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Trending The Market

Google Gets An Assist From MrBeast

Google signed a major, multi-year deal with none other than the biggest creator on YouTube — MrBeast — to promote Gemini, Google Health, and Fitbit.

The Big Pitch: Google is not really known for striking creator deals, especially since it owns YouTube. But if they’re going to do one, they might as well go as big as possible. The move comes at an interesting time for Google, which is dealing with rivals in the creator space (Netflix), AI (OpenAI, Anthropic, XAI, etc.), and wearables (Meta, Apple, Oura, and more).

The Fine Print: MrBeast is going to be totally outfitted in Google tech in upcoming videos.

  • MrBeast will be the face of the new Gemini campaign, and he’ll use chatbot to help him plan future stunts.

  • The creator will also tap Google Health to demonstrate to viewers how the tool can “support their daily fitness and wellness goals,” per Tubefilter.

  • He’llwill also roll out a challenge that will feature him using the Fitbit Air.

The first video in the deal came out on Saturday, which featured MrBeast and friends splitting into teams in the Arctic, the jungle, and the desert, and relying on Gemini to survive. The video currently has 61 million views.

The Analysis: With over 516 million subscribers and an average view count of 5 billion per month, it’s no surprise that MrBeast is the brand king — Disney, Lowe’s, Salesforce, and Jack Links are just some of the major clients. The deal with Google seems almost inevitable.

But a lot of analysts are interested in the timing of the deal. YouTube is in the middle of making deals that will ensure creators don’t simultaneously post on other platforms. Additionally, Google is feeling a lot of pressure from rivals in several emerging-tech sectors. All that to say: Google knew it needed a leg up… and knew that getting buy-in from one of the most beloved and followed people on Earth could be just the thing to do it.

That’s the power of the brand-creator economy.

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

IShowSpeed And Dr. Squatch Collab On A Million-Dollar Challenge

Top Twitch streamer IShowSpeed (real name Darren Watkins Jr.) is teaming up with men-focused personal-care brand Dr. Squatch on a scavenger hunt that blends the physical and digital worlds. SPEEDRUN: Million Dollar Mission consists of 25 challenges — including treasure hunts, social media challenges, and TikTok Shop loot boxes — across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia (and participating Walmart locations) that runs until October 31. A million dollars in cash will be doled out in prizes, including $250,000 in the finale. This is a prime example of how a brand can make some serious noise.

TikTok Teams Up With The NFL Again

TikTok (the separate US branch, that is) has renewed its partnership with the NFL to be the league’s go-to short-form content home. TikTok will host game highlights, player interviews, and archival footage that’ll help supercharge the narratives happening on and off the field, especially via the NFL’s flagship account (which has 20 million followers). But TikTok is upping the game this year with new products, including team-activation tool “TikTok GamePlan” and community hub “TikTok Pro Events.” Clearly, the company doesn’t want YouTube invading its territory.

Markiplier Invested In GoPro… And Then Things Got Interesting

Last week, Markiplier — one of the biggest YouTube creators — announced that he had become the single largest shareholder in camera company GoPro, seeing its newest camera as a key tech for democratizing filmmaking. That immediately turned around the company’s falling shares, turning a company that was on the verge of a fire sale into a meme stock. But there’s a twist: just a day after Markiplier’s announcement, GoPro was acquired by a company called Starman Optical for $285 million, and shared that it would be expanding into markets like robotics and defense. While Markiplier’s investment was just a happy coincidence, it shows just how ahead of the market some creators can be.

Have you considered tapping a creator to promote multiple, varied products?

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Social Updates

TikTok is expanding the comments section to include voice notes, polls, and live photos, and image carousels.

YouTube’s new view count is over-reporting real engagement by 40%, according to data from Agentio.

Meta is rolling out a personal AI agent called Muse.

X has officially moved its creator payouts from Stripe to its own X Money.

Wrapping Up

That's the week in the brand-creator economy. We'll be back in your inbox next Tuesday.

For those new here: Authentic, the Brand-Creator Summit, is coming to New York on November 18th… and it’s going to be an event you don’t want to miss.

A single day of curated conversations with decision-makers across brand marketing, creator platforms, talent, agencies, and investment — all in direct conversation about what's driving the future of the brand-creator economy.

We're bringing the community this newsletter is built for into the same room, and we intend to make it the kind of gathering worth coming back to year after year. 

If you want to be one of the first to know when tickets go on sale, request a notification at authentic.aivanta.io

And make sure to follow Aivanta on Linkedin for exclusive offers, discounts, and ticket packages for Authentic's Brand-Creator Summit.

— The Authentic Team