Your Behind-the-Scenes Information to CreatorIQ Join (HBBIP #106)

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Have you ever ever observed how each new installment of a long-running collection is billed as “the most effective one but?” It’s an apparent advertising and marketing gimmick—take it from somebody who does advertising and marketing for a residing. They’ll’t all be the most effective one but, proper? That’s simply fundamental logic. Plateaus are reached. Regression happens. So each time somebody involves saying that one thing was the most effective one but, or larger and higher than ever earlier than, it’s finest to take that with a wholesome dose of salt.

Okay: having stated all that, this was undoubtedly the most effective CreatorIQ Join but. I’m severe about that. No gimmick.

There might be loads of recap content material coming your means quickly sufficient, together with full session movies, so I’m not going to cowl every part right here. That will be an especially lengthy e-mail. [Note: this is still an extremely long email.] My purpose is to give you one considerably overwhelmed man’s inside view of such a large, unimaginable occasion. For the span of this e-mail, at the very least, you’ll be able to view the world by means of my eyes, as I take you thru the moments and those who made CreatorIQ Join LA so particular.

In case you had been there, stay all of it once more from a distinct perspective. In case you weren’t there, stay vicariously by means of me. And in case you have no thought what CreatorIQ Join LA is, or why you’ve acquired this e-mail, preserve studying anyway! I promise it’ll be at the very least pretty much as good as no matter else you had been doing on this superb Monday morning.

Alright, sufficient preamble. Let’s get to the highlights!

The High Occasion of All Time (of the Week) (however Truly All Time): CreatorIQ Join Los Angeles 2025

As you is likely to be conscious, for the primary time ever, CreatorIQ Join was TWO wonderful days, slightly than the same old Single Day of Glory. So I’m not mendacity to you after I say that the occasion was ‘larger’ than ever. That’s simply an goal truth. Luckily, I’m additionally telling the reality after I say that it was higher than ever.

We’re gonna go daily right here, beginning with the prep work. 

Day Zero

I’m actually breezing over quite a lot of materials right here, however belief me: an incredible quantity of effort goes into the planning course of, and SO a lot credit score is because of each the CreatorIQ Advertising and marketing Workforce and all our contracted helpers. True heroes, all!

I don’t have any images of all of the packing containers we unpacked and all of the product we organized, however shoutout to Dove for sending us what I’m fairly certain was twenty of each providing they’ve ever manufactured. It saved our product gifting suite extraordinarily well-stocked, and it actually improved my familiarity with numerous sorts (flavors?) of physique scrub. 

Although I may not have gotten a photograph of the Dove smorgasbord, I did get a couple of images of the calm earlier than the storm.

Organising on the Ebell 

It could look much more official in a fashion of hours—no paper on the ground, stage totally assembled. Nearly like an actual occasion!

Plus, I even obtained to peep on CreatorIQ CEO Chris Harrington’s keynote prep session:

Chris Harrington, CEO at CreatorIQ 

Attendees want they may get this stage of behind-the-scenes entry. I, alternatively, want that I may get the extent of entry the place I may really watch the keynote, as a result of because it seems, that wasn’t within the playing cards for me. Keep tuned to seek out out why…

Day One

CreatorIQ Join started the best way it at all times does for me, and for different members of the advertising and marketing group: waking up early within the morning to print out labels and paste them to badges. 

That sounds snarky, however I really love check-in. It’s an ideal alternative to fulfill folks, I thrive on the thrill of the group, and I get to be out within the solar—generally a bit an excessive amount of so. Luckily this yr we had an umbrella.

Along with an umbrella, this yr we additionally had a reasonably nifty QR code on the again of every badge. This QR code summoned a digital agenda to enrich our printed bodily agendas. In order that was a enjoyable little wrinkle. Per my unscientific depend, much more folks most popular the digital agenda. Rating one for know-how!

One other first rating in the course of the check-in course of? My first movie star recognizing of the day! No, I don’t imply me recognizing one of many many well-known and fabulous Join attendees, although we had loads of such moments. I imply one thing much more thrilling: a kind of attendees recognizing me.

