TOGETHER WITH

It’s Thursday and the resurrection of Vine might be upon us. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has backed diVine, a new app that “will give access to more than 100,000 archived Vine videos.”

Today’s News

PODCAST PARTNERS

iHeartMedia and TikTok are launching a podcast network

The network: Amid rumored negotiations with Netflix, radio/audio giant iHeartMedia is joining forces with TikTok. The two companies will team up to launch the TikTok Podcast Network, which could result in up to 25 new shows helmed by creators.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, iHeartMedia and TikTok will establish co-branded facilities in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, where creators will be able to record audio and video versions of their podcasts. 

The iHeartMedia side: iHeartMedia may have a few decades on TikTok, but the audio company’s ongoing adoption of podcasts serves as proof that it’s not stuck in the past—or afraid to embrace the rapidly evolving creator economy.

iHeartMedia’s TikTok partnership will extend beyond podcasts to include a new station called TikTok Radio, which will pair influencers with on-air personalities while playing songs that have gone viral thanks to short-form trends. Creators are also expected to factor into several upcoming events, including the iHeartRadio Music Festival and iHeartRadio Jingle Ball.

The TikTok angle: On the TikTok side of things, setting up a podcast network stocked with creators from its own platform is a no-brainer; in fact, it’s already been done. In 2023, Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper launched the Unwell Network, a creator-forward podcast company that has since expanded into realms like advertising and live events.

If TikTok notables like Alix Earle and Madeleine Argy are going to become podcasters anyway, the platform itself might as well get in on the action. And since there’s a growing link between podcast production and marketing dollars, TikTok will likely find ways to leverage its new network as a promotional tool for Shop during the holiday season, too.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Influencer marketing budgets are growing. Why aren’t brand safety measures keeping up?

As an industry-leading agency, Viral Nation drives global brand growth through influencer marketing, AI-powered influencer vetting services, and more.  

Now, to give brands and marketers a clearer look at that ecosystem, Viral Nation has teamed up with EMARKETER to uncover why influencer vetting is falling behind—even as influencer marketing budgets continue to skyrocket. 

The key takeaways from that report:

• Over 50% of marketers spend 30 minutes or less vetting a single influencer.
  
  

• According to Viral Nation, that timeframe allows marketers to vet just 0.01% of a creator’s content history
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• The problem: influencer vetting is too time-consuming for 38.5% of marketers, and only 9.1% of brands define their process as “very scalable”—but since just 29% of agencies offer influencer vetting services, most brands and marketers are on their own.

With 77.8% of marketers saying brand safety influences their willingness to invest in the industry, it’s time for agencies to get serious about standardizing influencer vetting. 

Check out Viral Nation and EMARKETER’s full report below to find out more:

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• 89% of creators who responded to a recent survey conducted by Creators 4 Mental Health claimed to lack access to specialized mental health resources and benefits. (Tubefilter)
  
  

• Meta’s chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, reportedly plans to leave the company within the next few months. (Ars Technica)
  
  

• Amazon says its ad-supported Prime Video tier has risen from 200 million monthly viewers to 315 million since April 2024. (The Hollywood Reporter)
  
  

• Paramount Plus has announced upcoming price hikes that will raise the monthly costs of both its ad-supported Essential plan and its ad-free Premium plan by a dollar. (The Verge)

GAME ON

Roblox now lets you license IP to game devs en masse—and share the sales revenue

The context: In July, Roblox beta-launched a licensing initiative that allows developers on its platform to make games based on top IPs. Since that launch, creators have debuted over 1,500 games based on licensed IPs from partners like Lionsgate, Netflix, Sega, and Kodansha.

So far, standouts from the program include Blue Lock: Rivals, a game based on the anime of the same name. According to Roblox, Blue Lock—which launched before the initiative’s official start but was wrapped in early—accumulated 4 billion visits. Two Squid Game-themed titles have also proved to be immensely popular, with Ink Game attracting 2.6 billion visits and The Squid Game earning 1.6 million favorites.

