ThoughtLeaders

YouTube just built Content ID for faces. This week, YouTube opened its AI likeness detection tool to the entire entertainment industry. CAA, UTA, and WME didn't just get access — they helped build it. For anyone in branded content, this matters. Fake creator endorsements and AI-generated scam ads using a real person's face now have a clear removal pathway. The risk profile for long-term creator partnerships just got more manageable. That wasn't the only big move this week: The IAB officially declared creator advertising a "core media channel" in its 2025 report, with spend hitting $37 billion and projected to reach $44 billion in 2026. Fixated acquired Studio71's US creator business, adding 1,000+ digital creators in one move. Creator management consolidation is accelerating. YouTube is now letting users turn off Shorts entirely from the main feed. For a platform that spent three years pushing Shorts as its growth engine, that's a signal worth watching. Read the full breakdown in this week's newsletter: https://sponsr.is/48obPJr #CreatorEconomy #InfluencerMarketing #YouTubeSponsorship #ThoughtLeaders #DigitalMedia

This week, YouTube announced dynamic ad-holding during live streams. When chat activity spikes or someone drops a Super Chat, ads now wait. It's a shift from time-based scheduling to context-aware placement, and it signals something bigger about how the platform values viewer experience over ad impressions. Here's what else caught our attention this week: BrandConnect is gone. YouTube replaced it with a Gemini-powered matching system that lets brands describe what they need in plain language and get ranked creator matches from a database of 3 million channels. Dynamic sponsorship slots are here. Long-form videos now support swappable sponsor placements, meaning older content can be re-monetized with new brand deals as contracts expire. And McDonald's ran a Shorts campaign inside existing Minecraft creator content, hitting a 3.3x view-through rate vs. benchmark and 44.6 million paid media views. The play? Let creators lead the narrative. Read the full breakdown in this week's newsletter: https://sponsr.is/4tYvND0 #CreatorEconomy #InfluencerMarketing #YouTubeSponsorship #ThoughtLeaders

YouTube just dropped its subscriber threshold for Shopping affiliates from 10,000 to 500 — and that single change could reshape the entire creator commerce landscape. In this week's ThoughtLeaders newsletter, we break down YouTube's aggressive push to turn every creator into a storefront. Here's what's happening: YouTube Shopping is going all-in with in-app checkout, AI-powered product tagging, and dynamic brand segments that let creators swap sponsored slots in long-form videos. The platform isn't just competing with TikTok Shop anymore — it's building a full commerce engine inside the world's largest video platform. Meanwhile, Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show shattered YouTube records with 40 million views in just 24 hours and 4.1 billion total views across platforms — the most-watched halftime show of all time. The NFL's top three most-viewed social posts now all come from that single performance. For brands and creators alike, the message is clear: YouTube is no longer just a discovery platform. It's becoming the transaction layer of the creator economy. Read the full breakdown in our latest newsletter: https://sponsr.is/4meJ3AP #CreatorEconomy #YouTubeShopping #InfluencerMarketing #CreatorCommerce #ThoughtLeaders

Our newsletter is back with a brand new look! What if every YouTube video you've ever published could generate sponsorship revenue — not just once, but over and over again? That's the promise of dynamic sponsorship slots. For creators, it turns a back catalog into a recurring revenue stream. For brands, it opens up inventory that simply didn't exist before. Meanwhile, K-pop continues its march across every major entertainment category — now making history at the Oscars. The cross-platform influence of these fandoms is something every marketer should be paying attention to. Both stories in this week's YouTube briefing from ThoughtLeaders — link below - make sure you subscribe! https://sponsr.is/4th2tXT #CreatorEconomy #YouTubeSponsorship #InfluencerMarketing #ThoughtLeaders #DigitalAdvertising

Partnerships are stronger when you take them beyond email and dashboards. Great work by Revital Rahmani and Nicole Davila visiting the Plus500™ team and continuing to build something meaningful together. More to come 🚀

YouTube is now the strongest platform on TV screens, and people do not just watch creators. They trust them. That trust is exactly why YouTube sponsorships work when they are done right. At ThoughtLeaders, we use data, technology, and hands on media buying to remove the guesswork. We analyze over 1M YouTube channels daily, filter by the metrics that actually matter, and connect brands with creators who can genuinely move the needle. - Better data. - Better creators. - Better deals. Are YouTube sponsorships part of your 2026 growth plan? Share in comments! Credit: Revital Rahmani Alan Kronik Grace Silverstein Jody Fabros

The year may be wrapping up, but the conversations are just getting started. In a few weeks, Alan Kronik 🔜 1 Billion Followers Summit and Daniela Hamer🔜 1 Billion Followers Summit will be heading to the 1 Billion Followers Summit, catching up with people across the creator and brand ecosystem and getting a closer look at what’s coming next. These events are always a good reminder that the strongest ideas tend to come from real conversations, not just dashboards and headlines. Looking forward to connecting with familiar faces, if you’ll be around, let’s connect! 1 Billion Followers Summit - https://lnkd.in/dPD3NkdV

We’re heading to VidSummit 2025! VidSummit isn’t just another conference - it’s the Super Bowl of the YouTube industry, and we couldn’t be more excited to be part of it again. Our CEO David Tintner 🔜 Vidsummit, Alan Kronik, and Emma Flanders 🔜 VidSummit will be on the ground, ready to connect with brands, creators, and partners who want to make YouTube sponsorships simple, effective, and scalable. See you in Dallas! #VidSummit #YouTubeSponsorships #CreatorEconomy #ThoughtLeaders

YouTube sponsorships aren’t what they used to be. Not long ago, a “brand deal” on YouTube meant a 60 to 90 second mid-roll mention. Today we’ve noticed, especially in the gaming space, creators are offering integrated sponsorship packages that drive engagement far beyond a single video. We’ve seen gaming creators include things like: • On-stream overlays and “BRB” screen shoutouts • Chatbots dropping brand links • Pinned comments and custom panels in their channel bios • Dedicated YouTube integrations and Twitch segments • In-game activations and branded challenges YouTube sponsorships can be complex to navigate and they’re not the right fit for every brand. But when they work, they really work. The reasons are clear: • Niche creators with loyal audiences • Content that lives online long after a campaign ends That’s why certain brands leaning into the YouTube gaming space are finding it one of the most effective investments in the creator economy today. Interested in scaling your YouTube sponsorships or building a strategy from scratch? Talk to us.

Should we be worried about AI 'slop'? AI 'slop', loosely defined as low quality mass produced AI content, has been creeping into short form video for a while. New reporting breaks down what this means for YouTube. Here is what’s going on: - YouTube Shorts is now the dominant format on the platform - 70+ billion daily views - In the past 90 days, nearly 1 in 10 of the fastest growing channels globally post only AI generated videos Shorts are quick to make, addictive to watch, and incredibly easy to automate. That is a perfect storm for creators and opportunists. Is this the future of YouTube or the start of its biggest quality crisis?