From trends to industry changes, consider this your debrief on everything that went down last month. 

Hit “Read Online” (top right) or “View Entire Message” (bottom of email) to read it all.

For You, For Real: TikTok Trends You Can’t Miss

Need a spark for your next post or just a cheeky mid-arvo laugh? We’ve pulled together the latest viral TikTok moments and trends you’ll want on your radar.

Trending Instagram Content 

Whether perfectly polished or gloriously thrown together, here’s what’s been lighting up our Instagram feed lately.

Ivy Talent Co News

Cooking, creating, thrifting & celebrating - our Ivy Talent Co creators have been owning the last month 🙌

• Veronica Wnuk @vewnuk, was featured in New Idea, discussing all things cooking and grocery shopping tips. Plus, she shared a delicious Tassie Barramundi Tray-Bake with Fennel and Leek recipe.

• Upcycling Queen, Jaharn Quinn @jaharnquinn, was featured in The Guardian, sharing her go-to tricks for transforming and thrifting furniture treasures.

• From her little kitchen to yours, Melanie Lionello @frommylittlekitchen, appeared on Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield, cooking up a savoury olive oil crostata with tomato and goat’s cheese.

• Georgia Quinn @okwithmyhands hosted an op-Shop Bus tour, sponsored by Oakwood. The thrift trip is live - hop on board and check it out here!

• Mandy Maiorano @madeby.mandy made her 20 Minute Prawn and Tomato Linguine on Channel 7’s Reel talk.

• Jaharn Quinn’s Dream Home DIY book officially launched on September 16 and is now available to purchase.

• Emily Seebohm @emcbomb is set to compete in the next season of UK CELEBRITY SAS - we’re already cheering you on Emily!

For more information on Ivy Talent Co creators, unique and aligned brand partnership opportunities or media enquiries, please reach out to the team via [email protected].

Ivy Talent Co Event: Brisbane Talent Dinner

Ivy Talent Co recently hosted a perfectly curated talent dinner in Brisbane at OTTO Ristorante, bringing together their incredible Queensland-based talent for an evening of connection, conversation and celebration.

These talent dinners are coming soon to Melbourne and Sydney - get in touch if you’d like to partner for the next event!

A huge thank you to our partners who helped make the evening unforgettable:

• Venue & Food: OTTO Ristorante Brisbane
  

• Styling: House of Harvey Co
  

• Florals: Aurora Floral Studio
  

• Wine: Calabria Family Wines

  Book your next function at OTTO Ristorante Brisbane

Important Social Media Updates

In the fast-moving world of social media, the last month brought its own share of shifts and surprises. From industry updates to metric changes, here are all the recent updates you need to know for social media success:

YouTube

They say trends come in waves, but did YouTube ever really go out of style? After its heyday in the 2010s, when beauty gurus and lifestyle creators ruled the video scene, the platform is reclaiming its spot as a leading social media destination. YouTube has remained a dominant force in the digital landscape, continually evolving to meet the needs of both creators and audiences alike. Here’s a recap of their latest updates to make sure you’re staying ahead of the curve.

• Monetisation Updates: only original, authentic content earns. Say goodbye to repetitive and mass-produced clips.

• Youtube Studio Updates: YouTube Studio has added smarter tools for creators: collaborate, optimise with AI-powered insights, test content, and enhance videos. Expanded likeness detection now helps manage AI-generated content across the platform.

• Youtube Live Updates: Dual-format streams, Practice Mode, and Playables like Snake Clash and Trivia Crack.

• Youtube Music Updates: Pre-save countdowns, exclusive content, and behind-the-scenes access for fans.

• Brand Partnerships Updates: Streamlined deals and shopping features integrated directly into videos.

Your reading list for this month

Each month, we’ll bring you a curated mix of industry news, insights and reports to keep you in the loop with the latest in talent, social media and marketing.

1 - ‘Inside the Secret Machine That Shapes Public Perception’

The celebrity-industrial complex has entered a hyper-digital age, where public perception can be shaped, or weaponised, on a massive scale. Crisis PR today goes beyond managing magazine covers; it involves influencing algorithms, engaging key influencers, and mobilising digital networks to control the narrative.

