AdParlor Newsletter: Edition #13

Hey readers,

We’re baaaaack! Spring has officially sprung, the vibes are vibing, and just like your favorite influencers, we’re thriving in this new era. 🌞✨

We’ve always been your go-to for marketing insights, but now? We’re fully locked in on influencer marketing–same us, just fresher, funner, and even more obsessed with creators. 

This month, we’re spilling all the tea: trends in the influencer space, how industry creators elevated Trace3’s AI leadership, and the real role of hashtags in influencer marketing.

Plus, we’re excited to introduce Zia’s Paid Media Playbook, a brand-new column where our resident ad genius, Zia Kahn, breaks down how to actually make influencer campaigns perform (because good vibes alone won’t drive sales, bestie).

So grab an iced drink, bask in that daylight savings glow, and let’s make this season one for the books. 🌷

• The Editors

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In this edition, you’ll find:

• Creator Economy trends you NEED to know
• Event & Podcast Recommendations 
• Creator Spotlight
• Zia’s Paid Media Playbook
• Case Study: Elevating Trace3’s AI Leadership with Industry Creators on LinkedIn
• From the desk of…

Creator Economy Trends You Need to Know

The creator world moves fast – blink, and you might miss the next big thing. From AI-generated influencers to platform shakeups, we’re serving up the juiciest trends you need to know to stay ahead of the game.

The Creator Economy Isn’t Just Booming – It’s the Main Character of Marketing.

Chart: US Sponsored Content Spending Will Soar Past $10 Billion in 2025, Despite Slowing Growth

Influencer marketing is not slowing down–in fact, it’s eating up more ad dollars than ever. According to the latest forecast from eMarketer, U.S. influencer marketing spend is expected to hit $7.14 BILLION this year 😮‍💨 That’s up 16% from 2024, and spoiler alert: it’s still growing faster than paid social overall.

But wait, there’s more – retail media is the newest playground for creators. Brands are sliding into those “add to cart” moments with influencer collabs directly inside retail media networks (think Amazon, Walmart Connect, etc.). Basically, #spon is getting smarter – and shoppable.

So, what’s the move for brands? Partner up with creators who actually influence purchases (not just vibes), tap into platform-native content, and lean into the cozy chaos of TikTok and Reels. The era of perfectly curated feeds is over: authenticity (and maybe a little oversharing) wins every time.

✨ TL;DR: Influencers aren’t just part of the marketing mix – they’re the main course.

Hype List: Must-Attend Events & Pod Recs

Skip the FOMO, here’s your VIP pass to the hottest creator marketing events and binge-worthy podcasts. Whether it’s an IRL conference or a listen-on-2x-speed kind of day, we got you.

Influencer Marketing Show USA

WHEN: April 22-25

REGISTER HERE

The Influencer Marketing Show USA 2025 brings together brands, agencies, and creators to share strategies and insights shaping the creator economy. It’s a valuable opportunity to connect with industry peers, gain practical takeaways, and learn how to build effective, results-driven influencer campaigns.

Later Live’s TikTok for Brands 

WHEN: ON DEMAND

WATCH HERE

With over 1.5 billion users and paid content still in its early stages, TikTok offers a major opportunity for growth. The webinar covers how brands can leverage trends, navigate the algorithm, create high-performing content, and boost visibility – making it a valuable resource for anyone looking to break into the platform.

How Top Brands are Driving Business Growth Through Influencer Marketing in 2025

WHEN: April 17, 11am PST / 2pm EST

WATCH HERE

Influencer marketing is driving real results – and this webinar shows you how. Hear directly from top brands as they share how they’ve turned influencer partnerships into full-funnel growth. From campaign strategy to measurement and scaling, this panel covers what’s working now and what’s next in 2025.

AND, if Podcasts are more your thing 🎧,

In this episode of the Women in Influencer Marketing podcast, “Things Brands Wish We Could Tell Creators”, guest hosts Steph Martin and Lauren Gabel discuss best practices and insider tips for building successful influencer-brand relationships. The conversation covers crucial topics, including maintaining professionalism, negotiating rates, effective communication, and delivering high-quality, engaging content.

Creator Spotlight: Our Favorite Campaigns This Month

This month, we’re looking at corporate April Fool’s Day: Brands, You Thought You Ate (But You Kinda Didn’t)

Ahhh, April Fools’ – the one day a year brands collectively decide to throw logic (and taste) out the window in the name of “humor.” This year? The internet was over it. But not before we got a few good lols (and a whole lot of side-eyes 👀).

Let’s talk about the highlights (aka the most unhinged brand pranks of 2025):

Dyson’s Airbrow™ – Because if you’re not blasting hot air at your eyebrows, are you even a beauty girlie? Dyson unveiled their “brow styling” tool with the precision of a sci-fi weapon and the aesthetic of a fever dream. It was obviously fake, but also? Kinda believable. (Dyson, don’t play with us like this… we would buy it 😭)

Olipop x Hidden Valley Ranch Collab – When prebiotic soda meets… ranch dressing? Olipop and Hidden Valley teased a lineup of ranch-flavored sodas, including Regular Ranch, Jalapeño Ranch, Garlic Ranch, and Hot Honey Ranch. While thankfully a joke, some influencers actually received cans wrapped in the fake branding, making us question reality for a hot sec.

Razer’s Skibidi Headset – Razer unveiled the “Skibidi” headset, claiming to be the world’s first AI-powered “brainrot” translator. Designed to decode Gen Alpha’s slang into understandable language, it promised to bridge the generational communication gap. While clearly a joke, it did make some of us wish for a real-life translator for the ever-evolving internet lingo. 

