🛒 On 9AM Thursday, Lidl Launched As First Supermarket On TikTok Shop

A Grocery Store Jumps On TikTok Shop

Lidl is starting to sell on TikTok Shop, which kicks off on Thursday at 9AM with 3,000 protein bar bundles they’ll be selling for £5 each, a discount from the regular retail price of £30.

These bundles also include limited edition Lidl merch, including a branded microfibre towel and resistance band, and Lidl Plus coupons that can be used in store. Proceeds from the sale go to children’s charity NSPCC.

The team at Lidl GB noticed that people were organically posting about “Lidl hauls” on TikTok and see the potential for TikTok Shop being a potentially significant part of their future business.

In the US, for example, monthly consumer spend on TikTok Shop has grown 156% YoY and overtaken Shein, Sephora, and HQVC.

Jo Gomer, marketing director at Lidl GB, said, “With the number of TikTok shoppers growing rapidly, we’re proud to be the first supermarket meeting our customers directly on the platform with our unique offering, creating these exclusive bundles to showcase our new exciting products.”

Each week, we see more milestones hit by TikTok Shop. Having a major supermarket starting to sell on the platform is only the beginning. More and more businesses are diving deep into this modern world of social commerce.

💰 What Does This New $60 Million Creator Fund Mean?

Fast Times In The Creator Economy

Congrats to Megan Lightcap and the team at Slow Ventures for launching "$60m+ for the first institutional seed fund specifically for creator-entrepreneurs"!!!

First off, it's even more validation that creators are serious businesses. Capital follows capital and I expect even more creator investment vehicles to sprout up soon--which all comes in the wake of even earlier "creator funds" like Jellysmack, Spotter, Electrify Video Partners and all the early MCNs.

One thing I've observed is that many creators are more analogous to artists rather than startup founders, especially in terms of their creative and commercial mindset. And quite frankly, most would still rather make money from brand deals than take on the risks of launching new business lines.

Creators will need serious GTM expertise if they're going to launch products, especially as the creator-led product landscape becomes more competitive. And if creators receive investment with expectations of returns on that investment, they'll need to build out teams to scale their business ambitions.

What this means is that even bigger cottage industries around creators will continue to develop, which is exciting. The infrastructure of the creator economy is just beginning.

🏈 What’s the Smartest Super Bowl Marketing Move This Year? (Hint: It’s NOT a TV Ad)

Going All-In On Creators: The NFL's Marketing Strategy

Brands are spending $8 Million dollars for a 30-second Super Bowl ad this weekend to accomplish their business objectives.

But what is the NFL's biggest objective?

Growing its audience. Specifically, the NFL needs more young fans and international fans.

That's why the NFL is hosting over 150 creators at the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

This is part of a longer-term creator strategy the NFL kicked off in 2023, which included a "Creator of the Week" program. The "Creator of the Week" program generated 153 Million total impressions, 46.5 Million views, and over 2 Million engagements for the NFL.

Last year, the NFL invited 50 creators to the Super Bowl. This year, the creator presence is even bigger.

On Saturday night, iShowSpeed and Kai Cenat are rival team captains of a flag football game that combines teams of creators, musicians, and former NFL players. This will be streamed exclusively on YouTube.

65% of Gen-Z are cord cutters, which is why the NFL is meeting them where they are--on YouTube. We can expect clips from the creator flag football game will live all over TikTok, Instagram, and other social media channels.

The NFL has also invited a diverse group of international creators from countries like Germany, Mexico, and UK--focus markets for NFL expansion. These creators also span other topics adjacent to sports--like fashion, gaming, and music.

This is an example of a solid creator strategy.
✅ Big names for reach. (Kai Cenat, iShowSpeed)
✅ Strong content formats, not just one-off posts. (Flag Football)
✅ Niche creators for deeper engagement. (Local & international creators)
✅ Pop culture crossover for relevance. (Music, fashion, gaming content)

The NFL is arguably the best run sports league in the world and their marketing strategy is miles ahead of rival sports.

No matter who wins the Super Bowl, the NFL has already won the hearts and minds of Gen-Z and global fans—through creators.

🚦 Tinder Hosted A Pop Up Rave in an East London Bagel Shop--And It Was Awesome.

The Underrated Power of Fun, Pop Ups, and Experiences

Last week, Tinder took over a local bagel shop in East London for a surprise DJ set by Louis Bekk. Attendees got free bagels from a dating-themed menu, exclusive Tinder merch, and an experience far more exciting and memorable than swiping left or right.

If you don’t know Louis Bekk, he’s built a reputation for wild, unannounced DJ sets—like at a matcha shop in London, a burger joint in Istanbul, the Pomona Club in Madrid and even on the London Tube. His latest pop up was at Buck Fried Chicken in Paris, sponsored by UGGs.

❤️‍🔥 Enter Tinder...
Tinder saw the opportunity to tap into Louis Bekk to help make Tinder more culturally relevant through music and events.

Tinder is still a market leader in the dating app space but they are facing fierce competition from large numbers of competitors. And despite large market share, Tinder has the brand perception of being one of the "lower quality" dating apps.

In 2014-2015, it felt like everyone was obsessively using Tinder but today, I hear more people talking about every other dating app and NOT Tinder.

So what's a brand to do in order to drive more desirability and shift perception?

In a world of boring ad creative and obsessions around performance marketing on digital platforms, there is still room for activations in the "real world." People love experiential popups and it's a breath of fresh air that makes a brand stand out.

Now I can't think of another dating app other than Tinder that I would associate with music. Everyone who attended the event now has created user-generated content that has spread around the world, perpetuating the cultural relevance of the Tinder brand.

This likely cost a fraction of a typical ad campaign—with way higher ROI in terms of brand perception & cultural credibility.

Sometimes, you just need to throw a rave in a bagel shop.

🍦 Collabs That Make You Go Ew: Chili-Flavored Ice Cream?

The Monstrous Masterpiece of Skyline Chili & Graeter's

Many brands today are doing collabs for the sake of provoking attention. Sometimes their entire goal is to make you react.

Well, some wild collabs seem weirdly tasty, like the limited edition menu between Don Julio Tequila and Popeyes Chicken. Other wild collabs seem repulsive--like this new Skyline Chili ice cream flavor with Graeter's Ice Cream.

But if capturing attention was their goal, maybe this chili-flavored ice cream is a success. The collaboration was hinted at in October and caused massive conversations on social media. JD Vance even tweeted, "President Trump and I will stop this."

Last Friday, Skyline Chili and Graeter's made the collaboration official and the chili-flavored ice cream is now available to order from the Graeter's website or at select Kroger stores.

Was the partnership confirmed only after they gauged interest based on social media conversation? Perhaps.

Now both brands have an incredibly memeable product to post about on social media, which will likely receive many more comments and reactions. People ranging from Jason Kelce to food creators to random people are already posting about this new crazy chili ice cream.

So for these two cult Ohio brands, mission accomplished...?