Key insights: 

• Influencers as New Gatekeepers: Anonymous social media accounts, fan communities and creators now shape public perception as much as traditional journalists. Ignoring them risks losing narrative control.

• Digital “Armies” and Social Manipulation: Companies like TrollToll provide paid social media amplification, trolling, and content seeding, blurring lines between PR and artificial influence.

• Cultural Timing Matters: Even sophisticated crisis campaigns depend on broader cultural currents. Exploiting moments in public sentiment- e.g., backlash against #MeToo- can make or break a narrative.

• Ethical Grey Zones: Crisis PR operates along a spectrum; some practices involve ethically murky tactics, outsourced bot campaigns, or engagement with politically aligned influencers. Transparency is rare.

• Algorithmic Amplification: Social media, Reddit, and TikTok have turbocharged the speed and scale of scandals, making reputations more volatile than ever.

• From Courtrooms to Content Streams: Legal proceedings are increasingly curated for online consumption, turning lawsuits into narrative opportunities. Publicists coordinate access, media strategy, and selective information disclosure.

2 - Creator Marketing is entering its ‘era of efficacy’

This quick read dives into CreatorIQ’s sixth-annual State of Creator Marketing Report. The report surveyed over 1,700 brands, agencies, and creators to explore how influencer marketing is evolving in 2025, highlighting shifts in budgets, platform use, creator selection, AI adoption and the growing divide between brand and creator priorities.

Key Insights:

• Budgets Soar: Influencer marketing budgets jumped 171% in a single year, surpassing the combined growth of the previous three years, showing brands’ growing reliance on creator-led strategies.

• Micro-Influencers Rising: Brands are prioritising “fit over follower count.” Airbnb’s micro-influencer campaigns drove an estimated 30% increase in bookings, proving smaller audiences can deliver meaningful impact.

• Brand Safety & Performance: 74% of enterprise respondents now rank brand safety as a top concern, and vetting creators effectively remains the biggest challenge. Content performance and creator diversity are key selection factors.

• AI Integration: While 69% of brands aim to automate creator relations using AI, human oversight remains critical for partnership management, brainstorming, and authenticity. Most creators (95%) use AI for content creation but resist letting it replace their voice or likeness.

• Platform Shifts: TikTok’s uncertain future has agencies turning to YouTube, which overtook TikTok as the most-used platform this year. Instagram remains the main content creation hub, while nearly all brands (98%) repurpose content across multiple channels.

This Just In: News from our agency portfolio

Who said three’s a crowd? In case you missed it, Free Folk Agency and Ivy Talent Co. launched a brand new sibling agency - Steady Ground.

Focused on corporate communications, Steady Ground is built on a clear promise: to protect reputation while keeping the bigger picture in focus, anticipating needs and driving continuous growth and forward momentum. Covering stakeholder engagement, media strategy, crisis management and social media, true to its name, Steady Ground offers a reliable foundation in a fast-moving communications landscape.

For more information, or if you are looking to break steady ground yourself, reach out to our Agency Director Madison West on [email protected].

Wider/Global Pop Culture Moments and Trends

From Red Carpet to Real Issues: Hannah Einbinder at the Emmys

At the 77th Emmy Awards, Hacks star Hannah Einbinder won her first Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, delivering one of the night’s most talked-about moments. In her acceptance speech, she thanked her collaborators and co-star Jean Smart before closing with the bold sign-off: “Go Birds, f**** ICE, and free Palestine.” While part of her statement was censored on air, the message sparked widespread discussion online, highlighting a growing trend of performers using major award platforms to spotlight political and social issues, reflecting how entertainment ceremonies are evolving into spaces for activism as much as celebration.

In a follow-up interview with Vogue, Einbinder explained the thought process behind her Emmy speech, saying: “I felt it was important to try to speak to the things that I care most about, and that happens to be the Philadelphia Eagles and fighting fascism.” Her response reflects the blending of humour, personal identity, and political conviction that shaped her remarks, underscoring how performers increasingly balance levity with activism in high-visibility moments.

For audiences, these moments blur the line between entertainment and politics, sparking debate over whether award shows should stick to celebration or lean into activism. Turns out the biggest win of the night can be the message, not the trophy.

