Creator and influencer trends brand marketers need to know about right now

Welcome to Ad Age’s influencer marketing news roundup. Each week, we’ll be highlighting the latest developments at the intersection between brands and the creator economy, including new partnerships between brands and creators, notable new features across social media platforms and the growth of creator-led businesses. Sign up for our influencer marketing newsletter here. Have tips or news to share about influencer marketing and the creator economy? Email Gillian Follett at gillian.follett@adage.com. Also read: TikTok creators call out shady brands New deals Dunkin’ and Corporate Natalie: Will Arnett and creator Natalie Marshall, better known as Corporate Natalie, are leading a class of so-called “Dunkin’terns” (a portmanteau of “Dunkin’” and “interns'') for the coffee chain’s latest campaign. The duo stars in an episodic video series highlighting the summer interns’ different ideas for how to best promote Dunkin’s iced beverages. The lineup of interns packs plenty of star power, too, from NSYNC’s Joey Fatone and A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys to Twitch streamer SypherPK (real name Ali Hassan) and plant-focused interior designer Hilton Carter. Read : New Dunkin ads star Will Arnett and Corporate Natalie View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dunkin’ (@dunkin) Eos and Madeline Argy, Victoria Paris, Stacy Thiru and more: Six influencers are accompanying eos at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this week—creators Stacy Thiru, Serena Kerrigan, Victoria Paris and Madeline Argy; actress Avantika Vandanapu; and activist and media strategist Chelsea Miller. Eos collaborated with UTA Entertainment Marketing’s Next Gen practice to select the group for its first-ever influencer trip and set up an “eos villa” just beyond the Croisette. @victoriaparis @eos Products ♬ original sound - Victoria Paris Cannes Lions coverage See all of the Grand Prix winners here Top 5 Grand Prix campaigns Also read: Eos chose Cannes Lions for its first influencer trip The UPS Store, Tyler Bergantino and Gabby Gonzalez: When Bergantino, a former college basketball player, approached Gonzalez for a man-on-the-street interview video earlier this month, sparks quickly flew between them. Since then, TikTok users have been rooting for the so-called “TikTok tall couple” (both are over six feet tall) to get together—including the UPS Store, which nudged their courtship along by sponsoring a video of Bergantino mailing a slew of gifts to Gonzalez, and one of Gonzalez unwrapping them. “@The UPS Store ships Gab and I 🤍💜,” reads Bergantino’s caption, a punny reference to the internet term for when someone wants to see two people (real or fictional) end up in a relationship. @tyler.bergantino @The UPS Store ships Gab and I 🤍💜 @Gabbers 🇨🇴 #ad ♬ original sound - Tyler Bergantino Oh Norman and a “chief treat officer”: Pet care brand Oh Norman, co-founded by actress Kaley Cuoco, last week announced its search for a social media savvy dog to become its “chief treat officer.” The one-year role, which will pay $10,000 to the pooch picked for the job, includes responsibilities such as testing new toys and treats and posting monthly social content—and the ideal candidate will have 'a supportive pet parent who can serve as their professional camera assistant.'" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Oh Norman! (@ohnorman) Heluva Good, Craig Conover and Shep Rose: Conover and Rose, two stars of the Bravo series “Southern Charm,” teamed up with dip brand Heluva Good to launch a giveaway of its new branded snack table that can float in a pool or stand on land. Their sponsored video nods to storylines from the series, such as the duo’s alien conspiracy theories (referenced by their tin hats in the first few seconds of the spot). Other creators amplifying the giveaway campaign include chef and cookbook author MacKenzie Smith. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Craig Conover (@caconover) Social media screenshot TikTok announces AI avatars: TikTok is following in the footsteps of Meta’s celebrity-lookalike AI chatbots with the launch of its new “Symphony Digital Avatars.” The AI-generated avatars can either replicate existing creators or pull from a pool of stock avatars based on paid actors, according to Adrienne Lahens, global head of operations of TikTok creator marketing solutions, who announced the new AI feature at Cannes Lions on Monday. Brands will also be able to create AI-generated avatars of their mascots or other brand characters with the tool, Lahens added. @tiktoknewsroom Introducing Symphony Digital Avatars, to help creators and brands captivate global audiences and deliver impactful messages in an immersive and authentic way. Check out our Newsroom to learn more. ♬ original sound - TikTok Newsroom More: TikTok AI avatar ads—how to use the new feature X hides users’ liked posts: X, formerly Twitter, last week announced it would be making the “likes” tab on users’ profiles private to “better protect [users’] privacy”—and, just a day later, it followed up on that promise. Many X users have since been mourning the loss of their ability to view others’ liked posts and devising new ways to indicate they liked a given X post, such as responding with an image of the “Yeah!” button from Nintendo’s discontinued social platform, Miiverse. Starting today, Likes are private for everyone. Liking more posts will make your For you timeline better. https://t.co/BOCSkXwIWx— Engineering (@XEng) June 12, 2024 Adam Mosseri does an Instagram deep dive: Instagram head Adam Mosseri last week spoke with YouTube duo Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaundry in a 90-minute episode of their podcast series “The Colin and Samir Show.” Their conversation ranged from creator monetization opportunities on the platform to a behind-the-scenes look at Instagram’s algorithm. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Colin and Samir (@colinandsamir) TikTok of the week @gr8collab The brands are at summer camp and theres merch to prove it. Brightland olive oil is at Scribner’s Lodge in the Catskills and Saie beauty is hosting their own company retreat branded as Saie Summer camp. Glossier hosted their own Camp Glossier from 2015 to 2017. #summercamp #camp #summer #fyp #foryou #campglossier #glossier #saiebeauty #thewing #nomansland #brightland #greenscreen ♬ original sound - Emma Apple Chozick There are still a few days until the official start of summer, but some brands have recently hosted team retreats inspired by summer camp, as brand consultant Emma Apple Chozick highlights in the above video. Saie Beauty held its annual “Camp Saie” trip last week, while olive oil brand Brightland’s team headed to “Camp Brightland” in the Catskills. She noted Glossier’s yearly camp-inspired employee retreat, “Camp Glossier,” as a likely source of inspiration behind this growing trend. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Threadspotting Post by @francisdominiic View on Threads Threads hosted a dinner for creators last week, whose list of attendees included lifestyle and travel creator Francis Dominic. It marks a continued push from the platform to woo creators to Threads that has also included the launch of an invite-only Threads creator fund. Follow us on social media X Bluesky Instagram LinkedIn YouTube

Creator and influencer trends brand marketers need to know about right now

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