Creators are taking over celebrity spaces, and brands are missing out on valuable post-purchase engagement with their audiences. Here's the rest of this week's scoop: 

Quick numbers 💯

• 9 out of 10 decision-makers and C-suite execs say they are moderately or very likely to be more receptive to sales or marketing outreach from a company that consistently produces high-quality thought leadership [1]
• 15% of video content created by marketers in North America is dedicated to the post-purchase stage [2]
• 56% of US CPG manufacturers agree that performance measurement is the most important factor in allocating budget to retail media [3]
• 93% of consumers consider the post-purchase experience important and 83% believe there’s room for improvement [4]

What you should know  ☕

#FilmTok arrives at the 96th Oscars

• Creators Joe Aragon (@cinema.joe) and Yasmine Sahid (@ladyyasmina1) brought the TikTok community to the Oscars red carpet

Why retailers should care more about the post-purchase experience

• Only 15% of video content created by marketers in North America is dedicated to the post-purchase stage
• 93% of consumers consider the post-purchase experience important and 83% believe there’s room for improvement

2024 State of Retail Media report

• Less than 1/3 of organizations say they are proficient in measuring incrementality in retail media and applying/leveraging the insights
• Performance measurement is the most important factor in retail media budget allocation (56%)
• 59% of respondents say they plan to increase budget for social commerce (TikTok Shop, Facebook Marketplace, etc.)

Social platforms 📲

TikTok ⏰

• TikTok hosted its creator summit “For Creators: Future Formats” and announced several updates:
  • Upgrading its Creator Portal to a Creator Academy with resources, courses, articles, videos, and insights
  • Relaunching its Creativity Program beta as the Creator Rewards Program–rewarding creators for 60+ second videos
• TikTok sends push notification telling users to call US Congress to prevent a ban

Meta  📸‍

• Instagram announces new features for DMs:
  • Edit messages up to 15 minutes after sending
  • Pinning chats to the top of your inbox

Updates in tech 💻

Linktree is introducing a social commerce product and affiliate marketing program

• The platform is allowing its 47 million users to add storefronts to their link-in-bio pages and earn 12% to 15% commissions

Notable partnerships 📓

Dude Perfect is helping Smoothie King reach younger consumers

• The brand is launching limited-edition Dude Perfect smoothie
• The product, which features protein powder and a lengthy combination of fruits, also aligns with Smoothie King’s effort to engage modern consumers with healthier menu options
• While Dude Perfect has been around for 15 years, it is still seeing a rising interest from brands. Last month, sports drink brand Bodyarmor became the group’s official hydration partner

EA is bringing back a beloved college football video game

• 1993 to 2014, EA Sports put out annual college football video games which never allowed for the use of players NILs to be used
• Now, players actual names will be used on the back of jerseys after $6 million in name, image, and likeness(NIL) deals are signed
• More than 10,000 football players agreed to lend their likeness to EA in exchange for $600 and a free copy of the game