CeCe V.

Walmart+ is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a bold move 📺 Starting September 15, members can switch between ad-supported plans of NBCUniversal Peacock Premium (a net-new streaming partnership) and Paramount+ Essential, every 90 days at no extra cost. This new streaming perk is more than just entertainment. It’s a strategic play to deepen consumer while unlocking richer insights for brands. Curious how this shift impacts Walmart’s retail media ecosystem and what it means for brands? Watch the full video with Flywheel's Bernie Che below ⏬ #Walmart #STV #StreamingTV #retailmedia

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UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report 2025, Part 2: Streaming UCLA followed up Part 1 of their streaming report and this report outlines how representation is good business, even though somehow we keep missing the mark. To put it simply, diverse content consistently drives viewer engagement, ratings, and social buzz in streaming. In 2024, streaming films with casts between 41-50% BIPOC dominated across key audiences. Black and Latinx households led the charge, showcasing the cultural resonance and business impact of authenticity on-screen. But despite clear evidence of commercial success, behind-the-scenes representation is still trailing. BIPOC creators only accounted for 41% of directors and a mere 30% of writers in top streaming films. This discrepancy highlights a glaring missed opportunity to harness the full power of inclusive storytelling. Look, audiences crave diversity, not tokenism. For content to truly resonate, creators behind the scenes must reflect the diverse perspectives of their audience. Investing in diverse creators should be looked at as a strategic advantage. The future of entertainment belongs to those who authentically represent and respect the vibrancy of our audience. Let’s elevate more diverse voices to help dollars make sense! https://lnkd.in/gh6PFDWQ #HollywoodDiversityReport #StorytellingThatMatters #EquityInEntertainment #CultureAndCommerce #RepresentationIsPower

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Proud to share a campaign that brought together Rakuten Rewards and CANVVS to spotlight the power of athlete-backed creativity. In partnership with Stephen Curry, we helped elevate emerging designers through a high-impact activation centered around one-of-one custom shoes. The campaign blended premium storytelling with real commerce by rewarding fans, driving engagement, and creating meaningful opportunity for creators. More than a moment, it demonstrated how brands can authentically show up in culture by aligning with athlete IP, empowering talent, and delivering tangible value to the community. The winning design was brought to life by Canvvs and made available via limited pre-order exclusively through Rakuten. The result was more than a drop. The campaign created a true platform for an often underrepresented sneaker community while introducing Rakuten to a new, highly engaged audience. By connecting culture and commerce in an authentic way, the campaign unlocked meaningful acquisition opportunity and demonstrated how brands can drive growth by elevating creators, not just sponsoring moments. David Hopkins, PMP Nancy Luong Alex Murray Joel Turner Alyssa Janssen Aaron Hall Wendy Bergh Amit Patel Lesha Ruffin Tiffany Williams Sharon Fuller Brian Hammers #BrandPartnerships #SneakerCulture #EmpowerCreators #CustomerAcquisition #CommerceMeetsCulture #SneakerCommunity

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In today’s evolving brand landscape, smart categories — those that recognize the intersection of culture, community, and commerce, are increasingly valuing the role that storytellers play in building meaningful brand equity. We’re seeing this shift clearly with moves like Gap's recent appointment of Pam Kaufman as Chief Entertainment Officer to lead its “fashiontainment” platform, a role expressly designed to embed storytelling at the heart of the brand’s strategy across entertainment, content, and cultural collaborations. What this signifies is more than a title shift, it’s a strategic acknowledgment that today’s customers don’t just buy product; they buy narrative, relevance, and emotional connection. Storytelling: -Enables brands to communicate values, purpose and identity in ways that transcend features and price.  - Creates emotional resonance and long-term loyalty by turning consumers into engaged followers, not just buyers.  -Strengthens cultural relevance by weaving brand stories into the fabric of entertainment, fandoms, and shared experiences, the very things smart categories lean into to grow. Smart categories are rewarding brands that think like storytellers — those who dare to go beyond product marketing and instead craft narratives that communities want to share, belong to, and champion. In a world overflowing with choice, the brands that thrive are the ones whose stories feel familiar, authentic, and worth following. #BrandStorytelling #MarketingStrategy #SmartCategories #NarrativeEconomy #BrandLeadersh https://lnkd.in/enEQCf2a

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HARTBEAT, the global entertainment company founded by Kevin Hart, and Sundial Media & Technology Group, the parent company of ESSENCE, AFROPUNK, and Refinery29, have partnered to launch an ESSENCE-branded FAST channel. The ESSENCE brand channel will feature a variety of acquired programming from SMTG’s library, as well as original content produced through the partnership. Heartbeat and ESSENCE will collaborate with experienced Black female actresses, writers, and directors, providing them with a platform to create content that authentically represents the community.

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I try not to have favorite projects...but this might be my favorite project. Translating Azeroth on Zillow was a creative challenge in the best way. How do you take tools built for real-world home discovery and make them feel intuitive in a fantasy environment? How do you honor the diehard community and visual language of Warcraft while staying true to the Zillow experience? The answer was collaboration. And deep partnership between creative, product and engineering teams across Zillow and Blizzard Entertainment. We tested, refined and obsessed over the details so that it would feel fun, familiar and authentic. Check it out. As always, shout out to the amazing folks who made this happen. Beverly Jackson Monica Austin Ravi Kandikonda Jennifer Berger Becky Brown Enrique Mosqueda Erik Donham Madison Donahue Michael Chen Lauren Embrey Vanessa Bohlscheid Claire Carroll Courtney Enriquez Isaac Droke 72andSunny and so many others.

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The creator economy is no longer marketing, it’s commerce infrastructure. The 2026 report from The New Consumer shows how creator-led brands and platforms like TikTok Shop are turning content into direct conversion. The real edge isn’t follower count, but category expertise + trust. Great work by Coefficient Capital and Dan Frommer.

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I had the pleasure of meeting Ming and she's a legend! Take a few moments to learn from this VP in this exclusive #AMA. Ming Hua, VP of Wearable Devices at Meta, recently joined our AMA to reflect on her biggest career learnings. She shared thoughtful reflections on leadership, learning new skills and what it takes to grow into unfamiliar roles—along with how storytelling and hands-on work shape the way her teams build consumer tech. ▶️ Don't miss this AMA full of tips on leadership, growth and building at the frontier. ​​ #LifeAtMeta #AI #Leadership #CareerTips #AIGlasses

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🔥 Pinterest has entered the sports chat. 🔥 In its first-ever sports partnership, Pinterest teams up with WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) champs New York Liberty—and it's more than just a brand deal. This two-year collab isn’t about highlight reels—it’s about lifestyle fandom. From “Game Day outfit inspo” to “WNBA tunnel fits,” Pinterest is tapping into where fashion, identity, and hoops intersect. Searches for “Sabrina Ionescu shoes pink” up 1,700%? That’s not a stat—it’s a strategy. With 570M monthly users and revenue up 17%, Pinterest is investing in culture-led storytelling: curated boards, editorial content, and even refurbishing backboards in NYC. This isn't just digital content—it's community connection. The NY Liberty continue to lead the league in innovation, signing 19 new brand partners this season. The takeaway? The smartest sports marketers are building lifetime fans, not just game-day views. #SportsMarketing #WNBA #Pinterest #BrandPartnerships #FanEngagement #NYLiberty #LifestyleMarketing #CreatorEconomy

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