Assembly a pricey subscriber at check-in

Thanks to Emily in your assist of this article, and thanks to my check-in station mate (and teammate, and State of Creator Advertising and marketing Report author) Cherline Bazile for very kindly pressuring Emily into taking this picture. You’re a star in my ebook, Emily! It’s no shock {that a} Head of Expertise & Casting would have an eye fixed for expertise *hair flip.* 

Additionally, have I discussed recently how a lot I like Tastemade? A worldwide neighborhood devoted to meals, dwelling, journey, and residing my finest life? Signal me up!

Alas, the draw back of being on check-in responsibility for the fifth consecutive CreatorIQ Join occasion is that for the fifth consecutive CreatorIQ Join occasion, I missed the opening remarks and keynote deal with. Please, everybody, present up on time in order that I can lastly study what it’s that my firm sees match to current to the world! Possibly the sixth time would be the allure.

The Leaders’ Playbook to Scalable Enduring Creator Applications 

The primary session I obtained to attend was moderated by my boss’s boss and all-around boss Brit Starr, CMO of CreatorIQ. If you’ve obtained a session referred to as “The Leaders’ Playbook to Scalable, Enduring Creator Applications,” you higher include some true trade stalwarts, and thankfully we didn’t depart the viewers hanging. 

Along with Brit, the session featured insights from Jenna Habeyeb, President of Posh Peanut (shoutout to alliteration); Micah Jesse Koffler, Director, Influencer & Creator Advertising and marketing at E.L.F. Magnificence; and Michelle Miller, CMO of Vegamour. That may be a heck of a lineup, and boy did these leaders ship.

These superstars simply so occurred to emphasise lots of CreatorIQ’s high speaking factors, and I promise you that there was no prior coordination concerned in that: we simply so occurred to be proper about stuff, which is at all times enjoyable. These audio system emphasised the significance of constructing merchandise and model initiatives by and in your creator neighborhood, and constructing tight suggestions loops to be able to take heed to what these creators should say.

I used to be notably struck by Micah’s account of constructing out E.L.F.’s first-ever devoted creator advertising and marketing group. As a former creator himself, Micah is logging 18-hour days that in his phrases “don’t really feel like work,” exactly as a result of he spends all that point empowering creators like him to raise their careers. Micah spoke fairly movingly in regards to the genuine bonds that lie on the coronary heart of our trade—themes that had been additional emphasised by Jenna and Michelle, who delivered extra of CreatorIQ’s biggest hits, all fully unprompted, together with:

• Treating creators as culture-setters for manufacturers, slightly than simply one other part (even an integral part) of the advertising and marketing matrix.
• We 👏don’t 👏care 👏about 👏follower 👏depend 👏
• Utilizing creator content material throughout each space of the advertising and marketing funnel, each single a part of the flywheel, and each different zone inside your chosen metaphorical form
• Whereas influencer advertising and marketing measurement is admittedly not the cleanest factor on the planet, northstar metrics embody web site classes, neighborhood development, and EMV for top-of-funnel and brand-building efforts, in addition to search, Amazon charges, and site-specific product search phrases relating to efficiency measurement.

And don’t fear, everybody: Micah now has an superior group round him, so hopefully there might be fewer 18-hour days within the close to future, joyful as these days is likely to be.

The Energy of a Middle of Excellence 

From there, after a fast break for lunch and mingling, I hustled over to The Energy of a Middle of Excellence, an impressively titled session with much more spectacular panelists: Kate Brady, Senior Director, Advertising and marketing Transformation + International Head of Artistic & Content material Transformation at Pepsi; Robert Derow, Managing Director and Accomplice at BCG; Leah Walker, Director, Social Media Technique at Adobe; and CreatorIQ’s very personal Tim Sovay, Chief Enterprise Improvement and Partnerships Officer. If size of the panelists’ titles is any indication of high quality, then this was clearly a session that I couldn’t afford to overlook.