IKEA’s Meatball Lip Balm – IKEA announced a new line of meatball-inspired lip balms because nothing says “kiss me” like the scent of Swedish meat. The collection featured flavors like classic meatball and plant-based options, leaving us both intrigued and mildly horrified.
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Crunch’s Boiled Rice Bar – Crunch decided to “soften” their classic candy by introducing a version with boiled rice instead of crispy. The result? A 75% quieter bar for those who prefer stealth snacking.

But here’s the thing… the comments were BRUTAL this year. The vibe?

“Can we not?”

“These used to be fun… now it’s giving desperate for engagement.”

“Why do brands think we want jokes when we asked for better customer service??”

Consumers are kinda tired of the corporate clownery. While a few pranks landed, most left people cringing harder than a middle school TikTok. The verdict? April Fools might need a rebrand – or maybe just… a break.

Zia’s Paid Social Playbook

Zia’s got the keys to the paid social kingdom – this is where influencer marketing meets cold, hard performance data. If you’re not boosting your creator content the right way, you’re just leaving money on the table.

Quick hits: Updates you need to know

Paid media evolves fast. What’s trending today might be outdated by next month, and marketers who fail to remain up to date with all the new platform updates struggle with their campaign’s performance.

Google Vision Match offers an interesting way to search products – users can now describe a product they’re looking for, and AI will generate suggestions similar to that item.

AP POV: Although there is still a lot of room for improvement in Vision Match search results compared to traditional search, it is a good time for brands to adapt their strategies to ensure their products are accurately represented so they can capitalize on it and have the first mover advantage compared to their competitors.

With uncertainty about the TikTok ban or sale, the latest Q1 2025 data shows a major shift in paid media spend from TikTok to Meta.

AP POV: No one likes uncertainty, and it is always a good idea to hedge the risks. We have always been an advocates of having a multi-platform, full-funnel strategy to drive better results and maximize ROI, but as they say, the higher the risk, the higher the reward. TikTok’s U.S. CPMs are seeing a double-digit decline, making it an excellent opportunity to run an upper funnel play to increase brand awareness and reach new customers.

Google Analytics rolled a generated insight feature that would automatically detect and explain significant data fluctuations.

AP POV: As a marketer, half of our job is to analyze data and derive meaningful actions and recommendations. This new feature, although we believe will not eliminate the in-depth data analysis that is needed, will save a lot of time by giving marketers a high-level overview of the data fluctuations and help identify starting points for the data deep dive.

UGC: The Not-So-Secret Sauce Your Brand Might Be Missing

Let’s get one thing straight: User-generated-content ≠ Influencer Marketing. (Okay, okay, there is some overlap – but they’re not twins; they’re cousins.)

UGC (aka consumer-generated content) is original, brand-specific content created by real people, not brands. Think: reviews, unboxings, selfies with your product, or even a raving podcast mention. It’s authentic, relatable, and scroll-stoppingly good when done right.

Picture this: You just got your hands on the coolest sneakers (or a game-changing skincare serum or the air fryer of your dreams). You love it. You rave about it in a TikTok or drop a review on Instagram for your friends and followers. Boom–that’s UGC in action.

UGC comes in two flavors:

When brands use UGC well, the results speak for themselves: more trust, more engagement, more vibes.

AP’s POV:

Let’s be real – attention spans are short, the competition is fierce, and brand trust is harder to earn than ever. Enter UGC. When paired with a strong paid media strategy, it’s a match made in marketing heaven. It helps humanize your brand, boost awareness, and guide potential customers through every step of the funnel. In fact, a recent NP Digital survey revealed that 63% of companies plan to increase their content creation budget in 2025, believing that human-made content simply performs better. Why? Because we trust people – not perfectly polished brand ads.

So, the real question is: Are you letting your customers be your creators? If not, you might be leaving some serious ROI on the table.

Case Study Feature: Elevating Trace3’s AI Leadership with Industry Creators on LinkedIn

Trace3, an IT consulting firm specializing in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity, wanted to position itself as a leader in B2B AI innovation. To do it, they turned to LinkedIn–and its creator community. By partnering with a curated group of industry influencers across sectors like FinTech, Healthcare, and general AI, Trace3 was able to amplify thought leadership, highlight high-profile partnerships (including NFL teams like the Detroit Tigers and Denver Broncos), and drive real engagement from decision-makers in tech.

The Results:

• 89K Impressions
• 37.3K Video Views
• 990 Reactions

📣 See how we helped Trace3 break through the noise on LinkedIn with influencer marketing.

Get the full case study here

From the Desk of…

Welcome to “From the Desk Of” – a unique feature section where the talented minds at AdParlor share their insights, expertise, research, & experiences with our readers. We love a good dose of creativity, so you’ll see these topics change from month to month with a consistent focus on innovation, strategy, and creative in the paid social industry.

The Role Of Hashtags For Influencer Marketing In 2025

Once the holy grail of growth hacking, hashtags have officially lost their sparkle. Theo Zyla breaks down the rise, fall, and current status of hashtags across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and X.

Spoiler: it’s less #Blessed and more #StrategicUseOnly.

TL;DR: Hashtags aren’t dead, but they’re no longer the secret weapon they once were. In 2025, platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn have deprioritized hashtags in favor of content quality, engagement, and use of native features. TikTok and X still give them some love, but success today depends more on storytelling, video-first strategies, and authentic community-building. Hashtags can still support discoverability when used strategically–but they’re the side dish, not the main course.

Whether you’re a brand, influencer, or just trying not to look like you’re stuck in 2016, this is a must-read. Read the full article HERE