BANKNOTES minted by #paid

Grin, a popular creator management platform used by DTC brands like SKIMS, Warby Parker, and Allbirds, was dealt a hard blow last month due to Meta’s new API and service guidelines.

Most Meta-related features have been wiped from the platform, including Instagram creator search.

And that’s barely scratching the surface.

The platform removed unauthenticated Instagram creators along with the campaigns and content they’ve made for partner brands in the past.

Last week I came across a podcast that Cole Bennett, generational music video director and founder of Lyrical Lemonade, was on. What he said caught my attention. “... maybe, success came at the wrong point in their life, or they’re not mentally grounded enough to handle that moment.”

It made me think about TikTok and how it may be negatively impacting the longevity of a creator’s career. Someone new blows up on TikTok every day. We celebrate how quickly you can find success. It sounds nice, but what are the long-term effects?

According to a 2022 Knit Report, Gen Z makes up 40% of the global consumer population and has $600 billion in spending power. The report also states that 72% of Gen Zers think brands need to do a much better job marketing to them—especially if they want to win their loyalty.

Brands are failing to recognize what Gen Z values. As a result, brands miss the mark when trying to engage them through marketing messages. The worst part for brands? They are losing an audience whose buying power will only increase as Gen Zers get older and start making more money.

If you’re following DTC Twitter, chances are you’ve come across a post praising the new darling of the financial tool world, Parker. Parker describes itself as “an all-in-one financial solution designed specifically for your eCommerce."

According to its website, with Parker you can “track your financial metrics, campaign profitability, and pay all business expenses with a card that can keep up with your growth.”

Unless a shopper can picture him or herself using a product, it’s difficult to validate a buying decision. This is especially true within the eCommerce environment, as shoppers face the hurdle of not being able to touch/feel/try on an item before buying.

So why, then, are so many eCommerce brands still utilizing plain product images on a flat, white background?

Think about it: Would you be more apt to buy a sweater if you just saw an image of it on a white background? Or what if instead, you had the added visual context of the bag being held by a model and styled for different occasions?

The world of eCommerce marketing is like a jungle, densely packed with mainstream content for as far as the eye can see. You need an appetite for experimentation to survive this saturated eCommerce space and create a standout brand name. With strategically designed marketing experiments, you can create mind-blowing campaigns to deliver a great customer experience that gives consumers a reason to hit the “buy” button. It’s a great way to test your risk tolerance, go beyond generic marketing tactics, and discover new solutions to maximize your marketing ROI.

All creator content isn’t created equal. Consumers don’t want brands to simply throw money around and hire famous faces to promote their products. They want authenticity and content that is synergistic to both the brand and the famous face being used as a spokesperson.

During the Drapers Future of Fashion conference in June 2022, Hilsum, the senior director of product innovation for the luxury fashion global platform Farfetch, took it a step further and shared that the metaverse (along with developing technology) will be “the next stage of luxury shopping.”

How Chipotle partnered with the 'Corn Kid' to produce a short-form video for their social media channels, which is now their highest-performing social media content.

So-called one-click checkout company Bolt scored a win today, going live on the Fanatics website.

Fanatics is an American online manufacturer and retailer of licensed sportswear, sports collectibles, NFTs, trading cards, and sports merchandise.

Fanatics is one of the largest websites to join the Bolt network, and it comes at a time when the SaaS has been fighting an uphill battle against lawsuits, layoffs and struggles to raising.