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Trending The Market
Zoom Turns To A Creator To Tell Its Story
Zoom has struck a partnership with journalism influencer and Smart Girl Dumb Questions podcaster Nayeema Raza to help reshape the company’s marketing strategy.
The Big Pitch: More and more companies are collaborating with creators to boost their street cred and build stronger relationships with younger generations. The hope is that these influential personalities will, by association, position the brand as a cultural force that has their fingers on the zeitgeist.
The Fine Print: Raza has made a career out of asking leaders across business, science, and culture surprisingly thoughtful questions.
Zoom wants her to continue that… but on its platform.
She’ll launch a new interview series in collaboration with the company that focuses on “solopreneurs” — people who own and operate their own businesses.
She’ll also host a six-part miniseries of her flagship program exploring “how technology is reshaping work and leadership,” per Variety.
She’ll also take part in Zoom’s annual user conference, Zoomtopia, where she’ll present content on stage.
The Analysis: News and opinion media has become a key sector where companies are partnering with creators.That’s because c-suites are realizing that influencers are doing what traditional comms teams struggle to do online every day — telling a company’s story in a way that’s authentic and engaging. That’s a good bet when a recent Pew Research study found that about 38% of people between 18 and 29 are “especially likely” to get news from influencers.
But here’s the thing: the only way you’re going to get a top creator in this space to partner with you is by giving up some of the control they’re used to wielding. That’s because creators aren’t an ad agency for hire; they’re an individual voice that they’re audience trusts. Zoom’s chief marketing and communications officer, Kimberly Storin, underscored that when she told Variety that the company had to “get comfortable with having creators be our advocates and to share their stories.”
Zoom knows that real success will come when creators like Raza have the freedom to craft the conversation.
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
YouTube Has Become A Financial-Advice Hub
Analytics company Precify released a new report that found that nearly a third of US adults watch finance-related content on YouTube every single day. It’s becoming common for the main household earner to turn to finance influencers like Caleb Hammer, Coffeezilla, and Dave Ramsey before making big financial decisions themselves, which is why finance startups are lining up to collaborate with them. Where best to invest your hard-earned money feels like an ever-changing minefield, so it’s no wonder that a growing number of people are looking for guidance from creators.
TikTok Enters The Sports-Rights Ring
Sports rights have become one of the biggest engagement drivers across streaming services and social platforms, so it’s only natural that TikTok would double down on the sector. Hot on the heels of announcing a partnership with the NBA and WNBA, the company has scored a championship boxing match between featherweight champion Amanda Serrano and Lucrecia Manzur. Booking Serrano makes sense considering she was the first fighter signed to Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions — the viral marketing is built in.
TikTok Wants A Piece Of The Microdrama Trend
Microdramas have blown up in China in recent years and have started to migrate to the US. TikTok wants to be at the forefront of that wave with the rollout of a new standalone app called “Limeshorts.” Tweaking the typical “pay-as-you-watch” model of traditional microdrama apps, LimeShorts is taking a subscription approach, charging either $20/week or $200/year to access its growing library of vertical-video, soap-opera style shows. Will American viewers bite?
Would you let a creator freely represent your company?
Social Updates
Meta is testing a new “immersive video” redesign of Facebook.
Facebook will allow users to get verified for free if they send in a selfie video.
More Facebook: the company is launching a standalone-app for its Marketplace feature called “Seller.”
YouTube is letting creators that are part of its Partner Program to rebrand their “playlists” as “shows.”
YouTube is also allowing Partner Program creators to put custom thumbnails on Shorts.
More YouTube: NBCUniversal’s streamer, Peacock, will now be bundled with YouTube Premium.
Snapchat users can now share what music they’re listening to in real time on Spotify with a new feature called “Now Playing.”
Wrapping Up
Another week in the books. We'll be back in your inbox next Tuesday with more fresh insights.
Programming for the Authentic Forum is going beyond our wildest expectations, and the room we're building in New York this November is shaping up to be something you won’t want to miss. If you're behind a brand-creator partnership worth the room's attention, we want to hear from you. Submit your work for consideration at authenticcall.aivanta.io. Submissions close this Friday. The right fits will earn a speaking slot at Authentic this fall.
And if you know someone this event wouldn't be complete without, a brand doing the work others are still trying to figure out, or a creator whose partnerships belong in front of this room, drop us a line directly at [email protected]. Time is running out.
See you next week.
— The Authentic Team