The Bobbie Beat - Vol. 4
Your pulse check on what’s rising (and what’s ready for retirement) in the creator economy.
Welcome to vol. 4 of your no-fluff pulse on what’s shaping the creator economy right now. This month, we saw brands showing up in culture and aligning with creators, communities, and movements that resonate and feel authentic to their audiences. Let’s break it down.
What’s Rising
Invited to Influence
If Coachella taught brands how to play in music, the US Open is showing how sports are becoming content-first festivals. This year countless brands used the tournament as a backdrop to host hundreds of influencers in branded suites or on-site activations, transforming a tennis tournament into a social spectacle. While many brands did this well, such as Ralph Lauren who is the tournament’s official outfitter but additionally tapped creators to amplify its capsule collection onsite, it's important to remember to tie the cultural events you're inviting creators to authentically back to your brand's products and values.
From Courtside to Culture: Women’s Sports + Brand Partnerships
Recent WNBA collabs, such as Fenty’s beauty partnership with New York Liberty or Sephora’s multi-year partnership with the Golden State Valkyries Sephora, are not only driving headlines but are also driving results. Deloitte, also an NBA sponsor, reported that WNBA Changemaker brands are seeing an ROI north of 280% in their WNBA investment. But the trend isn’t limited to hoops. Women’s sports across the board are pulling in serious brand partnerships, from Nike and British Gas with women’s soccer to new player-founded leagues like Unrivaled. Even off-season, players are signing fashion and lifestyle deals proving their influence with or without their uniform.
From Resumes to Relevance: LinkedIn’s Creator Era
LinkedIn has become one of the fastest-growing creator platforms, rolling out a Creator Hub, new analytics, and native video tools designed for knowledge-sharing over pure entertainment. The rise of B2B creators shows that influence isn’t just about lifestyle anymore, it’s also about credibility. For brands, the opportunity is big: high-value audiences, longer content shelf-life, prioritized algorithms, and partnerships that read more like endorsements than they do ads.
On the Fence
Scratch, Sniff, Scroll?
For years, sound has been the sensory star of brand content (think mukbangs, ASMR crunch, and endless sips). Now, smell is stepping into the spotlight. Scratch-and-sniff activations are popping up, nostalgic and playful as ever. Billie blanketed NYC with scratch-and-sniff billboards for its Coco Villa deodorant, while Miu Miu slipped scented flyers around the city for its new fragrance Muitine.
It’s clever and experiential marketing at its most tactile, but will it stick? In beauty and fragrance, where scent discovery is key, this feels like a logical play. But scaling beyond fragrance might be trickier. For now, we’re keeping a curious nose on it. Let us know your POV below.
What’s Ready for Retirement
Event Presence Without Relevance
Just because you can be at an event doesn’t mean you always should be. When brands show up without a clear connection to the moment or with creators who don’t have a direct connection to the cultural moment, it reads like clout-chasing, not community building.A Lack of Vetting
Last month we said casting for clout is out. The truth is, that applies at every tier of influencer. Nearly 40% of marketers admit they don’t have consistent brand-safety protocols, and only half use third-party tools to vet creators’ history or audience authenticity. The risk? Partnerships that lead to backlash, mismatched values, or credibility hits that cost more than any short-term reach. Vetting has always mattered, but in an era where customers are hyper-tuned to brand moves, it’s non-negotiable.
Wrap-Up
That’s a wrap on this month’s Beat. The throughline? It’s less about being everywhere and more about being in the right places. Whether it’s Arthur Ashe Stadium or a LinkedIn feed, the creator economy rewards brands that embed in the right moments with meaning.
Want to make it work for your brand? Drop us a line: hi@thebobbieagency.com