 and launched its first product in 2022. The company previously raised $12 million in Series A funding from Accel in 2024.