One of our favorite segments on the Scalable podcast is “Green Flag, Red Flag,” in which we ask creators and brands to share their biggest partnership dos and don'ts.
We brought this game to the stage at the CreatorIQ Connect conference on Tuesday during Kaya’s panel with brand leaders from Sephora, Gap, Google and PepsiCo.
Earlier in the day, we also asked Warner Bailey, founder of meme account turned creator business Assistants vs. Agents, to react to several brand negotiation tactics during our live podcast taping.
Here’s what they said:
✅Green Flags
For brands, the two biggest green flags were when creators are professional and already “super fans” of the product or company.
“Green flags are creators who have their scheduling, their formats. They know what they’re doing every day and how they can plug us in authentically to their channel,” said Kate Brady, global head of creative and content transformation at PepsiCo.
We’ve heard similar takes before. Leah Walker, head of creator and influencer marketing at Adobe, told Jasmine on stage at Cannes Lions that her green flag is when a creator comes prepared with a unique idea, rather than waiting for the brand to pitch something.
Professionalism also extends beyond the creator. “You are your team,” Ava Donaldson, head of talent and creators for platforms and devices at Google, said on Tuesday.
Close to two-thirds (62%) of creators now have part-time or full-time staff or outsource some of their work, according to a January report from CreatorIQ. How those team members behave reflects on the creator, for better—or worse.
As for Bailey, he said it was a green flag when a brand tells a creator to “just be you,” but only if the company actually means it.
He was also open to a brand negotiating his rate down if it’s for a 12-month deal, depending on the terms. “I’m interested now in building long-term relationships with brands that we really believe in,” Bailey said, adding that the guaranteed income allows him to hire more people and invest in his business.
🚩Red Flags
Unsurprisingly, the biggest red flags for brands were the opposite of their green flag answers: Creators being unprofessional or too transactional.
Damon Berger, senior vice president of marketing shared services at Gap, specifically called out creators not getting back to brands on time, though he noted this type of behavior isn’t as common anymore.
Meanwhile, Brent Mitchell, vice president of social media and influencer marketing at Sephora, gets put off when he receives an email from a creator saying that working with Sephora is their dream, but their account doesn’t show any posts tagging the company.
On the creator side, Bailey rated two scenarios as red flags. The first: A brand that sends a four-page script, but doubles his rate. He’s seen creators take such deals, including with sports betting sites or AI companies, only to face backlash in the comments. “That isn't worth that double payment,” he said.
The second: A brand asking for the rights to an AI clone of his voice. “Absolutely red flag,” he said.
The B2B Boom
Billion Dollar Boy Group, an influencer marketing company, acquired B2B influencer agency Creator Authority.
It’s the first acquisition for BDB and comes during a record year for creator economy M&A: There have already been over 100 M&A deals so far in 2026, surpassing 90 in 2025, per Quartermast Advisors. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The deal also comes as more brands are looking to bolster their B2B influencer marketing efforts: Creator Authority was founded in 2023 and is an official LinkedIn Marketing partner. Co-founder Brendan Gahan will become BDB’s senior vice president of B2B and the Creator Authority team will increase from about 15 people to between 30 and 40, per Business Insider. The team will operate alongside BDB’s existing B2C creator services, which include an agency and creator platform FiveTwoNine.
BDB says that its revenue will exceed $100 million in 2027 following the acquisition. It’s also part of a bigger push for the company in North America, which includes hiring its first-ever general manager for the US in January.
Meanwhile, LinkedIn has also been working to turn the platform into more of a creator hub. That includes introducing new ways for creators to make money directly and helping connect them with brands.
On Thursday, LinkedIn announced a test of in-stream video ads and the launch of advice sessions for some premium members, who will be able to offer free or paid consultations. LinkedIn also launched a new dashboard, where creators can access analytics, content management and monetization tools. These new features add to the creator marketplace it rolled out this summer, new original shows from creators and the expansion of the BrandLink program, which lets advertisers turn creator posts into paid ads.
The Art and Science of the YouTube Thumbnail
How much do YouTube thumbnails matter, really?
