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Welcome back to another edition of The Marketer’s Playbook! In today’s edition:

• LinkedIn Wants Brands and Creators to Share the Spotlight

• Meet Symphony: TikTok’s AI Marketing Agent

• Walmart Makes a Billion-Dollar Bet on Streaming Ads

• Instagram Is Testing Its TV Show Era

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THE ROUND UP

Rounding up the most important marketing news of the week

LinkedIn Wants Brands and Creators to Share the Spotlight

LinkedIn is testing a new Collab Posts feature that lets creators and brands co-author content, making partnerships more visible and expanding their reach to both audiences. Similar to collaboration features on other social platforms, the tool reflects LinkedIn’s growing focus on the creator economy and influencer marketing. As more professionals build personal brands, LinkedIn is evolving beyond networking into a platform where creators, businesses, and thought leaders can collaborate more seamlessly. The move signals that professional content is increasingly following the same playbook as consumer social media.

Meet Symphony: TikTok’s AI Marketing Agent

TikTok has introduced Symphony Agent, an AI-powered assistant designed to help brands create, manage, and optimize advertising campaigns. The tool can generate creative ideas, produce content, and recommend campaign improvements, reducing the time and expertise needed to launch ads. Built into TikTok’s Symphony AI suite, it reflects the platform’s push toward automating marketing workflows. The bigger trend is clear: advertising platforms are evolving from places where brands buy media into AI-powered partners that help plan, create, and optimize campaigns from start to finish.

Walmart Makes a Billion-Dollar Bet on Streaming Ads

Walmart has acquired streaming ad-tech company Vibe in a deal reportedly valued at more than $1 billion, strengthening its position in the rapidly growing connected TV advertising market. Often described as the "Google Ads of streaming," Vibe helps businesses buy and manage TV ads across multiple streaming platforms. The acquisition expands Walmart’s retail media ambitions, combining its shopper data with Vibe’s ad technology to offer brands more targeted, measurable campaigns. The move underscores a broader shift in advertising, as retailers increasingly compete with traditional media companies by turning their customer data into powerful ad businesses.

Instagram Is Testing Its TV Show Era

Instagram is experimenting with a new format for long-form, episodic storytelling, allowing creators to publish serialized content that unfolds over multiple posts. The feature is designed to encourage deeper audience engagement and give creators new ways to build recurring narratives beyond short-form Reels and Stories. By supporting episode-based content, Instagram is edging closer to entertainment platforms while giving creators more tools to keep audiences returning. The test reflects a broader trend across social media: platforms are increasingly investing in longer-form content to boost watch time, strengthen creator loyalty, and compete for attention beyond quick-scroll videos.

NEWS BITES

Everything else you need to know

• YouTube Powers AI: YouTube creator content appears in over 25% of AI chatbot responses, becoming a major source for AI-generated answers.

• Meta Booking Ads: Meta is adding integrated appointment booking to lead ads, making it easier for customers to schedule directly from ads.

• Google Spam Update: Google has released its June 2026 spam update to improve search quality by reducing spammy content in search results.

• California Bans Loud Ads: Streaming services in California must reduce excessively loud ads under a new law taking effect July 1.

• Custom Algorithm Controls: Threads, Instagram, and TikTok are expanding customizable algorithm controls, giving users more say over what appears in their feeds.

CAMPAIGN MONITOR

Review recent and note-worthy marketing campaigns

Eataly — “The Piazza”

Eataly has launched The Piazza, a new campaign starring Alessandro Del Piero that celebrates the communal spirit of Italian food and culture. Inspired by the traditional town square, the campaign positions Eataly as more than a grocery or restaurant, it’s a place where people gather, connect, and share experiences. Featuring one of Italy’s most iconic athletes reinforces the brand’s heritage while broadening its appeal to a global audience. The campaign reflects a growing marketing trend of selling lifestyle and culture alongside products, turning retail spaces into destinations built around experience and community.

Kalshi x Timothée Chalamet — “Synth”

Timothée Chalamet fronts a new campaign for Kalshi, bringing Hollywood star power to one of the fastest-growing names in prediction markets. Rather than focusing on finance or trading, the campaign leans into curiosity and cultural relevance, positioning Kalshi as a platform where people can engage with real-world events through regulated prediction markets. By pairing a high-profile actor with an emerging financial product, Kalshi is aiming to broaden its appeal beyond traders and introduce prediction markets to a mainstream audience. The campaign signals how fintech brands are increasingly borrowing the storytelling and celebrity-driven playbook of consumer marketing to build awareness.

THANK YOU FOR READING

We will see you again next week!