The Magic Triangle: Creating Social Content with Celebrities, Influencers, & Brands -- Karyn Spencer (SVP Partnerships, Whalar)

All Things Video

Karyn Spencer is the SVP, Partnerships for Whalar, a full service influencer marketing agency. Karyn started her career at a talent agency and then worked as Ashton Kutcher’s assistant, helping him in the race against CNN to reach 1M Twitter followers. Over the next 5 years, she worked her way up to VP of Production and then transitioned into talent management with Chris Lighty at Violator Management. She later served as Director of Communications for Tyra Banks, VP of Brands at theAudience, and Head of Creator Development for Vine. Most recently, she served as VP of Hello Lab for AT&T and Director of Talent Partnerships and Influencer Marketing for Target.

In this episode, Karyn shares what she calls the “magic triangle” for creating impactful social content: bringing together traditional celebrities, influencers, and brands. She recounts early social media lessons from her days helping Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks grow their Twitter, Facebook, and Vine followings to working with Chris Lighty to position musicians as brand ambassadors, such as the incredibly successful 50 Cent and Vitamin Water collaboration. We also discuss the Vine founders’ ambition to build a messaging service, and we draw some interesting parallels to Snapchat’s growth as a hybrid content creation and social messaging platform. Finally, we examine recent examples of celebrities adopting social media and offer some predictions for the future of influencer marketing and branded content.

Host: James Creech

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ABOUT THE SHOW

All Things Video is a podcast dedicated to uncovering the past and charting the future of the online video ecosystem. Listen to interviews with founders, executives, and thought leaders from the world’s leading media companies and engage in thought-provoking debates about the issues shaping the next generation of entertainment. From the short-form content revolution to the fragmentation of video viewership in an always-on world, All Things Video reveals the key trends and insights from the world of digital media.

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ABOUT THE HOST

James Creech is an entrepreneur focused on technology, online video, and digital media. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of Paladin, the essential influencer marketing platform for media companies, agencies, and brands.