Prior to 2010, a “link in bio” would have referred to a brief history of the 16th president of the United States. Now, it’s a full-fledged industry.

Affiliate marketing has been around for decades, and the influencer as we know it was largely built on the back of the 2000s blogging era. However, it wasn’t until Instagram became the platform du jour for creators in the mid-2010s that a cottage industry of social-specific affiliate companies really took off, with the aim of solving for the fact that Instagram posts, unlike blog posts, had no click-through or tracking capabilities.

All of a sudden, “link in bio” was not just a follower directive for creators—it was a revenue opportunity for third-party platforms hoping to break down the platform’s walled garden to make it more shoppable and trackable.

But while the walled garden was a business opportunity to start, it’s posed a threat to the continued growth of affiliate companies and creators. Platforms that are friendlier to direct linking, like YouTube and Substack, meanwhile, seem to be on the rise and signal a new era beyond the link in bio.

Continue reading here.—KH

Foot traffic at Target declined for the fourth consecutive month since it rolled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in January, and a reputation analytics company reports that the retailer’s reputation has suffered, too.

For the month of May, foot traffic fell 1.6% YoY, which while nothing to pop the bubbly over was less grim than previous declines in February (-9%), March (-6.5%), and April (-3.3%), according to Placer.ai. While correlation—we’ll say it again—is not causation, the traffic slump began after Target announced it was rolling back its DEI efforts on January 24, the day after President Trump said he was acting to “abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion nonsense…throughout the government and the private sector.”

Costco, which rebuffed calls to dismantle its DEI program, saw its foot traffic increase 5.1% YoY in May, following increases for the previous three months when traffic fell at Target, up 2.2% in February, 7.5% in March, and 3.4% in April, per Placer.ai.

Foot traffic has been down for 16 of the last 18 weeks at Target, inching into positive territory only for the weeks that began April 14, when it was up 0.4%, and April 21, up 0.1%. For the same 18 weeks, traffic was down at Costco for only one of them, falling 2.5% on the week that began April 14.

Reputation analytics firm Caliber, meanwhile, has found that Target’s reputational score fell over the same period on multiple metrics, according to data it provided exclusively to Retail Brew.

“This is concerning,” Shahar Silbershatz, Caliber’s founder and CEO, said. “There is a negative trend here. This is going to continue to snowball, and it’s a problem.”

Continue reading on Retail Brew.—AAN

Each week, we spotlight Marketing Brew readers in our Coworking series. If you’d like to be featured, introduce yourself here.

Stephanie DiPisa is the founder and CEO of Solara Suncare. Prior to founding Solara, she worked with brands including Pampers, Hyatt, Gillette, and HP as a media and brand marketing strategist.

What’s your favorite ad campaign? One of my favorite campaigns from the beauty industry was Rare Beauty’s “Make A Good Call.” This campaign launched during Mental Health Awareness Month, and addressed the global loneliness epidemic by encouraging genuine connections. The brand invited individuals to call a loved one or dial 877-HEY-RARE, a hotline featuring heartfelt messages from Selena Gomez and the Rare Beauty team. The campaign culminated in Rare Beauty’s Mental Health Summit, featuring a conversation with Selena Gomez and the US surgeon general. With nearly 10,000 hotline calls, the campaign spotlighted the importance of connection and mental health awareness, which I think is such an important topic today.

Another standout campaign that resonated with me was Dove’s “The Code.” This initiative marked the 20th anniversary of Dove’s iconic “Real Beauty” platform, and tackled the growing influence of AI-generated beauty standards. Dove pledged never to use AI to replace real women in its advertising, reinforcing its commitment to authenticity and self-esteem. As a mom of three teens, this topic really hit, and it’s great to see heritage brands calling it to light. A far distance from the beauty campaigns I experienced as a teen in the ’90s.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile: I’m a proud mom of three! Balancing motherhood and my career has shaped my leadership style in meaningful ways—from how I manage time to how I approach empathy and resilience. It’s the most demanding and rewarding role I’ve ever had—one that comes before anything else I do—and it inspires how I show up every day because I have three people watching my example and feeling the choices I make.

Read more here.