Influence Weekly
Join us as we dive deeper into the latest trends, insights, and stories from the world of influencer marketing and the creator economy. Our podcast brings you exclusive interviews with industry leaders, in-depth analysis of key topics, and a behind-the-scenes look at the stories that matter most to our community.
Episodes
97 episodes
The Creator Economy Is Not a PR Tactic, with Gregory Curtis from Empower Media
Your shoppers are not browsing anymore. They are following one person who eats, breathes and posts a single subject, and they buy what she tells them to buy. Your deck still ranks that person by follower count, because that is the column your a...
The One Number Worth Judging a Creator On Does Not Exist Yet. With Kristen Wiley (Statusphere)
Your customers are not asking you how they found the product. They saw a video from someone with 500 followers, trusted her, and bought. Then Google took the credit for the sale, and the number sitting on your brief, the one your agency keeps o...
October 2026 Creator Economy News Recap: 5 Million Views, Nothing to Show for It
In this October episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene break down three stories that together show what brands are actually paying for in creator marketing right now: what a view is worth, what a fee is buying, and who owns the content after...
Reach Is the New Follower Count: Why Smaller Creator Accounts Are More Valuable to Brands w/ Adam Harris (Gaggl)
Your customers are spending their evenings in small rooms where the host knows their names. Seventy percent of what they watch comes from accounts they never followed. Your media kit still prices a deal off a follower number, because that is th...
Every Brand Cuts Usage Rights to Save Money. They All Regret It. With Julia Salume (Moburst)
Your creator quotes came back higher again this year, and the number arrives as one line on an invoice. Nobody can tell you what is inside it. Not the creator, not your agency, and not the manager who says the rate is the rate.So you do...
Why Is Creator Pricing Still the Wild West? with Shirel Benji of Creator Origin
Four years ago, a brand opened a media kit, looked at the follower count, and priced the deal off it. Shirel Benji, founder and CEO of Creator Origin, says that number hasn't disappeared, but it's stopped being the thing that actually predicts ...
AI Changing How Discovery in the Creator Economy Works, with Yehuda Neuman of PartnerCentric
Your customers are starting to ask ChatGPT which brand to buy. The answer it gives them comes partly from creators. And nobody can tell you how it decides. Not the platforms, not the agencies, not even the people who built it.That shoul...
September 2026 Creator Economy News Recap: A Deep Dive Into Unilever's 300,000 Creators Bet
In this September episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene break down three stories that together paint a clear picture of where creator marketing stands heading into Q4—who's winning, who's scaling, and why measurement is still the industry's...
What Every Brand Gets Wrong When Splitting a $100,000 Creator Budget - James Nord (Fohr)
Influencer marketing is becoming a math problem, not a creative one.For years, brands have believed that great creative is what makes a post go viral. James Nord, founder and CEO of Fohr, says that's backwards. In this episode, he...
Tinashe Chaponda (Sosani) - Stop Making the Creator the Hero: A Talent Agency Founder's Hype Check
Follower count isn't dead. Brands are just using their biggest names wrong.Everyone in the creator economy has decided mega-influencers and celebrities are washed up — that follower count doesn't matter anymore. Tinashe Chaponda, ...
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August 2026 Creator Economy News Recap - Why is Google Doubling Down on the Creator Economy?
In this August episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene break down three stories that signal how seriously the broader economy—from tech platforms to universities to major retailers—is now taking the creator economy as infrastructure:🔍 ...
Kaleigh Moore (Context Window): AI Search Is in Its Billboard Phase
Kaleigh Moore is an independent B2B content strategist and LinkedIn creator who helps SaaS companies improve their visibility in AI-generated answers. She publishes the newsletter Context Window, tracks the intersection of creator economy and A...
July 2026 Creator Economy News Recap - CAA's $250M Creator Bet, Ruggable's Data-Driven Playbook & Forbes' Billion-Dollar Creator List
In this July episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene break down three stories that capture the creator economy's maturation—from institutional capital entering the space to brands cracking creator performance marketing to Forbes confirming th...
Leah Chaney (CYLNDR Studios): Every Revision Is a Tax on Creative
CYLNDR Studios is a Los Angeles-based creative and production studio that operates at the intersection of strategy, design, filmmaking, and influencer marketing. The company serves brands looking to move beyond transactional creator partnership...
Matthew Lacey (Waypoint Partners): What the Whalar Deal Signals for the Creator Economy
Waypoint Partners is a specialist M&A advisory firm supporting high-growth businesses at the intersection of creativity, technology, and intellectual capital. With over $2 billion in completed deal value across 40 transactions, the firm adv...
Jo Wong (Pop.Store): Virality Is Not a Business: Inside POP.STORE's Big VidCon Bet
Pop.Store is an agentic AI commerce platform built for creators, combining a social-first storefront where creators can sell digital products, bookings, and affiliate deals with an AI operating system that runs key business tasks autonomously. ...
June 2026 Creator Economy News Recap - Lenovo's Creator IP Playbook, GM's Big Bet & VidCon vs. Cannes
In this June episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene break down three stories that reveal how brands are thinking about creator investment—and where the line is between genuine cultural impact and expensive noise:🎨 Lenovo's Creator ...
Eddie Pietzak (CESD): The Creator Economy Needs a Mailroom
CESD Talent Agency is one of the leading talent representation firms operating across both Hollywood and the creator economy, with offices in Los Angeles and New York. The company's digital department represents content creators across YouTube,...
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Andy Cloyd (Superfiliate): Automate Everything Except Relationships
Superfiliate is a creator-led growth platform helping thousands of D2C brands run and scale creator partnerships across Shopify, Meta, and TikTok Shop. The platform provides unified affiliate and creator management, automated gifting workflows,...
Nick Jacklin (Underscore Talent): Why Single-Platform Creators Don't Last
Underscore Talent is a premier creator economy management company representing diverse talent across creators, comedians, athletes, and thought leaders. The company's division, Shorthand Studios, provides editorial services, editing, digital st...
Brianna Doe (Verbatim): Stop Treating Influencer Marketing Like Paid Ads
Verbatim is a boutique marketing agency that helps SMBs and startups grow through influencer marketing and speaker sourcing, specializing in SaaS and eCommerce brands. The agency focuses on helping businesses tell compelling stories that drive ...
May 2026 Creator Economy News Recap - Creator Tier Strategy, Target's Gamified Shift & Instagram's Commerce Play
In this May episode, hosts Ceci Carloni and Nii Ahene unpack three stories revealing how brands are rethinking creator program structure, compensation models, and platform commerce strategies:🎯 Does "Make It Cool First, Scale Second" ...
Bryan Barletta (Sounds Profitable): Podcasting Needs to Stop Talking to Itself
Sounds Profitable is a media property covering strategic and tactical changes in the podcasting business through newsletters, podcasts, and industry research. The company produces educational content, conducts quarterly research series, and pro...
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Christian Liquigan (Spotter): Creators Are Networks Now
Spotter is a platform that provides creators with capital, community, and AI-powered tools to accelerate growth. The company has deployed over $940 million to YouTube creators for reinvestment and operates a premium catalog generating 88 billio...
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Beyond Brand Deals - Building Creator Businesses That Last with Monica Khan of Creator Revolution
Creator Revolution is a talent management and advisory firm that helps top creators scale businesses through strategic partnerships and long-term monetization while helping companies unlock creators as a core growth channel. Founded by Monica K...
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