Advertising Week New York’s second day at THE PENN DISTRICT centered on creators and entrepreneurs, with Alix Earle, Issa Rae and Remi Bader detailing how their platforms shape their brand and content decisions.

Reale Actives founder Alix Earle said the brand will expand into new categories, without specifying which, and described her approach to brand partnerships: “I’d rather be aligned with five to six brands over the year than one hundred.”

Hoorae founder Issa Rae announced that her company’s new microseries, “The Compatibility Experiment,” premieres October 14 on TikTok and PineDrama, and debuted the first episode at the event. Asked who the show was made for, she said, “My audience is me,” and described the company’s focus on a Black female audience as “bar none the mission and the goal.”

Remi Bader, interviewed by Jason Tartick on his podcast “Trading Secrets,” said Kylie Jenner’s return to YouTube influenced her own move to the platform, and that 60% of her subscribers came through Instagram Stories. Jordyn Woods described how a bag from her brand went viral after she wore it to her husband Karl-Anthony Towns’ Knicks games during a winning streak, calling it “the greatest marketing opportunity I could have ever gotten.”

The creator-focused programming followed an opening day built around the same theme. “Boyfriend Material” host Harry Jowsey joined executives from Snap Inc., Influencer, and Tubi to discuss how Snap Stars build relationships with their audiences, crediting Snapchat as central to his career and useful for behind-the-scenes content while filming “Let’s Marry Harry.” Jowsey said he tries to maximize his watch time on the platform, calling it “the greatest metric for creators.” Advertising Week New York’s inaugural Chief Creator Officer Dhar Mann also opened the week by unveiling the “$100M Creator Challenge” with radio host Big Boy, an initiative meant to spur new creator and brand partnerships over the course of the event.

Photo credit: Sarah Merians Photography for Advertising Week New York

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