Linqia

❓Do you like influencers in your Super Bowl? We took to the streets and got to asking. Takes from: Xfinity The Old Spice Guy @simonescott33 @timbosliceoflife12 Whiskey Toller JonesBrothersTV and more! #hottakes #biggame #interview #influencermarketing  #sanfrancisco

January went by too fast for you, too? 😔 We’ve got a round-up of all the influencer marketing highlights you might’ve missed last month. Platform updates, creator wins, the Big Game, Hollywood going social –or social media going Hollywood– all hot topics kicking 2026 off. This year, a lot of people are talking about the yearn for “genuine” community. Is Instagram’s “Friends” an answer to that call? TikTok goes on an adventure –or a joint venture. What does this mean for US users? And we can’t stop singing Dr Pepper, baaaaaby! 🍴Hungry for more? We’ve got you covered. Check out the full course meal on our newsletter –you know where to look!

We’re seeing major advertisers in the AI space stepping into this Super Bowl season with the hopes of making some major plays. But, will their Super Bowl spots resonate with audiences? Rippling, Base44, and Oakley-Meta are making their big Super Bowl debuts, while Wix is making a comeback to introduce viewers to Harmony, their new AI vibe-coding platform. Alcohol brand SVEDKA (Sazerac Company) is even leveraging AI in their spot this year; they've partnered with dancer and TikToker Jessica Rizzardi to train their AI Fembot to dance. We’ll check back in after this Super Bowl Sunday to report if the ads are slop, or a bop. Have any early thoughts on the topic? Let us know in the comments below. #AI #DigitalMarketing #SuperBowl

❓ What do Guy Fieri, MrBeast, Ben Stiller, Emma Stone, and E-jae all have in common? Easy answer. Super Bowl 60 ads! Oh, and massive celebrity. Brands seem to be reaching a lot for big names this year (and every year, really). But, are too many playing the same hand? Something we’ll be watching out for during SB 60: brands that go ✨ beyond the celebrity. ✨ Look, don’t fix what ain’t broken, but there’s nothing wrong with shaking it up a bit. Brands over the past few years have been waking up the power of smaller name creators (though still often relatively big names) for their Super Bowl campaigns. Last year, creator Alix Earle appeared in two Big Game spots. But, we’re also thinking beyond game time as media campaigns stretch well before and even after Super Bowl Sunday. Incorporating influencer marketing throughout an entire campaign creatively and intentionally will make for a well-rounded and memorable brand experience. Not to mention, stand-out concepts also make good marketing great no matter which celebrity you feature. Don’t get us wrong, we love a good name drop, but we’re excited to see campaigns that don’t leave celebrity to do all the heavy lifting. What say you: Are you celebrity fatigued or a big name fan? Which celebrity spots are you the most sat for? #InfluencerMarketing #SocialMedia #CreatorEconomy #SuperBowl

From IShowSpeed to MrBeast, we're once again seeing some of the biggest brands trading Hollywood talent in favor of creator-led talent for their Super Bowl campaigns. With consumers consistently expressing that they trust content creators more than traditional celebrities for product recommendations, the strategy makes complete sense. We're going to keep an eye out for more influencer partnerships in the lead up to the Big Game 🏈 and report back, but for now you can check out some of the exciting highlights we've come across thus far. We'll leave you with two questions: Which partnerships are you most looking forward to this year? And do you think that there could be a future of Super Bowl advertising in which creators make up the majority of the talent across all ads? 🤔 #InfluencerMarketing #SocialMedia #CreatorEconomy #SuperBowl

