Hi there! 👋🏽

Jocelyn here, while your favorite rockhound, Ciara, takes a well deserved vacation and hopefully, a break from being online; IMO time off social media is particularly important for the Parallel team because we spend so much time on there. And I’m the boss so… luckily what I say goes 😌.

We invest hours pouring over posts (and podcasts, newsletters, etc.) from scores of creators and celebrities, because even with AI tools that measure audience sentiment and brand safety of creators, these people are still just… people, with unpredictable quirks and takes. Authentic partnerships require a deeper understanding of talent, and we’ve yet to find an AI tool that can understand the (I don’t know how else to say this) vibe of a person like another person can. 

But damn, identifying the vibe is tiring! Filling in for Ciara, suddenly a full day slipped away in my Olympics creator deep dive; it was more draining than a day full of IRL meetings. I think anyone in a job requiring this kind of mass analysis of social content should be offered digital detox periods. So, heads up Ciara, when you’re back I’m gonna run for public office and make this my entire platform… speaking of politics, this week we’ve got tales of creators at the DNC, as well as a dream partnership for OfferUp, and an exploration of #goals.

In the oft murky worlds of entertainment and venture, we pride ourselves on giving straightforward takes on thorny issues. Here’s our POV:

Our team spent a lot of time this month going deep on Olympics content (it was for WORK, ok!?). Beyond the standard dazzling feats of athleticism, this year's games felt like the first BTS Olympics, thanks to the 27 person “Creator Collective” to whom NBC offered full media creds and access—and who used that access to showcase everything from the Olympic Village’s cardboard beds to the AC levels in the media hq. 

This strategy is increasingly common, with the Democratic National Convention (the summer’s other blockbuster media event) issuing media badges to 200+ creators (chasing that Gen Z vote, obvs). But, while the playbook is ostensibly the same, the events are quite different… raising questions about the evolving roles of traditional media vs. creators. 

We think about this a lot at Parallel, approaching the question in terms of authenticity and authority. For example: Does a creator have the authority to talk about how sweaty they were on the Paris Metro? Sure! Can that same creator be relied on to report on, say, the nuances of fencing strategy? Maybe not. 

With the DNC, things get even murkier. Government policies shape all of our lives, so creators do have some personal authority to weigh in. But do they have the same authority as journalists in attendance to report on, for example, the fine points of the Democrats’ economic policy platform?

As more and more creators build their own veritable media empires, it’s tempting to think of them as journalists. After all, TikTok is already the primary news source for Gen Z. However, journalists’ superior ability to offer informed, unbiased (hopefully), and nuanced reporting is the result of careful training and adherence to long established journalistic guidelines. As creators become a more ubiquitous part of the news landscape, we’re hoping that organizers and producers continue to see the value in balancing creators with journalists—not replacing them. Ultimately, you probably don’t want the same person offering makeup tips to be the trusted voice on healthcare policy… and vice versa, we’re guessing. 

Welcome to The Brain 🧠, a playground where our team comes up with fantasy talent partnerships for brands we admire. Next on the docket: OfferUp!

Maya here, coordinator at Parallel! Please enjoy my take on this month’s edition of The Brain—as someone who loves shopping second-hand, I had some fun with this one (if you know anyone on OfferUp’s marketing brand team, feel free to send ‘em our way 😉)!

Brand: OfferUp

Talent: Victoria Paris 

Brand Mission: Revolutionizing the local buying and selling experience by providing a user-friendly and secure platform for exchanging goods.

Our assumptions: OfferUp needs to figure out a way to compete with platforms like Facebook Marketplace to be the platform of choice for younger generations of buyers and sellers. 

Why Victoria: Victoria initially started her TikTok to promote her Depop, where she sold her clothes online, but quickly became one of the more well-known lifestyle TikTok creators. Her Gen-Z and largely female audience* follows her for her ~real~ approach to sharing her life and style online, and her quirkiness keeps her followers entertained and inspired. She’s an avid second-hand shopper who loves interior design and has a knack for finding odd, overlooked pieces and turning them into cool, eclectic statement pieces in her spaces. 

Campaign Idea: Victoria is on a mission to redesign a boring space in her home, and she’s partnering with OfferUp to get the job done. She’ll buy and sell everything using their platform while vlogging the whole process, using the app to sell the furniture she no longer wants, and showing off her tips and tricks for finding the perfect statement pieces. At the end of the process, she’ll give a tour of the new space, showing a before and after.

*Audience data pulled from Klear, an influencer marketing platform.

Shoot us any brands you’d like us to cover next—we’re happy to put our brains to work 🫱🏻‍🫲🏽.

We’re serving up data and intel on projects we’ve worked on at Parallel.

Venus x Happy Viking

We’re demystifying talent partnerships by answering the most common questions we get. Class = now in session 👩🏽‍🏫.

Obviously partnering with talent generally offers a bump in awareness and press, but that’s only the beginning. We work with our clients to match their general goals with the various ways we’ve seen talent move the needle—often in ways our clients aren’t thinking of! And while you’re not our client, per se, you’re a friend—so we’ve put together some scenario-based goals you can use if you’re thinking of bringing on talent.

1. A dog food brand is struggling to land key retail accounts and needs something to distinguish itself against a sea of competitors.

   Goal: Distribution in new additional big box retailers by the end of Q3 2025.
   Talent Activity: Attend five meetings with retailers, with a bonus for each retailer that signs. 
   

2. A hair care brand is having trouble reaching a Gen Z audience.
   Goal: $X of sales from new customers in the next quarter.
   Talent Activity: Strategize, creative direct, and promote a six-part TikTok campaign alongside four co-creators, offering royalties on purchases connected to the creators’ dedicated URLs.
   

3. A productivity app has strong brand awareness, but it’s not converting to downloads.

   Goal: Average weekly downloads = X by Q2 2025.
   Talent activity: Post four product-focused Instagram posts per quarter, adding a personalized sign-up link to IG bio. 

The takeaway? Be clear about what exactly you want to achieve with talent, and set specific goals for what success would look like so you can monitor your progress and adjust your strategy accordingly to meet them.

Here are some other goals that talent can help hit: 
Increased order volume, decreased CAC, increased website traffic, increase in social media engagement/reach/followers, organic press pickup, investor recruitment, and increase in brand search volume.

Here’s what we’re paying attention to 🔎:

🔥Snoop’s going Solo… again.

📈PSA: You can’t just optimize your way to a great brand.

☕️Emma Chamberlain’s getting a promotion.

🥳Slumber party at Ludacris’s place!

🚀It’s Kelce Kountry–we’re just living in it.

Enough from us—time for you to take the mic 🎤:

That’s a wrap. See you next month!