Why work with Alex Cooper’s New Creative Agency?

The Content Creator Turned Brand Creative Strategist

Alex Cooper, best known for the Call Her Daddy podcast and Unwell network, has launched her own creative agency and signed Google as their first client.

Why would Google work with Alex Cooper?

Clearly the big agency hold cos like Publicis and WPP have more resources and better performance marketers.

But Alex has something they don’t, a pulse on the culture.

If you want to spend millions of dollars on a big TV campaign or pumping money into a paid ads engine, look elsewhere.

But if you want to drive desirability for your brand with one of pop culture’s leading storytellers, go with Alex Cooper’s Unwell Agency.

In addition to Alex’s proven track record at dominating the cultural conversation, there are other benefits too…

Alex’s Unwell Network gives brands built in distribution to a group of top creators and their respective media properties, whether it’s their own podcasts or individual social media channels.

Alex also has her own hydration drink brand, which could be packaged into brand activations with the clients she works with.

Google knows that they’ll have more resources working with Publicis or WPP, but that won’t solve the problem of making their products more desirable.

Anyone can buy or run the clock on a massive acquisition budget but not everyone can connect with culture and bring a credible network like Alex Cooper.

AI was supposed to kill video editors but MrBeast and Airrack want to create millions of new ones.

The exciting, very human-led business of Clipping

Last week, Mr. Beast announced the launch of Vyro, a clipping company that pays people to edit and create new video clips.

Earlier this year, YouTuber AirRack (17M+ subscribers) built something similar called Clip Farm, giving clippers an opportunity to earn money and for brands to work with clippers.

Both are betting big on the clipping economy, this fast-growing corner of the creator world where people get paid to make short form, viral edits of existing content to post on TikTok/YouTube Shorts/IG Reels.

While not everyone can be Mr. Beast, millions of people are able to create and edit content, while getting paid to do it.

Clippers get paid per video based on the performance of their clips.

It’s something that creators like Mr. Beast and Airrack have done in-house, but now they clearly see the commercial opportunity to provide this to brands.

What’s interesting here is what’s missing from these announcements.

Where’s the AI? We’ve all heard that AI will “replace editors.”

So why are two of the smartest creators on the planet hiring humans at scale to do the job AI is supposedly built for?

It tells you something. AI tools might be getting better at generating clips, but they’re still missing what makes a clip work: taste, intuition, and cultural context.

The smartest editors are probably using AI to assist, but not replace, their process.

So for now, “clipping” has become one of the most unexpectedly human jobs in the new media economy.

UMG's New Creator App + Brand-Specific Creator Tech

Universal Music wants to work more closely with creators

Universal Music Group has launched their own app to manage relationships with creators.

“Via House of Carmen, Universal can directly manage relationships with micro-influencers and creators, handling everything from briefing and content approval to payment processing.”

Universal Music Group has around 32% music share in all recorded music, making it the biggest of the three major record labels. Their artists include Drake, Lady Gaga, and Billie Eilish.

As influencer/creator marketing becomes a bigger percentage of overall marketing budgets, big organizations will demand their own personalized tech solutions to manage the process.

I fully expect Sony and Warner to launch their own versions of an app like this and for more large brands to invest in this kind of technology.

We’re still in the Influencer Wild West but I expect a new wave of personalized, enterprise grade influencer apps will herald the next step of professionalization in the creator economy.

Jake Paul is unbothered about AI

How celebrities are reacting to AI-targeted content

When Sora 2 came out, we saw an onslaught of new videos that made everyone ask, “Is this real or AI?”

There were plenty of videos of celebrities that were clearly AI-generated.

As one of the most controversial creators out there, Jake Paul received tons of AI-generated videos making fun of him.

Most celebrities would panic but Jake Paul decided to join in.

He started taking clips from some of these AI-generated videos and replied with his own jokes.

Several AI videos portrayed Jake Paul as gay, overweight, and putting on makeup. Jake Paul replied by posting a video talking about how he is offended by AI while simultaneously putting on makeup.

Another video showcases an AI-generated obese Jake Paul stealing from a fast food restaurant. Jake took that video and edited in a clip of him running away from a McDonalds while holding a meal.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, you have to admit that he knows how to play the game of social media.

A traditional celebrity might react by being super offended and shout at the internet telling people to stop make videos of them. Jake Paul did the opposite.

We’re entering a weird world where AI is going to make us question what content is “real” and that will truly affect the careers of creators, celebrities, and talent.

One way to respond is like Jake Paul, who has used all the AI-generated content to turn it into even more attention. He knows the benefit of not taking yourself too seriously.

💄 Sephora gets it.

How Sephora is approaching creator-affiliates

They’ve launched My Sephora Storefront, a new platform that lets creators build their own shoppable storefronts directly inside Sephora’s ecosystem.

It’s part affiliate play, part creator strategy, and part community infrastructure.

For years, affiliate marketing sat in a corner of the internet that wasn’t sexy and often shady.

But Sephora clearly sees the business case for what comes next. Affiliate and creator marketing are merging.

Creators have influence and distribution. Affiliates have performance data and commerce incentives.

Sephora’s now putting both under one roof.

They’re building a closed-loop system where creators can curate, sell, and connect with their audience, all without leaving the Sephora platform.

This isn’t a campaign. It’s a system. It’s a sophisticated creator strategy.

And what’s even smarter is that Sephora already has the community pieces in place, already existing groups like the Sephora Squad or the Derm Board or the Artist List.

Each of these consist of different groups of creators like dermatologists, makeup artists, and beauty influencers.

They’ve been building social credibility for years. And now they’re adding an extra force of monetization for Sephora.

It’s a clear signal of where the industry’s heading. Brands won’t just advertise through creators, they’ll build integrated ecosystems with them.

At PWR House, we help brands build exactly that: ecosystems where content, commerce, and community reinforce each other.

Our talent tree identifies and segments creators to serve different purposes, whether it’s brand awareness or driving affiliate sales.

We’re entering this next phase of the creator economy.