“LinkedInfluencer” isn’t an official term at LinkedIn HQ, but that could soon change.

The Microsoft-owned networking platform created its first influencer program more than a decade ago, but, as video content has become more popular in recent years, its potential as a creator platform has only grown.

In 2021, LinkedIn added a “creator mode” for analytics and sharing, and in May, it expanded its in-stream video ad program to include the option to place ads against influencer content. At the same time, it launched original shows from known business figures like fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff and Sprinkles bakery founder Candace Nelson.

Even before the expansion, video consumption on LinkedIn was growing. In its latest earnings report, Microsoft reported that time spent watching videos on LinkedIn increased 36%, and the platform’s total revenue increased 7%.

“People are creating more content…People are consuming more of it,” Matt Derella, VP of LinkedIn marketing solutions, told us. “Folks on our platform who have the most credibility around topics that really matter to people are leaning into it, and that’s opening up the opportunity for us now to work with creators in a way that can help them not only drive reach, but build their business.”

As LinkedIn becomes more conducive to creators, it’s opening up the door to new kinds of content and advertisers on the platform—but creators and agency execs say there are still some growing pains when it comes to mastering the LinkedIn algorithm, data-sharing, and monetization options.

Continue reading here.—KH

Where to place an ad featuring movie star Timothée Chalamet? Why, at the movies, of course!

The Dune and Wonka star, beloved among Gen Z, partnered with Cash App for a cinematic, two-minute-long ad spot that is playing in movie theaters across the country this summer. The ad, which also features Didi actor Izaac Wang and explores intergenerational attitudes toward money, is Chalamet’s latest brand deal after working with luxury brands including Cartier and Chanel.

Cash App specifically chose to run the spot before showings of Superman during its opening weekend, with no other fanfare or official announcement—making the ad feel, for one weekend, almost like a gift for particularly devoted Timmy fans, who took to social media to express their excitement about his unexpected in-theater appearance. The ad will also air before showings of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

While the spot is now appearing on Cash App social channels and is being cross-promoted on Chalamet’s own social media accounts, playing in theaters was key to the brand’s strategy to land with its core Gen Z and millennial audience, Catherine Ferdon, Cash App CMO, told us.

“What we really wanted to do was intentionally stoke interest and curiosity by showing up in those unexpected formats,” she said.

Read more here.—JN

Since its highly publicized breakup with Kroger in December, Albertsons has been on a journey to prove that it’s just fine on its own.

The grocer has managed to get its “mojo” back, per former CEO Vivek Sankaran, in part by doubling down on its digital business to help it compete with giants like Walmart and Costco. Albertsons’ digital sales rose 24% YoY in Q4, the company reported in April, while its loyalty members jumped 15% to 45.6 million.

Digital sales have proven to be crucial to grocery industry growth over the past year. E-grocery sales surged during the Covid-19 pandemic, then cooled between 2021 and mid-2024 as shoppers returned to IRL shopping. But sales have picked back up again in the past year as retailers double down on promotions for their pickup and delivery services. Sales jumped 27% YoY to $8.7 billion in May, according to Brick Meets Click.

Albertsons launched its first-party digital experiences through its app just four years ago, and has been working to catch up to its competitors since then, Jill Pavlovich, SVP of digital shopping experiences at Albertsons, who oversees the grocer’s app, website, and in-store digital offerings, told Retail Brew.

“As we think about this year, the path that we have ahead of us, it’s really taking what we’ve developed a step farther and really bringing the digital experiences more deeply into stores,” she said.

Continue reading on Retail Brew.—EC

Tune in to this week’s episode of The Refill, the AI-voiced audio recap of the Marketing Brew stories that drive your marketing career forward. In the latest episode, get a rundown on how the F1 The Movie took a note from Barbie’s marketing playbook, check out Amtrak’s “chaotic brain rot” social strategy, and dive into why Cash App partnered with Timothée Chalamet for its latest ad spot.

Catch the latest episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your audio media.

Stories we’re jealous of.

• The New York Times wrote about the Washington Post’s social media star Dave Jorgenson, who is leaving to start his own online video company, and whether he can make it as a creator without the Post name.
• The Verge looked into dupe culture, the proliferation of copycat viral items online, and a controversial legal strategy that is being used to target alleged dupers.
• The Wall Street Journal checked in on Amazon’s pledge to not raise prices earlier this year, finding that it has, in fact, raised prices on many everyday goods.