Earned: Unlocking the Power of the Creator Economy

In Ep. 67 of Earned, Conor sits down with creator economy expert and gaming industry veteran Rodrigo Velloso. We begin by learning what attracted Rod, who built his early career in traditional media, to join the then-booming tech industry. Conor and Rod then share their predictions for how the rise in AI technology like ChatGPT will impact industries across the board. We dive into Rod's time at YouTube in the early 2010s, and hear why the platform's shifting focus from views to watch time led to increased interest in long-form gaming videos—a completely new genre of content at the time. Next, Rod shares his learnings from his time as YouTube's Director of Gaming Partnerships, before pivoting to his experience leading creator-led marketing at interactive gaming platform Roblox—which helped fuel the company's hypergrowth to compete with gaming giants like Minecraft. We learn how Roblox's monetization model drew an influx of gamers to the platform, and Rod emphasizes how the best content lives where its creators can be properly compensated for it. To close the show, we hear what Rod has learned about the broader creator economy since joining creator commerce platform Spring, and Rod reveals what's up next for his career.

In Ep. 66 of Earned, Conor sits down with Chelsea Riggs, Global President of top-ranking professional haircare brand Amika. To start the episode, we learn what attracted Chelsea, who joined the founding team of Amika out of college, to the then-small startup, and how she worked her way up in six years from being a business development manager to Global Brand President. We then dive into Amika's standout success on social in recent years, and hear how building a more sophisticated influencer marketing engine—and a dedicated "A-team" creator community—helped propel this growth. Next, Chelsea explains why the sales team is so important to a beauty brand, as they are the "eyes and ears to the customer," before sharing how Amika leverages its community of professional hair stylists for product feedback. Finally, we learn why Amika, which earned Sephora's "Clean at Sephora" seal last year, has evolved its product line to include clean, responsibly sourced ingredients—plus, Chelsea reveals that the brand is on its way to receiving a B Corp certification.

In our first episode of the new year, we sit down with Raissa Gerona, Chief Brand Officer of fashion retailer and influencer marketing powerhouse Revolve. We start by learning how Raissa was a pioneer in the influencer marketing space, leveraging the then-new blogosphere in 2008 to promote her own Lovers and Friends clothing brand. Raissa shares her advice to marketers who question whether influencer marketing is "worth it," emphasizing that it should be viewed as top-of-funnel marketing (like a billboard), and that marketers shouldn't try to equate every single influencer post to a sale. We then take a step back to explore Raissa's unique career journey. Raissa reveals how she was originally on track to become an attorney, but a trip to Italy led her to pursue the entrepreneurial path and start her own clothing brand, which later connected her to Revolve founders Michael Mente & Mike Karanikolas. To close the show, we learn about the successes and challenges involved with scaling Revolve 10x in 10 years to achieve $1B in revenue, before hearing what's in store for Raissa and Revolve over the next decade.

This week, we're taking a trip down memory lane and re-sharing one of our top episodes of 2022: Ep. 47, featuring Ju Rhyu, co-founder and CEO of Hero Cosmetics—an acne-focused skincare brand that achieved $100 million in revenue last year. To start the episode, we learn how running Hero Cosmetics today differs from when Ju launched the brand four years ago, and Ju shares why she says no to a lot more opportunities that come her way. We then hear why Hero Cosmetics launched on Amazon with only one SKU, and how Ju went on to build a successful business on the platform. Next, we take a step back to explore Ju's career journey: from earning her MBA at Columbia, to her time working at Kraft, Samsung, and American Express, to starting Hero Cosmetics. We discuss why Hero Cosmetics focuses heavily on earned media, including building relationships with publications and influencers to drive brand awareness. To close the show, Ju shares the "game-changing" advice she received that fueled her extremely intentional product development and distribution strategies.

In our last episode of 2022, Conor sits down with one of Glossy's Top Marketers of 2022: Michelle Miller, SVP of Global Marketing at biotech-backed superstar K18 Hair. We start by learning why K18 prioritizes top-of-funnel brand marketing over paid advertising, and Michelle emphasizes the importance of fostering your core community—which, for K18, has always been professional hairstylists. We then hear what qualities Michelle looks for when joining a brand, and the characteristics of good founders, before learning how Michelle recruits her own "team of geniuses." Next, we dive into Michelle's career background and unpack how influencer marketing has evolved since her early days pioneering the space at Too Faced. We discuss K18's approach to TikTok, before switching gears to explore the challenges of hyper-growth. To close the show, we learn what's next for K18, and Michelle gives advice to those looking to achieve similar success.