Nostalgia, anyone? The Super Bowl turns 60 this year and old IP is a media favorite, with remakes and sequels dominating streaming and theatres the past few years. Should the Super Bowl be any different? We read @Little Black Book’s recent article on the subject and we have thoughts. Frank Scherma, president of RadicalMedia said: “Nostalgia offers something increasingly rare: authentic emotional resonance grounded in shared cultural memory….” Last year’s When Sally Met Hellmann’s (Unilever) ad was a big hit, as Frank points out, and it incorporates a modern flare with the appearance of a fresh-faced Sydney Sweeney. Jonathan Santana of Johannes Leonardo was also quoted, saying “it’s likely the 2026 Super Bowl will prove that the most successful advertisers aren't those who live in the past, but those who use it as a springboard.” So, what do we think? In short, we agree. But of course, we’re going to say the best way to make nostalgia relevant is to tap into today’s arbiters of the zeitgeist –creators. Not only do they bring a unique modern flare to the campaign’s concept, but they create a whole new cultural touchpoint for throwback IP with their audiences. Is nostalgia scratching that itch for you or are you getting tired of it? We’re in the mood to read some hot takes.

🚨 These are the top stories in social media and influencer marketing from the month of January 🚨 It's the first month of the year and the social platforms were busy TikTok finalized it's US spinoff, Meta is testing paid subscriptions, X did a $1M giveaway for articles, and much more As always our roundup dives into 1️⃣ News from the social platforms, 2️⃣ The best brand influencer activations, and 3️⃣ The industry reports worth reading Be sure to read the full roundup but here are some of our staff favorites... 🎭 Microdramas are blowing up, so TikTok launched a new app dedicated to them 👫 Instagram tests displaying ‘Friends’ instead of ‘Following’ - this could be a dangerous test 💰 X is doing a $1M giveaway for the Top Article 👕 Gap hires a chief entertainment officer, and they wont be the last 🥤 Romeo Bingham’s Dr Pepper jingle took over the web #influencermarketing #socialmedia #creatoreconomy

2026: What creator economy predictions do you agree (or disagree) with? 👀 Check out the industry's thoughts here: https://lnkd.in/g3pN7ydT #influencermarketing #creatoreconomy Net Influencer

The Super Bowl countdown has begun but the ads are already here. Well, kinda. As you probably know, Super Bowl ads now come with their own roll out. The aim is to build a platform instead of just putting out a 30-second spot. So, commercials now have... commercials. Brands like Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch), Instacart, and State Farm have all released teasers for what’s to come. But, this trend is years in the making. Cerave’s 2024 Super Bowl campaign really changed the game by teaming up with Michael Cera and a host of creators way before the big day. These shifts are exciting, yet tricky to nail. With all that goes into creating a Big Game spot alone, how will a full influencer or multi-media campaign shift your ROI models? How much bandwidth should be put into trend and market forecasting? Or should the focus be on a unique concept and evergreen creative? It depends on the needs of the brand. So, with all this on the brain, our Super Bowl countdown highlight for today is… brands that are doing more before the game are getting more out of it across the board –especially on socials. Like ad teasers, influencer marketing has become a natural extension of Big Game strategy, turning creators into hype partners who help drive the conversation before and after kickoff.

AI, AI, AI. I know, you're probably sick of hearing about it. But what about virtual influencers, avatars, and digital clones? According to our State of Influencer Marketing survey, 74% of marketers are already using AI in their influencer workflows (idea generation, writing briefs, streamlining ops, and campaign management) But here’s the plot twist… - 89% of marketers have no plans to work with virtual influencers, avatars, or digital clones in 2026 - Only 9% say they plan to partner with virtual influencers at all While AI is proving incredibly useful behind the scenes, brands are still drawing a very clear line when it comes to who delivers the message. And it makes sense. Influencer marketing runs on trust, authenticity, and human connection. Those are hard to replicate with a digital human, no matter how realistic the render or how good the script is. In other words: AI = 🔧 a powerful tool for efficiency and scale Virtual influencers = 🤨 still a trust gap brands aren’t ready to cross Curious where you land on this one — would you ever run a campaign with a virtual influencer? 👀 Read the report: https://lnkd.in/g_uvTcXM #influencermarketing #creatoreconomy