Hi CCs,

I don’t typically send this newsletter out on Saturday, but I think will make for an entertaining afternoon read/watch depending on your level of deep dive.

Let’s get into it. 💸

Have a great weekend!
Winter

How to build a $100,000 personal brand (in just 90 days)

Nathan Barry, the CEO of Kit (formerly ConvertKit), chats with entrepreneur and investor Darrell Vesterfelt to explore why personal brand might be the most overlooked asset for early-stage founders.

After School monthly trend recap by Casey Lewis

After School is an awesome newsletter by Casey Lewis which offers an examination of youth culture. Last month she released a recap of trends that are worth taking note of.

Trends explored in this report include the monetization of emotions, bed nesting and the aestheticization of comfort, the fall (or rethinking) of the nightclub, Gen Z’s financial nihilism, Disaster Girl Economy, and more.

2025 social media trends report by Dash Social

Creators are driving brand engagement like never before, with Instagram seeing a 13% boost and TikTok soaring by 46% in 2024.

This report explores why strategic creator partnerships are a non negotiable for brands to succeed on social media. Through real world case studies, you ll see how brands are tapping into creator led content to boost visibility, spark engagement and build authentic connections with their audiences.

🤳 Content Inspo

Fun take on showing a fit by Nude Project. [LINK]
To feature an outfit and accessories, start with a flat lay style feature where each piece appears one at a time and finish with the final showcase.

Question hook and visual case study. [LINK]
In this video by Director Drew Conin, he starts with a question on-screen “So you just make little edits for work?” and then cuts to showing his work. Great way to incorporate a visual hook in a case study or portfolio/product/service showcase.

Split screen / time mirroring. [LINK]
ANOTHeR restaurant in Mexico City shows a juxtaposition between their morning menu and evening menu via split screen. This creative idea could be applicable to a variety of scenarios such as day in the life, opening/closing of a studio, travel, store or apartment light shift vibe change, etc.

Leverage an elevator for a visually engaging showcase. [LINK]
As another split screen example, The Ritz in Paris got creative by filming four different team members in the same elevator and edited it split screen style, having the elevator open/close at different times for visual interest. This is a fun format you can leverage to show different outfits, flower bouquets/objects, introduce your team, and more.

💬 Tip of the day:

📡 On Our Radar

ICYMI: Nike and SKIMS introduce new brand for women: NikeSKIMS. [LINK]

Oren John, Clayton Chambers, and The Vaan Group put together a report on emerging trends reshaping home goods, what sets standout brands apart in this space, and more. [LINK]

Coca-Cola is gearing up to launch a prebiotic soda to compete against Olipop and Poppi called Simply Pop. [LINK]

Brands like TheRealReal are launching Substack strategies. [LINK]

Spanx takes over Hollywood for 25th anniversary. [LINK]

Duolingo ‘killed’ its mascot with a Cybertruck, and it’s going weirdly well. [LINK]

Amazon launched a new Amazon Creators app for Canva. Available in the Canva Marketplace, creators can link their Amazon Influencer account to Canva. They can then create a design in Canva and, when they go to publish it, have the option to upload it directly to their Amazon Storefront. [LINK]

🎶 TikTok

TikTok and CapCut shoot right to the top of Apple’s App Store downloads as ByteDance returns to phones. [LINK]

TikTok and Tate McRae launch exclusive in-app experience and shoppable global livestream for So Close To What. [LINK]

TikTok launches updated automotive ad options. [LINK]

TikTok looks to promote livestream shopping in more regions. [LINK]

TikTok grabs market share from Shein despite looming risks. [LINK]

TikTok Shop launches ‘Most Loved Badge’ for exceptional products. [LINK]

📸 Meta / Instagram

Meta will build the world’s longest undersea cable: Meta’s Waterworth Project will provide internet connectivity on five continents, with landing points in India, the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. [LINK]

Adam Mosseri on the three most important metrics to pay attention to if optimizing for reach. [LINK]

Meta has shared an overview of how its Community Notes will work on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. [LINK]

Meta’s Ray-Bans have sold 2 million pairs — its maker is prepping to sell 10M each year. [LINK]

Instagram upgrades DMs with music sharing, message scheduling, translation, and more. [LINK]

Instagram tests a ‘dislike’ button for comments. [LINK]

Instagram’s rolling out a new element within its Partnership Ads that will enable brands to showcase a creator endorsement within a sponsored comment on a Partnership post. [LINK]

🧵 Threads

Threads is testing an option to hide the Replies tab from your profile, with the ability to access it privately from the settings. [LINK]

Threads gains momentum among brands, research reveals. [LINK]

🤳 YouTube

YouTube expanded access to voice replies and added a quick ‘Promote’ option for Shorts. [LINK]

You can now create voiceover tracks for Shorts using text-to-speech tool. [LINK]

YouTube Shorts has rolled out more generative AI features for its Dream Screen program which is based on Google’s Veo 2 video model. [LINK]

YouTube Surprise: CEO says TV overtakes mobile as “Primary Device” for viewing. [LINK]

☠️ 𝕏

X hinted at possible deal trouble in talks with ad giant to increase spending. [LINK]

X doubles its Premium+ plan prices after xAI releases Grok 3. [LINK]

🦋 Bluesky

Bluesky adds a ‘followers only’ reply option. [LINK]

🟦 Linkedin

LinkedIn features research showing how its helping B2B marketers prove campaign performance with new features. [LINK]

LinkedIn rolls out new newsletter metrics. [LINK]

LinkedIn launches improved CRM integration, expanded attribution data. [LINK]

LinkedIn improves content sharing by adding more options to share button. [LINK]

🍥 Pinterest

How to elevate your playlist covers. [LINK]

👻 Snapchat

Snap sees growth opportunity in SMBs. [LINK]

Marketers remain cautious about investing in Snapchat amid TikTok uncertainty. [LINK]

🤖 AI Boom

^ Figure demonstrated its “Helix AI” in a new video that shows how two robots work together to put away groceries. Watch above or here.

On Monday, Elon livestreamed the announcement of Grok 3, xAI’s latest chatbot. [LINK]

OpenAI’s ChatGPT explodes to 400M weekly users, with GPT-5 on the way. [LINK]

The former OpenAI CTO, Mira Murati, has launched Thinking Machines Lab to make AI more accessible. [LINK]

BuzzFeed says it's creating a new AI-driven platform called BF Island built for “creativity and joy, not manipulation or addiction.” [LINK]

That’s it for this week. If you made it to the end, reply with a 🦇 emoji, or just to say hi and tell me who you are and any feedback you have for me!

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

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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