The Outloud Group

We acquired two talent agencies at the same time. It’s been a bit like getting two puppies. (That's my puppy below, so I know a thing or two about this...) Yeah, you 𝘤𝘢𝘯 walk them at the same time. You 𝙘𝙖𝙣 feed them together. But just when one is calm and napping, the other is going berserk and chewing the couch leg. Okay, okay, things aren’t 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 like that...and we’re talking about very talented professionals not dogs…but the reality is that doing a double M&A 𝘩𝘢𝘴 had its challenges, but I’m honestly loving it. Because every time we pause to figure out how to collaborate better on one thing (or set a new boundary, or write a clearer playbook) we’re not just solving for today. We’re setting up something way more sustainable for tomorrow. That’s also how we’re making sure that both brands 𝘢𝘯𝘥 talent win: 🔹 Our 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 team has one job: help partners win, hit goals, and run smart, measurable campaigns. 🔹 Our 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 team has one job: help creators grow sustainable income and build a career they’re proud of. Two different teams. Two different agencies. One shared value system. And when those teams collaborate — it’s all about removing friction. No games. No “song and dance.” No vague promises. If a request comes in while on a call, an agreement can happen in real-time. No wasted hours chasing 10% leads. No confusion about where things stand. That doesn’t mean we have it all figured out. I was literally in Slack the other week sorting out cross-agency comms. Should we be in separate instances? Shared channels? What's the cleanest way to get everyone what they need? These aren’t headaches. They’re signs that we’re doing something ambitious — and worth doing right. The better we get at this now, the better we’ll be able to serve both brands and creators. And the good news is that “puppies” grow up, settle in, and become our best friends. And the stories still make us smile years later… — 👋 I’m Brad. I lead The Outloud Group, where we build high-performing influencer programs for brands *and* help creators grow meaningful, sustainable careers. 💬 If you’ve ever tried raising two puppies at once — or two agencies — would love to swap war stories.

💡 ¿Cómo diseñamos campañas de influencer marketing que realmente funcionan? 1️⃣ Estrategia basada en datos: Analizamos a fondo a tu audiencia objetivo para conectar tu marca con los creadores que realmente convierten. 2️⃣ Gestión 360° sin fricción: Desde la negociación y los contratos hasta la aprobación del contenido y el análisis de métricas. Nos encargamos de todo el proceso operativo. 3️⃣ Enfoque en resultados y ROI: Medimos lo que importa: conversiones, engagement real, alcance cualificado y retorno de inversión claro. Ya sea que busques posicionar un nuevo producto, aumentar tus ventas o dominar la conversación en tu industria, el contenido auténtico de los creadores correctos es tu mejor activo. 🎯 ¿Listo para escalar tus campañas de influencer marketing con una agencia experta? 👉 Hablemos de tu próxima campaña: https://lnkd.in/gqYxvJ6p

NewFronts means new YouTube opportunities! YouTube for Business is continuing to invest in creator marketing on the original storytelling platform. As part of their 2026 NewFront event, YouTube announced its Creator Partnership API. We're also excited to share we've worked to integrate this into our YouTube work at The Outloud Group, as a preferred YouTube partner. This means first party data access for all our brand partners' creator selection, campaigns, and reporting needs. It empowers creator first marketing at every stage of the campaign lifecycle and more: ✅ Creator discovery & selection via accurate audience demographic data ✅ Three million and growing vetted creators opted in ✅ Streamlined organic vs. paid reporting ✅ Reliable, renewable, and evergreen storytelling at scale #YouTubeCreatorPartnershipsAPI #ScaleYourStory

A lot of people feel uncomfortable with AI-generated ads. But I don’t think they’re the villain. I guess from the outside, AI can look like a shortcut, or like it’s taking away from someone. But in practice, they’re a useful tool… When 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳. We’ve even used AI to create ads for MuskOx, our flannel brand, and I feel great about it. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁: ❌ “Set it and forget it” creative ❌ A replacement for real creator voices ❌ A license to mimic or steal someone’s likeness or signature style 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 about AI — and how we use it today: AI speeds up production timelines, allows us to test variations quickly, sparks different ideas and approaches, and stretches budgets 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 pretending that AI person is a real person. If a creator isn’t above board with what’s real and what’s AI, that’s a problem….and a line has been crossed. I get why brands and creators are both very excited and a little cautious; everyone wants great efficient content without crossing lines. But you’ve got to be smart to not erode trust. Here’s the simple guardrails we follow: 1️⃣ Be above board -- If AI touched the creative, say so. 2️⃣ Innovate…Don’t impersonate -- Are you a brand Inspired by a creator? Great. Hire them, collaborate with them, or use as inspiration…but if you’re using creators as inspiration be sure to add your own value and spin. 3️⃣ Use AI for production or as actors, but don’t represent AI as a real person. Storyboards, alt cuts, backgrounds = ✅. Fake AI “humans” who create a following and endorse products = 🚫. 4️⃣ Keep endorsements human. Recommendations come from real creators. Always. 5️⃣ Close the loop. Share comps early, align on brief and disclosures, then ship. Do this, and AI ads become 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 without eroding trust. That’s the balance we’re after: modern tools, human relationships.

Before the holidays I read an article that I’m still thinking about and is shaping how I talk about Youtube to my clients. A lot of people talk about YouTube like it’s the least exciting of the social platforms: it’s not as pretty as Instagram, it’s not seen as the calling card of Gen Z like TikTok, and it’s not getting credit for impacting the last presidential election like podcasts. But if you care about data… it paints a completely different picture. PEW Research Center found that YouTube isn’t just the most-used platform among U.S. adults. It’s also the most-used platform among teens. And it’s one of the few platforms with strong daily usage across 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 age group. As a marketer, that feels foundational. What excites me about YouTube isn’t just its scale. It’s the “stickiness” that lives on the platform. It’s true that the content doesn’t disappear after 24 hours, but the real “stickiness” comes from followers that really care about the creator. These followers watch a creator over months and years — generally at 8-10 minutes a pop — and develop a true affinity. Creators build a real following that cares about them as people rather than the face behind a one-off source of entertainment. And Shorts offer all the pros of short-form content that we’ve come to love (and hate) as a society. Put all that together, and this makes YouTube a prime platform for audience trust. When brands treat YouTube as a place for one-off activations, they miss the bigger opportunity. The real value shows up when you think long-term : consistent creators, consistent storytelling, consistent presence. So for any brand out there looking to make an impact with influencers, I’d avoid asking the “Where can we go viral?” Instead, I’d ask, “Where does our audience already spend time, and how do we earn a seat at the table?” More often than not, YouTube is still part of that answer.

Every year, there’s a lot of noise about 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯. But the data tells a more surprising story. According to Pew Research, 84% 𝗼𝗳 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲 and 71% 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸. Not casually. Habitually. Those platforms haven’t faded. And those numbers have stayed remarkably stable over time. That matters. It suggests that people haven’t abandoned these platforms. They’ve built habits around them. And habits are where trust tends to live. I see brands rush to add new channels before they’ve really earned their place on the ones their audience already uses every week, or even every day. So my encouragement is simple: Before you chase the next thing, look closely at where your customers already are, and ask whether you’re showing up there consistently, thoughtfully, and with the right partners. Always think: Depth before breadth. That’s how brands earn trust.