In today's episode of Earned, we're joined by our first gaming industry guest: Zeena Koda, head of global digital community marketing at gaming powerhouse 2K. With previous experience at renowned companies like Sirius XM Radio, Capitol Records, Atlantic Records, and The North Face, Zeena's expertise spans far beyond the gaming industry. We learn how this broad career experience has influenced Zeena's approach to her current role at 2K, and how she familiarizes herself with different online and offline cultures. We then dive into Zeena's time in the music industry, before unpacking the large-scale impact that TikTok has had on the space. Zeena also discusses the intersection of music and gaming, and shares what attracted her to gaming. Next, we hear which social platforms are most influential in gaming right now, and how 2K chooses which influencers to partner with. To close the show, we learn more about 2K's NextMakers community, and how Zeena balances her multitude of interests.

In Ep. 62 of Earned, CreatorIQ's own Tim Sovay sits down with Meta's Doug Weiss, head of creator commerce at Instagram. We start the episode by learning how Meta has grown and changed over the years, with Doug unpacking the evolution of creators, shoppable content, and content format on Facebook and Instagram. We learn what attracts creators to Instagram, and Doug emphasizes how the platform allows creators to reach an audience and build a community in a way that was previously impossible. We then discuss Instagram's pivot to short-form video content in the form of Reels, before hearing why the platform expanded its model from connecting people to people, to connecting people to content. Next, we explore how the pandemic expedited the rise of e-commerce, and how Meta supported brands in growing their online businesses through shoppable content and ads. Finally, Doug tells us why Meta prioritizes its partnership program with other companies—including CreatorIQ—before closing the show with his predictions for the future of the creator economy, and the role Meta will play in it.

In Ep. 61 of Earned, we sit down with beauty industry veteran Catherine Gore, Global Brand President of sustainable skin and hair brands Biossance and JVN Hair (yes, as in Jonathan Van Ness, professional hairstylist and star of Queer Eye). We start the episode by unpacking the key areas of focus that help Catherine scale a brand, before learning why she prioritizes building a positive, supportive team culture. We then explore the interplay between a brand's DTC and retail footprints, and Catherine reveals why there's "no replacement" for either. Next, we take a step back and hear why Catherine decided to pivot away from the LVMH corporation and enter the indie beauty world, before discussing best practices for launching celebrity-founded brands. Finally, Catherine emphasizes why "connection is key" when it comes to successful influencer marketing, and closes the show with advice to young professionals looking to achieve a similar path to success.

For our 60th episode of Earned, we're bringing you a titan of the retail industry: Craig Brommers. Craig is currently the CMO of Gen Z-favorite apparel brand American Eagle Outfitters, but his previous work experience spans across iconic brands like Calvin Klein, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Speedo. We start the interview by learning how American Eagle has navigated shifting momentum around legacy social platforms following the rise of TikTok. Craig also shares why the brand is investing in another Gen Z-favorite platform: Snapchat. We then hear Craig's take on augmented reality, and why he thinks it will become a key way to provide unique retail experiences. Next, we ask Craig what qualities he's consistently observed about iconic brands that help them stand the test of time, before switching gears to the future of retail in today's digital world. We then dive back into TikTok, and Craig emphasizes that brands looking to make a splash on the creator-led platform need a "creator-first" approach. To close the show, Craig gives sage advice to those looking to grow their career.

In Ep. 59 of Earned, Conor sits down with Megan Streeter, CMO of customizable haircare brand Prose, which achieved $100 million in revenue in its first five years. To start the episode, Megan unpacks her long career in the beauty industry, which spans from corporate giants L'Oréal and Estée Lauder to independent, direct-to-consumer haircare brands like DevaCurl and now Prose. We learn why Megan was interested in working in the haircare space, and what Prose has taught her about not only haircare, but also DTC strategy and distribution, product personalization, and digital tech. Megan then explains how Prose's mission to deliver personalized products that addressed people's unique needs attracted her to the brand, and how its product customization helps Prose build one-on-one, sustainable relationships with its consumers. Next, Megan shares why it was important to her to start investing in influencers early on, and how her influencer marketing philosophies have evolved over time, before ending the show by revealing the characteristics that she thinks make for a good CMO.