TOGETHER WITH

It’s Tuesday and while Netflix’s original films generate serious hype, a new study suggests that it’s the Minions and Equalizer sequels of the world that help keep the lights on.

Today’s News

OPEN COMMUNICATION

TikTok just wants to talk. A new Corporate Communications Chief hopes to get the message across.

The announcement: TikTok has announced the hiring of a new publicity executive. Nathaniel Brown—a veteran of Discovery and its successor Warner Bros. Discovery—will take on the role of Global Corporate Communications Chief as TikTok seeks to revamp its image in markets like the United States.

The context: Achieving that goal won’t be an easy task. TikTok has continually struggled to convey its message to politicians, creators, and employees, and cultural clashes between East and West have been cited as factors in some communication breakdowns. The app’s inconsistent communication style has improved somewhat since the hiring of Zenia Mucha, a Disney veteran who has spearheaded a fervent lobbying effort to recast TikTok as a boon for American businesses. (Mucha was also involved in a sweeping reorganization that shuffled the platform’s teams after the departure of former operations chief V Pappas.)

But despite forward movement under Mucha, a disconnect between TikTok and its American workforce was recently made apparent by squabbles over performance improvement plans. Incidents like those suggest that TikTok is still in need of an American figurehead to improve its domestic communications. Disney+ architect Kevin Mayer seemed like he could fill that role when he joined TikTok as its CEO in 2020, but he lasted only a few months in that position.

The potential: Flash forward to 2025, and Brown’s industry experience could be exactly what the platform needs to optimize communications. The Warner Bros. vet played a crucial launch in the rebranding and relaunch of Max, which needed a makeover following the merger of HBO Max and Discovery+. Now, Brown has the potential to pull off a similar maneuver for TikTok.

🔆 SPONSORED 🔆

Inside the Creator’s Mind: How Spotter Studio Helps Turn Ideas into Hits

Drew Binsky has traveled to every country in the world and documented all his adventures along the way. His 5M YouTube subscribers eagerly await that content, leaving hundreds of comments on each video.

So, what happens when a travel creator who’s been everywhere runs low on ideas?

In the past, Binsky spent hours searching online for inspiration—a major challenge while traveling. He knew he needed a better way to plan out his content. So, in summer 2023, Binsky joined Spotter Studio.

The all-in-one ideation platform is designed to help YouTubers generate personalized video concepts, thumbnails, and titles based on real-time analytics. For Binsky, three Spotter Studio features proved to be invaluable: Labs, Brainstorm, and Outliers.

The creator used those three tools to analyze his most-watched videos, brainstorm similar content, and generate fresh concepts based on his content niche. The result: Binsky has saved an average of 6 hours per week and generated hundreds of top-performing video ideas. 

Hit the link below to learn more:

Explore Spotter Studio →

HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰

• Google has reportedly begun rolling out AI features that allow Gemini to answer questions about information shared via a user’s smartphone screen or camera. (The Verge)
  
  

• Haofei Wang has reportedly left his position as director of engineering at X. (The Verge)
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• ChatGPT parent company OpenAI announced yesterday that COO Brad Lightcap will now oversee the company’s “day-to-day operations” while Mark Chen takes on “an expanded role as Chief Research Officer.” (OpenAI)
  
  

• Blake Chandlee—aka TikTok’s global business solutions head overseeing advertising sales and marketing—reportedly plans to “scale back” to an advisory position in April. (AdWeek)

GOSPEL STATS 📈

Top Branded Videos of the Week: Haunted dolls, horror games, and…beer?

Things got a little dark in this week’s Gospel Stats Brand Report. Creepy, lowlit YouTube content typically thrives in October—but as Gospel’s latest ranking of top branded videos shows, ghost hunters and horror gamers enjoy year-round viewership. Luckily for surf enthusiasts, sponsors like Corona ensured that at least a little springtime sunshine made it onto the charts this week.

🥇 #1. Sam and Colby x BetterHelp: Doll Island: We’re Never Coming Back (ft. Fede Vigevani) (5.6M views)
Sam and Colby’s paranormal adventures often crack Gospel’s highest ranks, and regular sponsor BetterHelp typically benefits from their spooky success. Creator collabs are also a frequent feature of the ghost-hunters’ viral videos; this time around, they recruited one of the biggest creators in Latin America to endure a doll-filled adventure.

🥈 #2. SMii7Yplus x Gamer Supps: My First Time Playing R.E.P.O (3.4M views)
SMii7Yplus recently surpassed one million subscribers. Now, the gaming-focused hub’s latest video has made it all the way to #2 in the Weekly Brand Report—an achievement that probably has a lot to do with the featured game. With its combination of a horror setting and co-operative gameplay, R.E.P.O. could be the next big thing in narrative gaming.

🔎 #2172. World Surf League x Corona: Firing Superturbos! Pre comp freesurf \ MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal (27.6K views)
Okay, enough doom and gloom. Skipping ahead to #2712, this week’s wildcard video reminds viewers that the time to enjoy ice cold beers on the beach is almost here. Five Corona-sponsored World Surfing League videos showed up in this week’s Brand Report, bringing a little sunshine and salt water to the charts.

Check out the full branded ranking here and head over to Gospel Stats for more YouTube sponsorship insights.

POD PEOPLE

YouTube’s first podcast head is out, but updated audio ads are in

The executive shakeup: YouTube says it’s making updates “to better serve podcasters”—and at least one of those changes will shake up the company’s executive ladder. According to Semafor, Kai Chuk (who joined YouTube in 2021 as its first Head of Podcasts) has moved on.

The ad update: Tim Katz—who recently authored a blog post to celebrate YouTube reaching 1 billion monthly podcast users—will continue to lead the News and Civics Partnerships team amidst that reorganization.

If YouTube is going to continue reaching new podcasting milestones (and competing with the likes of Spotify), it will need some infrastructure upgrades. First up: dynamic insertion and swapping features for audio ads.

Ads on Spotify and Apple Music can already be dynamically inserted, allowing creators to swap out ad reads on an existing uploads and thus ensure sponsored slots are as timely as possible. Now, a report from Semafor claims that YouTube is developing dynamic insertion for ads on audio podcasts. That change could be a major boon for creators, especially since it would affect inventory sold outside of YouTube with specific impression targets in mind. When those ad reads reach their goals, they can be swapped out for more typical fare from YouTube’s marketplace, potentially allowing for higher CPMs.

YouTube has not explicitly confirmed that report, although a spokesperson pointed to a post in which CEO Neal Mohan outlined the company’s goals for 2025. Among the listed priorities was podcast monetization, which would certainly be buoyed by the addition of dynamic insertion.

WATCH THIS 📺

Dropout is dropping another season of a fan-favorite exclusive series

The game changer: In an era when many streaming services are struggling to stay afloat and creators have faced backlash for paywalling content, Dropout seems to have cracked the code. The comedy subscription streaming service managed to double its subscriber count during the 2023 calendar year and introduced fresh talent through shows like Gastronauts towards the end of 2024.

Now, Dropout is bringing back a long-time fan favorite: Game Changer. The company teased Season 7 of the exclusive series—which challenges contestants to win various games without knowing the rules—in a YouTube teaser posted yesterday. Check it out here.

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