Our famous person panelists touted how creator media outperforms conventional company channels, and how you can harness that unimaginable energy to service broader organizations. I used to be admittedly a bit biased, since I pulled some knowledge to help with this session, however I used to be notably struck by panelists’ visions for a way CoE’s will evolve from marketing campaign administration to leveling up their manufacturers’ method and precision throughout all facets of promoting, whereas additionally changing into extra predictive. (Maintain that considered predictive know-how remodeling our trade…)

Human-Led, AI Accelerated: The New Guidelines of AI in Creator Advertising and marketing

Amid loads of constructive buzz from the viewers, I stayed in my seat as audio system filed in for the subsequent session. People had been keen to listen to about one of many world’s hottest matters: AI, in fact! (That is what I meant by predictive know-how, by the best way. You didn’t have to carry that thought for lengthy, and also you didn’t want AI to foretell that this was what I meant.)

Dubbed ‘Human-Led, AI-Accelerated: The New Guidelines of AI in Creator Advertising and marketing,” this session coated, uh, the stuff in its title. The panel featured Brian Manning, Head of Model, Influencer, & Social at Wayfair; Natalie Silverstein, Chief Innovation Officer at Collectively; CreatorIQ’s Nate Harris, our Vice President of Product Innovation; and our fearless moderator, skilled creator Yaseenthat Man.

Panelists had been all enthusiastic about AI’s super potential, however confused the significance of parsing shiny objects from lasting options. If the human ingredient is essential to creator advertising and marketing, and due to this fact AI, so too is transferring previous all of the bells and whistles which have popped up within the trade. If the primary stage of the AI revolution was driving effectivity, we’re now shifting towards worth creation, and unlocking fully new areas of content material and campaigns.

Alongside that may be a want for guardrails: ensuring that people are at all times within the loop to boost, slightly than substitute, creativity. Nate had so much to say about how CreatorIQ is doing simply that. As he correctly identified, we sit at a singular juncture inside the broader subject of promoting, on condition that human layer with creators. It’s that human layer that savvy engineers, entrepreneurs, and organizations are looking for to guard. In spite of everything, like Nate stated, “audiences will care if one thing that was once human is made inhuman.” That’s a bar.

Founder Tales: Constructing Iconic Manufacturers Throughout Classes

Talking of bars, my subsequent engagement was with a person who swapped the world of creator advertising and marketing for the world of beer. Conor Begley, former Co-Founding father of Tribe Dynamics and Chief Technique Officer of CreatorIQ and present Co-Founding father of Father’s Brewing, was joined by former RHODE Magnificence CEO and present Founder & CEO of LORE Melanie Bender, as effectively Joe Cloyes, Co-Founding father of Youth to the Individuals, LORE, and Father’s Brewing, in addition to Greg Gonzalez, Co-Founding father of Youth to the Individuals and Lore, who was roped into the discuss two minutes previous to beginning time, for a pleasant sport of “who right here is essentially the most serial of entrepreneurs?”

It was certainly a really founder-centric session, on condition that it was referred to as “Founder Tales: Constructing Iconic Manufacturers Throughout Classes.” These founders and associates, all of whom have labored collectively throughout a number of firms and eras of their lives, talked in regards to the trials and tribulations and triumphs of the founding course of.

I used to be struck by how the panelists sang the praises of ‘formlessness,’ and giving construction to the void. (I is likely to be editorializing a bit there.) The inventiveness, pleasure, magnificence, and simply pure enjoyable of the constructing course of got here by means of loud and clear from each participant, making for an thrilling and uplifting session. And that’s the reason I’m humbly asking these illustrious and extremely profitable founders to please ship me some free product from your entire firms.

It was additionally fairly gratifying to see Conor, usually so shy and demure, acquire some confidence and make a mark for himself after his a few years of churning out bizarre content material, like podcasts the place he’s consuming rooster wings and sizzling sauce with no-name company. Transferring on up, my man. Congrats on the success!

Cracking the Code of Virality: A Dialog with Crash Adams

The day’s remaining keynote featured the musical stylings of Vince Sasso and Rafaele Massarelli, aka Crash Adams, in addition to Brit doing double-duty as emcee. Crash Adams got here to fame on TikTok, amassing over 23M cumulative followers throughout their social channels, proving the right candidates to debate “Cracking the Code of Virality.” The duo mentioned their journey to fame, shared insights into their experimental extremely analytical method to constructing viral content material, defined their infectious drive to spark pleasure for his or her listeners and handled the viewers to some songs, sending us out to completely satisfied hour on a excessive word.

