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It’s Monday and we promise we’re not pulling your leg: The Onion actually is bringing back a print edition. (Seriously, you can check our sources and everything.)
🗞️ Today’s News 🗞️
Spotify sets itself up as a competitor to YouTube and TV
Disney brings on Google and YouTube vet Adam Smith
Mikayla Nogueira claims the title of e.l.f. Cosmetics CEO (for a day)
This week on the podcast…
ADDING UP
Spotify is bringing cold, hard stats to the fight for brand attention
The context: Spotify just had its most profitable quarter ever—but despite breaking records in Q2, ad revenue still makes up just 12% of the music platform’s earnings.
A 50-page pitch deck acquired by Business Insider reveals Spotify’s strategy for boosting that benchmark to 20% while simultaneously setting itself up as a competitor to both YouTube and network TV. The music platform is selling advertisers hard on video ads, a format that’s typically more expensive for brands to run than audio ads.
The stats: In contrast to competitors (including YouTube), Spotify’s pitch notes that ads accompanying the 250,000+ shows in its video library are both unskippable and sound-on—and 70% of viewers watch with videos playing in the foreground of their devices. In total, Spotify’s pitch noted that users spend an average of 50 minutes per day watching podcasts.
“Our video ads are only served to your audience when we know they’re engaged with the app and looking at the screen.”
That combination of unskippable advertising and engaged viewership means that Spotify ads capture a higher-than-usual amount of users’ attention. According to a study from media measurement firm Adelaide, videos ads run on Spotify attract more attention than ads on TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, LinkedIn, and X.
Nielsen data paints a similar picture for network television.
Overall, the analytics firm found that Spotify ads reach 27% more consumers than ads run on TV.
Video ads are an important part of that equation: according to Spotify’s pitch, combining both video and audio ads increases purchases intent by 27% and incremental sales by 66%, with a 34% higher conversion rate than audio ads alone.
HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰
Word on the Block is a two-sided marketplace for content creators and brands. Its goal: operating as an advocate for creators and a sort of “Domino’s pizza tracker” for brands. (Tubefilter)
Google is facing criticism after threatening to “cease” relationships with influencers who appeared to prefer other brands over Pixel devices. (The Verge)
Instagram has begun “testing a vertical profile grid with a small number of people” in an effort to embrace a format that now makes up “the vast majority” of uploads. (The Verge)
A U.S. District Judge has granted an injunction to block the launch of a sports streaming service formed by ESPN, Warner Bros and Fox as part of a larger antitrust lawsuit. (Ars Technica)
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ALL ABOARD
Disney’s latest hire might help it capture some YouTube streaming magic
The new hire: Spotify isn’t the only platform hoping to replicate YouTube’s success. While the music platform takes on video advertising, Disney has hired 20-year Google/YouTube vet Adam Smith to help shore up its streaming division.
Smith will oversee the development of streaming technology as the Chief Product and Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN. His recent role as YouTube’s VP of Product Management makes him a strong fit for that position; during his tenure at the Alphabet-owned company, Smith led operations for services like YouTube Premium and YouTube Music.
Going forward, Smith will jointly report to Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, as well as ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro.
The context: Drawing from YouTube’s expert talent pool is a smart move for Disney. As subscription service owners like Paramount weather substantial layoffs, YouTube’s base of paying subscribers has increased. Last February, the platform announced that there were 100 million accounts subscribed to YouTube Premium and YouTube Music.
YouTube’s TV presence has grown at a rapid pace, too. According to CEO Neal Mohan, YouTube now reels in more than one billion hours of watch time on TVs every day.
HYPE NATION
Mikayla Noguiera became the CEO of e.l.f. Cosmetics for a day. Her lip line sold out in hours.
The promotion: Mikayla Noguiera is one of the biggest beauty creators on TikTok, with nearly 16 million followers and over 1.5 billion total likes. For 24 hours, she was also the CEO of e.l.f. Cosmetics.
That promotional stint coincided with the restocking of Noguiera’s Mikayla Marriage Material Lip Duo product line, which was first launched by the Streamy Award winner, Viral Nation, and e.l.f. in June 2023. At the time, the lip kit sold out within minutes—an impressive triumph that isn’t altogether unusual (or sustainable) for creator brands.
The context: Many influencer-affiliated products fail to live up to their initial hype. KSI and Logan Paul’s Prime Hydration, for instance, was projected to bring in $1.2 billion in 2023—but now it’s struggling to sell, with sales falling 50% year-over-year in regions like the U.K.
By installing Noguiera as its CEO for a single day, e.l.f. managed to resurrect much of the interest triggered by the original release of the creator’s line:
“We jump at the chance to create a surprise and delight moment for our community. The return of Mikayla’s instant-sellout lip kit exceeded our expectations in every way!”
Thanks to that promotion, Mikayla Marriage Material Lip Duo reached #1 on the TikTok Shop U.S. charts and sold out in just 10 hours. According to Viral Nation, Nogueira’s posts supporting her “promotion” have drawn 19 million combined views while generating an Earned Media Value of $857,195.
That marketing strategy could serve as a blueprint for other creator entrepreneurs. Despite the difficulty of translating online fame into physical sales, creator-led products are now present in every vertical from cosmetics to consumables.
LISTEN UP 🎙️
This week on the podcast…
“We Got Invited to the White House”: Yep, you read that correctly. This week’s episode brings listeners straight to the heart of D.C., where Creator Upload hosts Josh Cohen and attended the White House’s first-ever Creator Economy Summit.
Also on the invite list: Karat Financial co-founder and Creator Upload guest host for the week Eric Wei. Check out the full episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts to hear Wei’s take on the Biden administration’s act of outreach—along with a few thoughts from our regular hosts.
Introduce your brand to Tubefilter’s audience of creator economy pros.
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. Drew Baldwin helped edit, too. It's a team effort.