Hi CCs! Have some interesting news and inspiration for you this week. Let’s dive in. 📸

How Liquid Death's Founder Started A $700 Million Water Brand

With about $1,500, Liquid Death’s CEO Mike Cessario created a commercial BEFORE he had an actual can of water. It went viral and investors saw the potential. The brand is now valued at $700 million.

“At the end of the day we’re creating an entertainment company AND a water company. We don’t want to create marketing, we want to actually entertain people, make them laugh, in service of a brand. If you can do that, they’re going to love the brand because you’re giving them something of value.”

— Liquid Death founder and CEO Mike Cessario

Using Apple Vision Pro: What It’s Actually Like!

Marques Brownlee created a great demo of using the Apple Vision Pro, with its pros and cons and what could be better. Watch below.

11 social media trends you need to know in 2024

Sprout Social breaks down what’s driving audience behavioral patterns and where your brand fits in the mix.

This includes what’s on the horizon with video, social commerce, SEO, the creator economy, and more.

📡 On Our Radar

How agencies invested in influencers this Super Bowl. [LINK]

Netflix has acquired a documentary about British YouTubers The Sidemen that follows the seven creators’ decade-long journey with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. [LINK]

Last week, skincare brand Rhode teased a genius accessory that quickly went viral on TikTok. [LINK]

A year after debuting in private beta, the decentralized Twitter competitor, Bluesky, is dropping its invite system and preparing to release its underlying protocol. [LINK]

Kajabi surveyed 2,000 creators to get their insights into how they make money and found that 96% of online creators make less than $100,000 per year. [LINK]

Creators Colin and Samir discuss their ‘bizarre call with Elon Musk’ and how Elon is trying to lure more creators to the platform X. [LINK]

Ben Affleck is finally getting his name on the Dunkin’ menu after starring in the chain’s Super Bowl commercial. The “DunKings” menu will feature Affleck’s coffee of choice alongside Munchkin skewers. [LINK]

🎶 TikTok

TikTok wants horizontal videos like YouTube, incentivizes creators for new format uploads. [LINK]

TikTok is fumbling critical business partnerships and cluttering its app with unpopular features. It could be the beginning of the end. [LINK]

As TikTok starts to encourage more horizontal video, here’s how to make sure yours is just right to get the best reach. [LINK]

📸 Meta

Meta shares notes on the development of its AI-based ad targeting systems and where advertisers are focusing their efforts in 2024. [LINK]

The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses are getting a welcome camera and audio update, but Look and Ask is still only in beta. [LINK]

Facebook tests Generative AI prompts for better post captions. [LINK]

Instagram is running ads to remind you its also a search engine (trying to keep up with TikTok). [LINK]

Instagram is rolling out the ability to cut out a section of a video and use it as a sticker. [LINK]

Instagram now allows you to add a custom background to your shared post in stories using the photo sticker (iPhone only right now). You just need to press hard on it to reveal the layer order control and move it back to your post. [LINK]

🧵 Threads

Threads plans to deprioritize political discussion through new recommendations approach. [LINK]

Threads has started a limited test of the ability to save posts, just like you can on Instagram. [LINK]

Meta shares insights into how the Threads feed algorithms work. [LINK]

☠️ 𝕏 (Twitter)

X has announced a new, exclusive content deal with the WWE, adding more video programming into its growing slate of shows. [LINK]

X Is trying to win over influencers: Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of the platform formerly known as Twitter, is relying on her TV industry ties to recruit established stars to the site. [LINK]

📹 YouTube

YouTube is experimenting with a rather curious way to surface video: feeds organized by color. [LINK]

YouTube introduces RSS feed integration to help podcast creators easily distribute content and expand their reach. [LINK]

YouTube built a Twitch-y new shelf to show off creators’ best clips. [LINK]

📘 Linkedin

Report: the secrets of Linkedin’s algorithm. [LINK]

LinkedIn added new ‘Catchup’ feed to nudge users to reach out to people in their network. [LINK]

🤖 Reddit

At CES 2024, Reddit released research outlining the growing importance of recommendations in purchase decisions. [LINK]

🍥 Pinterest

Pinterest added more users again in Q4, while also unveiling a new ad partnership with Google, which will help to boost its monetization potential. [LINK]

🤖 AI Boom

The Super Bowl’s best and wackiest AI commercials. It's nothing like "crypto bowl" in 2022, but AI made a notable splash during the big game. [LINK]

Google has officially rebranded its AI assistant Bard. The company’s chatbot now goes by Gemini, named after the AI models that power it, and has a new app and subscription options. [LINK]

Last week, Disney revealed its plans to acquire a $1.5 billion equity stake in Epic Games, the developer of Unreal Engine and “Fortnite.” More than just a move to populate the metaverse platform with its IP, Disney’s investment could bring a virtual theme park to fans in a way that was impossible before. [LINK]

🤳 Campaign Spotlight

How CeraVe and Michael Cera pulled off an epic prank for the brand's first Super Bowl campaign

Concocted by Ogilvy, the campaign was unique for its influencer-led approach and the creation of an "imposter character," aimed to extend CeraVe's TikTok popularity to a broader audience, blending education and entertainment while engaging the public in an immersive story.

Read Marketing Brew’s interview with Melanie Vidal, global brand manager for CeraVe at L’Oréal, where she dishes what went into the brand’s first Super Bowl campaign that left people equal parts confused and entertained.

🎨 Creative Corner

Lush has launched a Saltburn-inspired bath bomb inspired by ‘that scene’ that left many viewers feeling 'traumatized'. The limited edition bath bomb is giving Saltburn fans the chance to live out all their bathtub fantasies…

I think it’s a fun show of how product development can be nimble to jump on culturally relevant events and trends in order to develop connection and maintain relevancy.

Thank you for making it until the end! Please consider referring your friends to Creative Commerce by sharing this link.

Winter Mendelson
Co-Founder, Posture Media
Instagram / Linkedin / Threads / X

P.S. I will probably have typos in the event that my dad is unavailable to proofread. Sorry in advance.

​Creative Commerce is a newsletter for entrepreneurs, marketers, and social media managers. It is written, edited, and published by Posture Media, an independent branding and marketing studio based in Brooklyn.

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