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TOGETHER WITH |
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It's Monday and the drama surrounding Sylvanian Drama has fizzled out, with the maker of Calico Critters dropping its suit against the popular (if slightly unhinged) TikTok account. |
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Today's News |
🏨 TikTok dives into travel ✂️ Instagram says Edits ups reach 🎥 Snap teams up with Channel 5 📺 A TV ad group hits back at YouTube 🎙️ This week on the podcast…
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PLATFORM HEADLINES |
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TikTok is selling hotel rooms (and paying creators to help) |
The campaign: Around this time last summer, TikTok debuted an extensive partnership with Southwest Airlines that allowed users to (among other things) buy plane tickets to popular destinations through an in-platform portal. |
Now, TikTok is doubling down on destination booking. The platform has launched both a new integration with Booking.com and a monetization program called TikTok Go, through which businesses like hotels and travel agencies can pay travel vloggers to complete promotional tasks. |
The Booking.com integration gives each hotel its own TikTok landing page, where users can check dates and rates, see amenities and reviews, and discover nearby entertainment and dining options. An additional section displays user-made vertical videos that include tags of participating hotels. |
That tagging process is where TikTok Go comes into play. Through it, any user who's over the age of 18 and has at least 1,000 followers can earn an undisclosed commission by completing tasks requested by hotels/travel agencies/etc. Per Business Insider, these include things like posting a video from a certain hotel room or local restaurant. |
The context: Based on the low barrier to entry, those tasks probably won't pay nearly as well as traditional creator/brand sponsorships, but they do represent a kind of broader TikTok Shopification. Almost anyone can earn affiliate cash by hawking products from TikTok Shop. Now, thanks to TikTok Go, a similarly large array of creators can film videos to earn commissions. |
That Shopification is likely to continue at a rapid pace. As Semafor previously reported, TikTok's U.S. trademark application for TikTok Go describes its purpose as "promoting restaurants, retail businesses, the travel industry, and other online and offline businesses." So while TikTok Go currently focuses on travel-centric brands, it could potentially expand to include any and all types of businesses. |
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🌟 SPONSORED 🌟 |
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1. What is Creators HQ?
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2. Who's involved?
Creators HQ was pioneered by the organizers behind the 1 Billion Followers Summit. Founding Members include dozens of top creators—from Dhar Mann and Yes Theory to Anazala Family, JianHao Tan, and Dose of Society. |
3. What perks come with membership?
At $40/month, Creators HQ membership includes… |
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4. How can I find out more?
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HEADLINES IN BRIEF 📰 |
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Instagram head Adam Mosseri has clarified that one popular myth about the app—"that you have to interact with similar content to the content that you create to maximize your reach"—is "not the case." (Social Media Today)
Pinterest CEO Bill Ready wants investors to think of the platform as an "AI-enabled shopping assistant"—but he doubts fully-fledged agentic shopping will arrive anytime soon. (TechCrunch)
As major sports leagues pivot from traditional media to streaming contracts, Apple, YouTube, and Netflix are vying for distribution rights. (Bloomberg)
Wikimedia Foundation product director Marshall Miller says volunteer editors have become a sort of "immune system" for Wikipedia as they battle a continual flood of AI slop. (The Verge)
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BACK TO REALITY |
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Snap is showing off the value of AR through a new TV show |
The partnership: Snap wants to sell consumers on the entertainment value of augmented reality (AR) experiences, so it's teaming up with U.K. broadcaster Channel 5 to take viewers back in time. A docuseries called Seven Wonders of the Ancient World premiered for U.K. viewers on August 2, and includes interactive elements powered by the Snapchat parent company. (Viewers in the rest of the world can check out Snap's AR integrations by visiting the website for SandStone Global Productions, which produced the show.) |
A Snap Newsroom post explains how users can explore its contributions to Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: |
"By simply scanning an on-screen QR code with their phones, viewers will be able to virtually travel to moments in time to explore, learn, and see these sites." | | | | Snap Newsroom |
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The context: The concept of a "second screen" adjacent to TV viewership is nothing new. Kids, for example, have been identified as regular users of second screens, inviting media companies like Netflix to cater programming to a half-checked-in audience. |
But Snap's integration isn't just about consumption habits. The tech company has gone all in on AR, developing programs and in-app features that encourage users to create their own effects. A revenue-sharing program for Lens creators arrived in 2023, and Snap also debuted a Lens+ subscription service (which provides access to premium AR products for $8.99/month) earlier this year. |
Snap still has plenty of room to expand that AR push. As companies like Meta bring wearable tech into vogue, the Snapchat parent company has an opportunity to reenter a field it previously abandoned. With Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Snap likely hopes to get that ball rolling—and spark consumer interest—by demonstrating clear use cases for AR effects. |
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THE BIZ |
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A TV ad group wants YouTube to clean up its slop. Can it? |
The report: The Video Advertising Bureau (VAB), a trade group that counts NBCUniversal, ESPN, and Sony Pictures Television among its members, has put YouTube on blast over the onslaught of infringing videos removed from its platform each day. A moderation report published by the bureau—which also includes streaming rivals like Peacock, Paramount+, Hulu, and HBO Max—details YouTube's slop problem by analyzing first-party data from semiannual takedown summaries. |
The findings: |
According to the VAB, over half the removed videos cited in YouTube's transparency reports already had at least one view (though the aggregate viewership hasn't been made clear).
In the first quarter of 2025, 8.6 million videos were taken down.
54% of those removals were due to child safety reasons.
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VAB CEO Sean Cunningham claimed that those results demonstrate "the 24/7 assault that this platform is under from the worst of the worst actors," but clarified that the VAB isn't trying to "stain" YouTube. Instead, he said, it wants to "assess the risk and demand transparency" that surrounds "the endless conveyor belt of ad dollars." |
In response, a Google spokesperson stated that "our commitment to removing violative content and regular transparency reporting gives advertisers confidence to partner with YouTube and support our creators." |
The context: That commitment to speedy removals and transparency is meaningful, and traditional studios are clearly eager to increase activity on YouTube. But the VAB's report demonstrates why advertisers remain concerned about the content that appears next to their spots. |
There have been multiple reports of placements on streams featuring unauthorized IP, and one anonymous exec told AdAge that YouTube refunded $50,000 to brands whose ads ran on infringing inventory. |
The takeaway: In an age when AI slop intersects with IP owned by Hollywood studios, YouTube may need to make its moderation technology more sophisticated to keep up. |
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LISTEN UP 🎙️ |
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This week on the podcast… |
"From Creator to VP": On the latest episode of Creator Upload, hosts Joshua Cohen and Lauren Schnipper were joined by creator, entrepreneur, and investor Caspar Lee for an in-depth interview. |
Tune in to hear Lee's unique perspective on transitioning from a top YouTube creator to a business leader, the current phase of the creator economy, and how brands can succeed by learning to "think like a creator." Also on the discussion list: the significant growth of influencer marketing budgets and the investment thesis behind his venture capital firm, Creator Ventures. |
It's all right here on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. |
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Today's newsletter is from: Emily Burton, Drew Baldwin, Sam Gutelle, and Josh Cohen. |