Taylor Swift’s Life of a Showgirl: An Album, A Film, A Moment

The wait is over! Taylor Swift released her highly anticipated 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, and she gave fans even more to celebrate with an accompanying film. True to everything Taylor does, this was more than an album drop, it was an all-out event.

It’s not your typical film, the 89-minute treat is bursting with a music video, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and playful commentary, all celebrating her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl.

She lit up screens on The Graham Norton Show (Oct. 3), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (Oct. 6), and on Late Night with Seth Meyers (Oct. 8).

In an interview with Zane Lowe, Swift spoke with calm confidence about embracing the unpredictable nature of fame and the release cycle. “I welcome the chaos,” she said, acknowledging the noise that surrounds any major album drop. For her, it’s all part of it, “The rule of show business is if it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping.” Rather than shying away from public discourse, she accepts it as part of the art’s impact and her responsibility as an artist.

“I know what I made, I know I adore it.” Well, so do we, and let’s just say, the adoration is mutual.

Haute Off the Press: Vogue's New Edition with Malle

After Anna Wintour’s 37-year tenure, Chloe Malle has stepped in as Head of Editorial Content at Vogue, marking a notable leadership transition. Under her direction, the magazine appears to be evolving toward a closer integration of media and PR, with covers increasingly functioning as curated campaigns that reposition stars and influence the cultural conversation. Malle’s editorial approach frames each issue as a communications opportunity, where image-making intersects with broader brand strategy.

The Met Gala remains one of the world’s most anticipated fashion events, and it will be interesting to observe whether Vogue’s structural changes affect the presentation and coverage of the spectacle. While long-standing figures within the company, including the “Prada-wearing devil,” continue to hold influence, Malle’s leadership introduces a new dynamic. She has emphasised a commitment to “fostering the true cross-platform plurality that our audience craves and demands,” signalling the magazine’s focus on digital and multi-platform engagement.

Anna Wintour has long been a central figure at Vogue, shaping both the magazine’s direction and its identity. Her influence extends beyond the role of Editor-in-Chief, having cultivated a personal brand that is closely intertwined with the publication itself.

With a digital-first approach and an ability to adapt to the changing media landscape, it will be interesting to see how Malle guides Vogue beyond the established identity shaped by Anna Wintour, positioning the publication not just as a magazine but as a broader cultural communications platform.

Marketing Moments

Mini Mics, Major Impact: Miu Miu’s Genius Launch Strategy

Miu Miu has executed a marketing triumph with their latest Miutine perfume launch by sending creators sleek, branded mini microphones. This smart, on-trend gesture not only elevated the unboxing experience but also guaranteed organic, high-quality visibility - every creator who received a mic showcased it in their content, effectively turning each post into a stylish, ready-made promotion without the brand having to push a single extra piece of content.

By tapping into the influencer trend of mini mics as a must-have content tool, Miu Miu seamlessly merged product marketing with lifestyle storytelling. The campaign brilliantly leverages the creators’ own reach, making the perfume launch instantly shareable, highly engaging, and impossible to ignore. It’s a textbook example of effortless PR genius: thoughtful, fashionable, and perfectly aligned with how content is created and consumed today.

Strike a Pose: Tezza Brings Its Pop-Up Magic to NYC

We were obsessed with the Tezza activation following New York Fashion Week! For three days, the iconic Café at 238 Lafayette became the ultimate playground for creatives, perfectly blending the digital and physical worlds. On Friday, ice cream was served, while bagels took over Saturday and Sunday, giving visitors a tasty reason to linger at the Photo Booth pop-up.

The activation also gave guests the chance to shop Tezza Magazine Issue No. 2, ‘Your Dreams Are Chasing You’ - a stunning celebration of creatives and a heartfelt reflection on the very reason the brand was born. But what really made this pop-up shine? It wasn’t just the treats or the magazine, it was the way Tezza brought their signature editing tools and aesthetic to life in real space. How often do you get to physically step inside the world of a digital app and make it your own?

Physical brand activations aren’t new, but Tezza’s pop-up? Totally picture perfect. Seeing digital creativity leap off the screen and into real life, is this what the future of brand engagement looks like?