Crash Adams performing 

That’s proper: you’re now solely by means of the Day One portion of this article. If it feels overwhelming to learn all this, think about the way it felt to really stay by means of it.

Luckily for each me and also you, Day Two glided by a bit extra rapidly. However we saved a giant shock for the top, so please preserve studying…

Day Two

On the morning of Day Two, we rose weary but energized, able to do all of it once more. I solely wanted to have a look at the itinerary to get excited, and to remind myself of what a special occasion it was going to be. At the present time was structured for extra actionable, close-knit classes straight from specialists, that includes a few of my favourite of us from CreatorIQ, together with:

• Brig Graff, our Senior Vice President of Strategic Providers, and Nate Harris, our Vice President of Product Innovation, tackling AI in a stay AMA.
• The one and solely Cherline Bazile, Analysis & Insights Supervisor, internet hosting a roundtable and stay AMA with a famous person lineup of creators.
• A model suitability evaluation with an all-star roster of CreatorIQ specialists: 
  • Arika Vissers, Director of Buyer Success
  • Jonathan Iyandemye, Senior Product Supervisor
  • Erin Klingsberg, Director of Product Advertising and marketing
    • That is mainly the 96 Bulls of brand name security, of us. This was not one to overlook. Although I did find yourself lacking it, as a result of Cher’s session was on on the similar time.
• Jamir Milligan, our Senior Strategic Insights Marketing consultant and resident candidate for Most Attention-grabbing Man within the World, alongside Michael Lambie, our Head of International Measurement and different resident candidate for Most Attention-grabbing Man within the World, in dialog with Brig Graff (does the person ever sleep?), on constructing metrics matrices and playbooks for manufacturers.
• CreatorIQ Velocity Coaching—an opportunity to check and enhance your platform information—with Gina Sidote and Yoojin Park, Implementation & Onboarding Managers for Mid-Market and Enterprise, respectively.

If this doesn’t offer you FOMO and ship you dashing to bookmark CreatorIQ Join 2026, then I don’t know what’s going to, of us. I used to be there, and I nonetheless have FOMO about it!

Let’s soar in as soon as once more, and dash by means of among the highlights from a spectacular second day.

Brig Graff and Nate Harris, CreatorIQ

Beginning with the Brig and Nate energy duo (Brate?), session attendees had been handled to a considerate overview of the house from two males who’ve been grappling with AI since effectively earlier than it was a buzzword. Brate laid out the excellence between the technical ramifications of the good AI debate and the advertising and marketing implications, and the way these facets of the dialog intersect. 

After laying out the panorama, the duo took questions from technical practitioners, usually round how you can finest make the most of AI inside their creator methods (would possibly we advocate CreatorIQ?). I liked this interactive portion of the session, which gave the viewers an opportunity to choose Brate’s Mind. Nate gave many detailed solutions about CreatorIQ’s subsequent era roadmap, which you’ll be listening to much more about quickly, because you clearly subscribe to our emails. 

One other takeaway from the AMA: seems the folks crave model security and sentiment evaluation and language modeling! Good factor we’ve obtained all that stuff. It’s a brand new age!

The Creator Perspective 

From there, it was proper into celebrating one other star second with my HBBIP: Stay! Costar, Cherline Bazile! Cher was main the heck out of a session on The Creator Perspective, that includes unimaginable panelists in Chaz Smith, McCall Mirabella, and Shima Katouzian (@herosheemaz). 

These peppy, shiny folks dove proper in and talked by means of how manufacturers can enhance their creator partnerships—in spite of everything, who higher to ask? Shima talked by means of her drive for long-term partnerships over the transactional, whereas McCall spoke eloquently in regards to the gratitude on each ends of the partnerships, and the necessity for creators to share their private testimonies in branded posts—taking these speaking factors and making use of it to the model. In the meantime, Chaz drilled down on going past inventive management and attaining inventive alignment, prioritizing collaboration on briefs and dealing intently collectively all through the ideation course of.

Up Shut on The Creator Perspective 

From there, issues went into AMA mode, with a packed home asking these creators about matters starting from advocating for regulated industries to how manufacturers could make their pitches extra interesting to creators. It was an animated, extraordinarily informative session, and would possibly I simply say that Cher did a wonderful job of moderating the dialogue and including considerate factors. Creators are the guts of what we do, however all too usually we don’t faucet into their highly effective voices and listen to from them straight. 