We shared some of our thoughts in Tuesday’s newsletter, but we go even deeper on the topic in the latest episode of the Scalable podcast, embedded below. We also ask experts and creators for their POV.
“YouTube thumbnails are kind of everything,” Zach Blume, co-founder and president of Portal A, told us. “You need to treat them almost like the movie poster.”
We also spoke with Hudson Matter, founder of YouTube consultancy NextWave Media, about how he helped grow his dad Jordan Matter’s YouTube channel and why he didn’t become a full-time creator himself despite having a large social media following. He also shares why he doesn’t think exclusive streaming deals are worth it for most creators.
The Round Up
Netflix is laying off about 1,000 employees, or 6% of its workforce, including on its product, tech, legal and HR teams.
Facebook is launching “Your Algorithm,” an LLM-powered dashboard that aims to give users more control over what they see on their Feed and Reels, by allowing them to input what content types they’re interested in. Instagram has a similar feature.
TikTok signed an agreement with Made By Us Studios, the production division of creator management firm Made By All, to co-produce microdramas featuring creators for TikTok and its microdrama app PineDrama.
UC Berkeley opened a Twitch livestreaming studio on campus for student athletes through a partnership with StreamU and UnlimitedIRL.
CAA, WME and UTA are among the talent agencies and producers teaming up to launch the American Entertainment Alliance, which aims to promote independent TV and film production in the US.
Good News Network, an online outlet focused on positive news, sold to a newly formed holding company for an undisclosed amount. James Street, the co-founder and co-CEO of Whalar Group, is joining the board as part of the deal.
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Creator Moves
The Chainsmokers are going independent after 11 years with Columbia Records and Disruptor Records. “We have no idea what to expect for our next chapter but we are extremely excited to have fun and experiment with all our new music releases,” the duo, Alex Pall and Drew Taggart, wrote on X.
The Tiger Sisters joined Vox Media’s podcast network amid plans to turn their podcast into a larger media company. Read our interview with the hosts here.
Is Kennedy Eurich the new “it girl” for brands? Over the past few months, the influencer has partnered with companies including DoorDash, Coach, Bissell, Columbia and Torchy’s Tacos. Some of her recent ads have been generating buzz on social media with viewers praising her storytelling and production chops.
Soundbite
It’s something we are really passionate about figuring out how to do.”
On stage on Tuesday, Brady said the company is in the “infancy stages” of planning its own employee-influencer program, following brands like Gap and Starbucks. PepsiCo has 300,000 global employees it could tap. (Expedia also previously told us it has a similar program in the works, which could launch this fall.)
As we’ve written previously, more brands are rewarding employee content creation. But these programs don’t come without risks, including proper disclosures or staffers getting distracted from their day jobs.
Gap’s Damon Berger addressed some of the challenges on stage, too. “It’s just like any other creative partnership that we have. Everybody has to follow FTC disclosure. They have to tag the content appropriately,” he said.
🍺 Zuck’s Guinness Grimace
A clip of Mark Zuckerberg having a sip of Guinness beer and making a face is going viral for how uncomfortable he looks.
Zuckerberg was on Stripe co-founder John Collison’s “Cheeky Pint” podcast alongside Meta’s AI chief Alexandr Wang.
The Meta CEO responded to a post on X of the clip, saying “that’s just my face.”
As more public figures turn to podcasts hoping for a softer interview, the situation shows that they can still be the punchline. You never know how the internet will react!
Talent Tracker
Anthropic is hiring a podcast media manager focused on how Claude shows up in podcasts, which the company says is one of its “most important channels for reaching professionals and knowledge workers.” The posting says it’s not a traditional media buying role, but one focused on getting in early with up-and-coming shows and going beyond standard ad reads. The annual salary ranges from $200k to $255k.
The Washington Post is hiring a creator content and partnerships director to lead the operating strategy for the media outlet’s creator-content portfolio, including helping creators produce work that “expands The Post’s reach, relevance, and commercial potential.”
Electrify, a company that acquires and invests in YouTube channels, named Al Brown EVP of creative and editorial, while Patrick Walker is now chief strategy officer.
