Not too long ago, young digital natives craved one guiding voice over any other: that of the mighty influencer. With so much draw, it made sense for brands to bend over backwards to be shouted out by any 20-something with millions of followers. But times are a-changing, for a new, niche and hyper-intelligent breed of creator has moved to the forefront of internet influence: the “micro-expert”.

- Devin Pike, Guest Editor 💜

And it’s clear you haven’t just lost them. You’ve lost the deal.

Well, that doesn't have to be you anymore. Because in this 90-minute session taught by Nathan James, Executive Creative Director at The Attention Seeker, you’ll learn the real art of selling subjective ideas (from someone who’s worked with some of the world’s biggest brands).

If you want to know how to:

✅ Keep the room hooked from your first sentence to the final slide
✅ Nail the 3-nod method that gets instant buy-in, every time
✅ Use their objections to strengthen your pitch

...this workshop is for you.

Forget “we’ll think about it.” You’ll leave this session knowing how to make every client say, “please take my money.”

Thursday, 4 Dec | 8:30 - 10am NZT | $49

Is it all the boo’d up couples dash’n and smash’n on weekends? Is it that we’re over Uber Eats and their daylight robbery pricing? Or are we just collectively getting lazier? Regardless of reason, DoorDash has seen the biggest jump in purchasing consideration among US adults so far this year, of about 5,000 brands tracked by Morning Consult in their annual Fastest Growing Brands report for 2025.

A growing line of business for the company, and a large contributing factor, is its expansion as a commerce platform into non-restaurant categories, according to the report. Diversify your offering, people! DD is proof.

According to new data, that’s exactly what women are doing. Insights shared by Reddit found 3 in 5 women on the site plan on buying a car in the next 2 years, while 1 in 4 are looking to buy within 6-12 months. That’s probably because 68% of women say they trust advice from real people over comparison-sites, and 78% say the conversations help them compare models.

Also skipping the pesky middleman and asking genuinely helpful strangers just seems like a freaking no-brainer. And for auto marketers: that’s a tall poppy. Rather than shouting features at car-forums, engage in genuine chats where women are already searching. Because yeah… they’re doing the work, and they’re mostly doing it on Reddit.

Mark Ritson has crowned Boss Fragrance’s latest campaign the worst ad of the year, and honestly… fair. It screams “how to burn a massive budget with zero strategy”.

Three random celebrities (Bradley Cooper, Gisele Bündchen and Vinícius Júnior) awkwardly stitched together under the tagline “Boss recognize Boss” - which doesn’t even make grammatical sense - to sell a “ginger-leather” scent. WTF is ginger-leather? Boss has shown that you may have luxury budget, but if you don’t have an idea, you’re royally screwed, no matter how good you smell.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

The bigger the audience the bigger the budget, right? Not so much anymore. Something’s shifting, and it’s not the algorithm. It’s us.

In recent times, younger audiences have been gravitating toward a new breed of creator: the micro-expert. People who actually know things, not just nail aesthetics (no shade.)

I’m not saying influencer marketing is over. I’m saying it grew up, got a PhD, and settled down in a nice townhouse with a family. According to Stack Influence, creators with between 10,000 and 100,000 followers average a 3.86% engagement rate. That's compared with only 1.21% for those over a million. Another study found that micro-influencers can pull 5–10% engagement, while macro-influencers hover around 2–4%.

But it’s not just about engagement, it’s about credibility. This 2025 research paper found that 25.1% of people see micro-influencers as more trustworthy. Bigger creators scored just 13.2%. Simply put: smaller followings mean stronger connections.

1. Authenticity fatigue. We’ve reached peak #ad. There are only so many times someone can “casually” hold a vitamin gummy or lip gloss before it starts to feel like a parody. A dystopian one, at that. Gen Z, in particular, has finely tuned bullsh*t detectors. They can sense a forced collaboration before you can say “campaign".

2. The return of useful content. Creators who teach, explain, or help, even in small ways are winning attention. Why do you think the fitness girlies are doing so well? Despite the obvious shift in body standard from BBL to teeny tiny 90s chic again, we’re in the “from hype to help” era. People don’t want to be sold to. They want to learn something, solve something themselves, or be genuinely entertained.

3. Algorithmic claustrophobia. When everyone’s posting the same trending audio with the same text overlay, it all starts to blur. Micro-experts often ignore the trend treadmill entirely. They instead focus on depth, which ironically makes them stand out.

4. Community over clout. The micro-expert doesn’t talk at their followers, they talk with them. They respond to comments, share niche advice, and remember inside jokes. The result is a kind of digital intimacy that mega-influencers just can’t replicate at scale.

This doesn’t mean you should ghost the macro-influencers entirely, obviously. Awareness still matters. But if you’re chasing conversion, credibility, or cultural relevance? You need to diversify your influencer mix.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

Influencer culture used to run on aspiration, the idea that you followed someone because you kind of… wanted their life. But now, that formula feels outdated. We're now in a world where authenticity, relatability, and self-expression outrank perfection.

According to Morning Consult’s 2024 Gen Z report, over 60% of Gen Z prefer creators who “share useful knowledge or skills” over those who “showcase an aspirational lifestyle". The follower-to-mentor dynamic is replacing the fan-to-idol one.

That’s why TikTok’s favourite voices now sound more like friends or teachers than celebrities. The rise of creators like dermatologists, fitness physiologists, and ADHD coaches all talking in plain language proves people crave competence. Not clout.

This “great unfollow” isn’t rebellion, but evolution.

We’ve grown tired of being advertised at. We’re craving conversation, curiosity, and credibility. It’s not that influencers have lost influence, it’s that the word influence itself now means something else.

So, if your 2026 marketing plan still revolves around a big-name influencer holding your product and smiling for a three-second story frame? You’re already behind bud. The future is small, specific, and smart.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

Until then it's trend plugs to boost our silly little TikTok profiles.

In this clip coming straight out of 2008, Paris Hilton, while at a Dolce & Gabbana boutique opening event in support of non-profit The Art Of Elysium, is interviewed and drops the now-classic "All I want for Christmas is... a pink Bentley".

She's so real for that. It's the perfect anthem for voicing not your want, but your NEED for this holiday season. My favourite examples include "All I want for Christmas is..."

Using the sound, lip-sync with the line "All I want for Christmas is... a pink Bentley", and when you say "pink Bentley", place text of what you actually want as the ultimate Christmas present. 

A few ideas to get you started:

- abdel khalil, brand & marketing executive

😂 Yap’s funniest home videos: Out with the trash
✨Daily inspo: Do what you love, and the rest will come
🎧Soooo tingly: Bubblewrap ASMR
🍝What you should make for dinner tonight: Filipino Sizzling Chicken Sisig

Hey Kieran!

The truth is your great ideas aren't doing you a whole lot of good if they are only becoming one-off videos. A truly good idea will be something you can repeat over and over because it hits on a core human truth that speaks to your audience. So rather than thinking about something that would just be cool to post, you need to come up with a concept you can return to again and again. Then, you need to just get your reps in rather than trying to make each video perfect.

Most successful creators are only good at what they do because they have created thousands of pieces of content. They've failed, learned from that failure, and continued to improve every day. So don't worry about getting everything just right. The most important thing is to keep creating, keep experimenting, and build your content muscle over time. Even if you make some videos that aren't amazing, you're still learning and improving with every piece of content you create.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.