I may have listened to this for one more hour or so—perhaps even 90 extra minutes, however hey, let’s not push it. Even creators get drained generally.

CreatorIQ Strategic Providers group: AMA

After that, I popped into the workshop that includes Brig, Michael, and Jamir—the spine of the Strategic Providers group—as they led a roundtable workshop strolling model attendees by means of CreatorIQ’s framework of descriptive, diagnostic, and predictive analytics. This was a trio in full command of their territory, and roved amid a number of dozen tables of buzzing workshop contributors. The vitality within the room was palpable; I may nearly scent the creator advertising and marketing information being shared and the gamechanging concepts being hatched.

It smelled like success, of us. It smelled like success.

LSKD Workforce Members, Carole and Tegan

Throughout a much-needed lunch-break, I used to be lucky to run into the pleasant group from LSKD and thank them in particular person for the unimaginable cargo of product they despatched to me and Mrs. HBBIP. It was such a sort, considerate gesture, and I used to be on no account stunned to study that Carole and Tegan are simply as sort and considerate IRL. Thanks, girls, for all that you just’ve executed to assist HBBIP, and CreatorIQ at giant! We’re actually grateful in your efforts, and fortunate to have such nice folks in our nook.

(And to reply your query, Carole, this version of the publication took waaaaaaaay longer than six hours.)

Then we had been proper again into it for an action-packed afternoon! Which for me, was all about one panel and one panel solely: mine! That’s proper, my trustworthy readers: they gave your favourite publication author a slot at CreatorIQ Join! Now I do know that if you happen to didn’t go, you would like you had.

It was my honor to take this article stay and in particular person, and with such wonderful contributors! Please give a heat digital welcome to my superb co-panelists:

• Mindy Chun, Head of Partnerships, OneSkin
• Romain Gaillard, CEO, The Detox Market
• Malena Higuera, CEO, NOYZ

HBBIP Session Selfie! 

This was a stacked lineup, and I realized a lot from these completed leaders, who had been sort sufficient to take a break from crushing their respective manufacturers to lend me a few of their time on a Thursday afternoon. These audio system had been decided by deciding on from the highest-growing manufacturers amongst CreatorIQ’s buyer attendees, which means that these had been actually the most effective of the most effective.

In spite of everything, I simply discuss about constructing manufacturers and influencing folks. These superb panelists really went and did it!

An enormous thanks to Mindy, Romain, and Malena for all of your laborious work and collaboration. Like Malena stated, we’re co-panelists for all times now, so please know that you just’ll all at all times have a spot in HBBIP.

Because the final session of the day, my crew helped shut issues out on a excessive word. However earlier than we wrap up this article, I need to share a couple of final celebratory moments for the parents at dwelling. That is one other means of claiming I’ve been writing this article for 2 days straight and my mind is mush and I’m going by means of my cameraroll and considering ‘yeah, that in all probability warrants a point out.’

CreatorIQ Workforce at CreatorIQ Join LA

Behold, the people behind CreatorIQ! What a gifted, aesthetic assortment of individuals. It’s an honor to pose with these of us. My because of each certainly one of you for being who you’re.

Selfie with our Social Media Supervisor: Kimi Hurtado

Lastly, the largest of shoutouts to Kimi Hurtado, our social queen and power-poster extraordinaire. Thanks for all you do to maintain our accounts operating as the most effective within the sport!

The setting for that picture, btw, is a real behind-the-scenes look that you just received’t get wherever else: we had been within the CreatorIQ workers room, AKA The Solarium, which was roughly 125 levels. And sure, I used to be nonetheless repping my CreatorIQ sweater regardless of the warmth, thanks very a lot.

Since that is in all probability the longest publication of all time, I’ll wrap issues up and depart you with a picture of the way you may need discovered me within the solarium between classes: stooped over, eyes glazed, hammering away at this very publication, slowly working towards the purpose the place I may say, as I say on the finish of each version of HBBIP…

See you subsequent time, and thanks a lot for studying.

Me, in my sweatshop

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