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Trending The Market
Toyota Puts YouTuber Kareem Rahma In The Marketing Driver’s Seat
Toyota has tapped Kareem Rahma, the host of viral interview series Subway Takes, to host its own YouTube talk show — Pit Stop Tonight.
The Big Pitch: Toyota, the leading automaker in the world, doesn’t necessarily need to switch up its marketing strategy… but it clearly recognizes that a new generation of potential customers aren’t responding to traditional advertising. Instead, they’re looking to influencers to surface discoveries for them and show longstanding brands in a fresh light.
The Fine Print: By recruiting Rahma, they’re not only getting an influential host, but also a talent subconsciously known to conduct interviews on various forms of transportation with Subway Takes and Keep the Meter Running.
Pit Stop Tonight features interviews with Toyota drivers like Bubba Wallace, Christopher Bell, Jade Avedisian, and Chase Briscoe.
It’s shot on a soundstage, but has a pit crew that literally builds the set on camera before the start of each interview… building it almost as fast as a NASCAR pit stop.
When Rahma told Toyota execs that he knew nothing about NASCAR, they said that’s the point because they were “looking for someone who can be the conduit to people that aren’t necessarily interested in NASCAR.”
The show — which was created in collaboration with Portal A, Saatchi & Saatchi and YouTube Creative Work — will start with four episodes. Toyota plans on distributing short clips across social platforms.
The Analysis: Rahma is quickly becoming a key pitchman across the brand-creator economy, recently having a starring spot at YouTube’s upfronts to pitch brands about why they should advertise on the newly-launched Keep the Meter Running.
And it’s not the first time he’s collaborated deeply with a blue-chip brand.
On Subway Takes, he partnered with Papa John’s to debut a new sandwich in an interview with comedian Zach Schiffman, where the take was about whether or not it’s okay to eat on the subway.
He created another show with UPS called Business Trips, where he peppered UPS drivers with questions as they drove to different NYC businesses.
Rahma says he has no qualms about partnering with a brand, whether that involves them being integrated into one of his existing shows or co-developing a show to a brand’s visions. In both cases, he told AdWeek that “the brand component of it makes everything possible.”
In other words, shows like Pit Stop Tonight are a net positive for creators and brands, so be thinking about the creators you can organically partner with that gives you both a boost.
Together with Consumable
Audio For The Outcomes Era
Most media plans treat audio as a few line items: a streaming buy, maybe a podcast sponsorship. But the audio ecosystem is far bigger than that… and much of it is going untouched.
Mobile apps, addressable podcast audiences, and creator-led content extended across platforms — these are spaces where attention is intentional and trust already exists.
Consumable opens up that ecosystem.
The tool helps you reach 210M+ Comscore-verified monthly users across formats and channels.
It’s powered by listener intelligence, precision targeting, and modern identity infrastructure.
Every audio impression is measurable, addressable, and tied to real outcomes.
Consumable lets brands reach audiences wherever they listen, with the same precision and accountability marketers expect from their best digital channels.
Through immersive ad experiences that combine audio, visuals, and interactivity, brands can finally turn listening into engagement and business impact.
Building The Stack
CNN Recruits Kyla Scanlon To Explain The Economy
The new ladder to a high-profile TV job is viral viewership on social media. CNN has hired Kyla Scanlon, a former investment analyst at Capital Group who started making viral explainer videos about economic trends, as its newest contributor and economic analyst. She’s been tasked with making “explainer” videos across CNN’s various channels. Different distribution, same content, smart hire.
TikTok Taps Top Creators For Cannes Lions
TikTok making a splash at Cannes Lions. It’s brought 16 top creators across lifestyle, comedy, music, food, and more, who will be able to make content on the ground, connect with brands and sponsors, sit on panels, and attend events with brand execs. It’s all about putting the right people together in the right place.
Social Platforms Are Letting Users Change Algorithms
Social media users have long woken up to the effects of algorithms, so platforms are putting the control in their hands. Instagram, Threads, and TikTok have all recently rolled out innovative new features that allow users to dictate what they see, what they don’t, and how long they want the control to last. While that could transform typical virality, it underscores the importance of purposeful creator partnerships to transcend the changing code.
Is your brand looking to co-develop a project with a creator?
Social Updates
Threads is introducing a new “Communities Hub” to make it easier for users to track conversations about specific topics.
Instagram is testing horizontal, long-form videos as it starts to make a push into episodic TV from creators.
Instagram is also introducing the ability to write captions for individual slides of a carousel, which could be a game change for product posts.
Snap took a big swing with the debut of its new AR glasses, Specs… but Wall Street isn’t impressed yet.
Snap is also spinning out its internal generate-AI team, Dotmo, to shield the rest of the company from its high costs.
Twitch is launching a Creator Certification for users to communicate with brands that they’re “certified” for partnerships.
Wrapping Up
That's the week in the brand-creator economy. We'll be back — but not next week.
We're taking a breath between Cannes Lions and the Fourth, and we think you probably are too.
Enjoy the long weekend. We'll see you on July 7th with fresh eyes, the latest from the brand-creator economy, and more on how you can be part of Authentic's inaugural gathering in New York this November.
It's going to be a room worth being in.
— The Authentic Team