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Trending The Market
Expedia Books A Collaboration With IShowSpeed
Expedia has struck a long-term partnership with livestreamer IShowSpeed (real name Darren Watkins Jr.), becoming his first-ever “official travel partner.”
The Big Pitch: Studies show that ongoing, deeper partnerships with creators unlocks strong ROI. By partnering with one of the top Twitch streamers in the world, Expedia could reach a new generation of fans.
The Fine Print: IShowSpeed and Expedia are traveling together… and they want to take fans with them on the journey.
Their partnership will extend across the next year, with Expedia being IShowSpeed’s exclusive travel partner, with the company’s logo and branding being featured on every vehicle he’s traveling on during his streams on Twitch and YouTube.
Viewers will also be able to book the same flights, hotels, and experiences as IShowSpeed, which is made easy via a custom microsite. They’ll also be entered into a chance to meet Watkins on a future tour.
They’ll also be able to browse clips Expedia creates from IShowSpeed’s content, which will be edited to be brand safe — Expedia hasn’t required for the creator to censor himself at all for his streams.
Those clips will also be posted on Expedia’s own socials, likely giving the company a major engagement boost.
The Analysis: Lauri Metrose, head of influencer marketing at Expedia Group, told AdAge: “We feel like this is the new way of marketing—to be actually embedded in a [creator’s] storytelling process, on their channels and with their audience.”
IShowSpeed has 150 million followers, with hundreds of thousands of them concurrently tuning in for streams across the world.
Most of those followers are exactly who Expedia is trying to target — young millennials, Gen Z, and even older Gen Alpha (which has a strong pull on family vacations).
Expedia says its partnership is the start of a new era, switching from “one-and-done collabs” to partnerships that “make [creators] part of our world, the same way Speed is.”
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
Google Surfaces “Search Profiles”
AI summaries and chatbot queries are making the typical Search function obsolete, leaving the traditional SEO business treading water. So, Google is rolling out a new feature called “Search profiles” for brands and creators. The company describes it as a “dedicated, shareable space to highlight content across platforms, and help audiences find accurate, up-to-date information about sources on Search.” In other words, Google is creating hubs for brands and creators to show their content. Looks like search has entered its social media era.
TikTok Collabs With Sundance On Microdrama Workshop
Microdrama apps are blowing up in the US, so it’s no surprise that vertical-video king TikTok wants in on the action as well. The platform is partnering with the Sundance Institute on a four-week microdrama workshop that hopes to nurture “the next generation of creator-led short-form storytelling for digital audiences.” The free, online course will initially focus on screenwriting, and will be accepting applications until July 1st.
Minecraft Builds An Affiliate Marketing Business
It looks like even Minecraft understands the power of the brand-creator economy. The sandbox game popular with kids and teens is launching an affiliate-marketing program that uses tools from impact.com. This’ll allow for top creators to monetize their followings by adding custom links to experiences they build on the platform. Bring on the brand-sponsored mini-games and treasure hunts.
Could your company go all-in on one creator?
Social Updates
Meta is rolling out a new feature called “Series” that could let creators organize their own microdramas.
Meta is giving creators their own AI assistant that gives personalized recommendations on content and strategy.
TikTok is launching a new standalone app called “TikTok Pro Events” that is geared toward major cultural events and the creators making content around them.
Snap has promoted Anmol Malhotra to global head of content and partnerships.
Snap has acquired AR firm Illumix and plans to embed the company’s tech into its next iteration of Spectacles.
Wrapping Up
Here’s something we've been building toward.
This fall, Authentic is bringing our community off the page and into the same room.
On November 17, 2026, Authentic comes to Brookfield Place in New York City for a one-day, invite-only convening. This event will examine where the brand-creator relationship is headed next, bringing together brand executives, creators, platforms, agencies, and investors.
More details, including how to participate, will follow in coming editions of this newsletter. If someone forwarded this to you, now's a good time to get on the list.
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