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If you’re finding value in our Creator Economy newsletter, I encourage you to consider subscribing to The Information. It contains exclusive reporting on the most important stories in tech. Save up to $250 on your first year of access. Hello from the very hot French Riviera, where I’m wrapping up my time at Cannes Lions! On Thursday morning, I moderated a panel with two Mattel executives: Lisa McKnight, chief brand officer, and Jason Horowitz, global head of marketing and media. It’s striking how much brands are starting to operate more like creators. The most prominent example, of course, is Duolingo, the language learning app that uses its owl mascot Duo to create entertaining clips designed to go viral on social media. Other companies have taken notice and are trying out their own strategies. Mattel owns more than 100 brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, and the card game Uno, which all require different types of influencer marketing tactics. For Fisher-Price, Mattel partners with child influencers or parenting-focused accounts. But when it comes to Barbie, Mattel sees the doll as an influencer in herself. “We’ve had incredible success starting to position her as an influencer, as a taste maker. Now we’re thinking of her as talent,” said McKnight. “The engagement is incredibly high and where we’re most successful is when she’s relatable and she’s doing everyday things.” For example, Mattel has created content for Barbie’s TikTok account, which has 2.2 million followers, that piggypacks off trends like trying out a 90’s blowout hairstyle, or doing tasks like parallel parking or making a breakfast matcha. The company has taken things a step further by also signing collaboration deals between Barbie and other brands such as Verizon. “We have brands collab with us and we showcase their product on our channel and we get paid for it,” McKnight said. For Mattel, “it’s a new revenue stream.” See The Information’s Creator Economy Database for an exclusive list of private companies and their investors. X CEO Linda Yaccarino told the Financial Times that users of the app formerly known as Twitter would soon be able to make investments or trades on X. The move would expand owner Elon Musk’s vision of making X an “everything app,” and put it into direct competition with trading apps like Robinhood. It’s already planning to launch a peer-to-peer payment feature called X Money. President Donald Trump, as expected, signed another executive order delaying the enforcement of legislation passed last year that required TikTok to find new owners for most of its U.S. operations or shut down. The new deadline is Sept. 17, he said on Truth Social. What else happened at Cannes... • Grammy-winning DJ Diplo performed at Yahoo’s party on Wednesday night, while Spotify’s concert featured rapper Cardi B and singer Lola Young, who went viral after Sofia Richie Grainge danced to her song “Messy” on TikTok. • Some Cannes Lions attendees jetted off to California for VidCon, the major creator conference which takes place in Anaheim each year. Given that Cannes has put a bigger focus on creators over the past two years—and both conferences are now owned by the same parent company Informa—folks are hoping the events won’t overlap again next year. • In general, the vibe on Cannes’ Le Croisette boulevard has felt buoyant this week. Surprisingly, I didn’t hear any chatter about the impact of tariffs or reference to President Trump or the Israel-Iran attacks. The biggest downer has been the heat, which long-time attendees are saying feels like the hottest in recent memory. • It felt like everyone speaking at Cannes was briefed on the same message when it comes to AI: It will be a helpful tool that will help people be more creative, but it won’t replace human work. Thank you for reading the Creator Economy Newsletter! I’d love your feedback, ideas and tips: kaya@theinformation.com. If you think someone else might enjoy this newsletter, please pass it forward or they can sign up here: https://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/creator-economy
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