💎 The 'creatorfication' of corporate America
+Gen Z's love affair with moodboards; And travel is getting the AI treatment
In this Monday’s email we’re sharing:
8 articles to check out this morning [Corporate America is embracing creators, Instagram is today’s hottest dating app, The rise of running]
1 trend around how moodboards are the hottest marketing tool for social media content [vibe setting]
In the full edition, available for paying members, we look at:
Brands in the travel space are building smarter, more personalized tools to help travelers this summer [highlights include a look at Expedia’s Reels to Reality tool, Canva’s Magic Write tool, And Layla.ai, a startup using AI to plan custom trips in seconds]
💎cultural gems💎
The moments and media catching our eye…
☕️ Brands officially going influencer with Starbucks hiring two full-time coffee content creators. Dani Markovits, Creator & Community Manger @ LinkedIn, has dubbed it the ‘creatorfication’ of corporate America.
We broke down the rise of corporate influencers all the way back in September, 2024: That awkward moment when your co-worker is also an influencer.
❤️ Tired of dating apps? Celebs and regular singles alike are turning to Instagram DMs for more organic, low-pressure connections.
We dove into how dating apps [think Bumble, Tinder, etc.] are able to maintain relevance: Swipe science: how dating apps rebrand themselves again and again.
💼 Millennials are redefining the midlife crisis—not with flashy cars or impulsive decisions, but through introspection, career pivots, and personal growth amid economic instability and evolving societal norms.
🏃♀️ Anyone else getting a lot of running / marathon content served up to them on socials? Turns out the sport is seeing a resurgence, especially with Gen Zs women.
🚫 Social media misinformation is accelerating, fueled by engagement-driven algorithms, bot activity, and shrinking moderation efforts.
💬 Can you text your way into someone’s heart? There’s now an entire cottage industry on social media around giving texting advice.
📌 Pinterest has won over Gen Z, but the recent flood of AI content could drive them away.
📺 YouTube has officially surpassed other streamers as the go-to platform for TV and movies. According to a recent survey, 66% of consumers discover TV and film content on the platform.
📌 The summer moodboard Renaissance
2025 might be the year we finally retire the phrase “manifest it”… but moodboards? They’re not going anywhere.
Pinterest is popping off [again] with Gen Z and Gen Alpha using it to design their lives, outfits, and to curate their dreamy vibes. From Euro summer packing lists to niche-core weddings to “clean girl who just got dumped and moved to Lisbon” energy, the visual curation is purposeful. It’s storytelling meets planning meets digital diary.
Moodboards aren’t just thriving on Pinterest, they’re spilling into platforms we usually associate with strategy decks and newsletters. Canva is getting a major glow-up as more creators use it to craft vibe-forward, branded board content [it’s giving “Pinterest, but make it work”]. And on Substack, writers are attaching aesthetic boards to lifestyle pieces, style dispatches, and even product roundups to help anchor their POV in something visual.
With the younger generations leaning in hard to this trend, big brands have jumped in too with Glossier and Mejuri using video moodboards to set the tone of the summer and Lisa Says Gah mastering the moodboard outfit build. It’s not just the fashion and beauty brands though, Sweetgreen and Olipop have joined the moodboard revolution.
Why it matters for marketers, brands, and creators:
Moodboards are a new starting line. If you’re not including visual inspiration as part of your creative process or brand storytelling, you’re missing where a lot of Gen Z decision-making begins. Use it to test a theme, pitch a collab, or set the tone for a campaign.
They perform. Whether it’s a brand building a seasonal Pinterest board or a creator sharing an outfit grid on IG Stories, visual curation drives engagement and sparks product discovery without needing a CTA.
It’s low-lift, high-impact. You don’t need to design from scratch. Repurpose your saved posts, throw together a themed board, or screenshot your phone background and build from there. It’s scrappy strategy at its finest.
Don’t sleep on this trend because moodboards are everywhere your audience is looking for a little inspiration [and probably shopping from it, too].
✈️ Summer travel gets the AI upgrade
AI is transforming how people are traveling this summer. Gone are the days of a million tabs and spreadsheets. Brands like Expedia and Canva are releasing new AI tools that can turn your inspo into an itinerary. AI is turning aesthetic Reels, saved TikToks, and half-finished Pinterest boards into bookable itineraries. If your brand touches travel or tourism at all, it’s time to get AI ready.
We’re breaking down the 4 tools that are leading this trend [think Expedia’s Reels to Reality and Canva’s Magic Write tool] and 3 ways for brands to lean in for paid subscribers below ⬇️