The full launch: Roblox’s licensing initiative expanded a bit in October, when Lionsgate (which owns Twilight) added properties like Blair Witch, The Strangers, and Fall, and Mattel joined in by licensing Monster High, Polly Pocket, and Street Sharks.

Now, Roblox is taking its licensing program from beta to full public launch, giving all IP owners the choice to allow developers to make games based on their properties. The platform says it’s accepting all sorts and sizes of “eligible” IP owners, “from major studios to brands with registered IP.” So far, the only publicly available eligibility requirements are that IP owners must actually own the IP they’re claiming, and must provide “the necessary proof of ownership, and a letter of authorization to offer licensed use of your IP.”

For accepted IP owners, the benefits of Roblox’s expanded licensing initiative are clear: they’ll get user-generated content tailor-made for their properties without any oversight or involvement, and get a share of the revenue games generate (between 10% and 25%, according to The Wrap.) Developers, meanwhile, will have the chance to attract more views and plays by leveraging the name recognition that comes with established IP.

THE BIZ

Jonathan Chanti says his venture has “assembled the Avengers” of brand, media, marketing, and talent

The venture: Digital industry veteran Jonathan Chanti describes his new business as a “constellation” of subsidiary companies that have diverse specializations, but share one core goal: connecting brands with both digital and traditional talent. As of now, that venture—aka Reign Maker Group—is comprised of four arms:

1. The Now Agency is an “expert-led influencer marketing firm and social media agency helping organizations adapt, engage, and thrive” (per Reign Maker Group).
   
   

2. Reign Maker Talent “holds, manages, and provides strategic direction, shared capabilities, and infrastructure to its operating agency brands.”
   
   

3. Regatta Brand Partners works “in service of brands and agencies who are navigating the complexities of working with celebrity talent, creators with influence and brand collaboration to streamline the execution process for…partnerships.”
   
   

4. Finally, the Creator Rep Institute is a “premier three-month training program for the next generation of creator managers.”

Reign Maker Group—which former Viral Nation Talent President Chanti got off the ground in July with co-founder Brad Morris—has also secured a partnership with the Beverly Hills-based Paradigm Talent Agency, which will play a key role in building digital creators’ careers offline, and traditional celebrities’ careers online.

The strategy: Altogether, Reign Maker Group’s subsidiaries allow the holding company to offer services on the “buy” and “sell” side of creator-first and social media marketing. Chanti says the ability to build both digital and traditional celebrities also extends to building brands, which is Regatta Brand Partners’ forte.

Overall, a core component of Reign Maker Group’s strategy is getting creators involved at the early stages of campaign planning and having them act almost as creative leads. Managers aren’t left out of the equation, either. Chanti says Reign Maker Talent is “introducing a real estate model to the world of representation,” where it will “underwrite” a manager’s initial stab at going solo.

Ultimately, Chanti thinks Reign Maker Group could be “a new chapter” for creator marketing.

WATCH THIS

How early is too early for holiday ads?

Christmas creep: The U.S. holiday season traditionally ramps up after Thanksgiving—but in recent years, Yuletide cheer has begun arriving earlier and earlier. Some radio stations now play Christmas songs as early as October 7, and advertisers are increasingly getting in on “Christmas creep,” too.

That trend triggered a wave of backlash from some British consumers earlier this month, when department store John Lewis dropped its annual Christmas ad. The chain’s seasonal commercials usually premiere with much fanfare—but this year, the retailer’s decision to premiere its ad on November 4 prompted criticisms from shoppers.

The motivation behind Christmas creep is understandable. Brands that command user attention as early as possible tend to convert those impressions into sales. The problem here is the disconnect between what advertisers want and what consumers want. Holiday advertisers may think earlier is better, but if they ignore the feelings of their customers, they could end up damaging their brands in the process.

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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen.