Brendan Gahan

With over 18 years of experience, Brendan Gahan is a renowned leader in social media advertising, influencer marketing, and the creator economy. As a former Partner & Chief Social Officer at Mekanism, he significantly contributed to the agency’s growth and innovation, playing a key role in its acquisition by Plus Co in 2022.

Gahan has been a pioneer in influencer marketing, leading one of the first YouTube/influencer activations in 2006. He also founded Epic Signal, a prominent influencer marketing agency, which was acquired by Mekanism in 2015. 

He is an active investor/advisor in the creator economy and advertising sectors, contributing to companies such as Stan, Little Chonk, Orca, Glystn, and Trendpop (acquired). Additionally, he serves as a scout for Bessemer Venture Partners and Lunar X.

His industry involvement extends to his role as a VidCon Advisory Board member and as a co-host of the Creator Economy Live podcast. He was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2012, and his agency was recognized as Digiday’s Digital Video Agency of the Year in 2017.

Recognized as a LinkedIn Top Voice, Gahan's deep understanding of social media and influencer marketing has not only earned him a following of over 125k on TikTok but has also led to features in major publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, The Guardian, Ad Age, and CNBC.

Advisory Board Member  

𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝟱𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀. 

That's a lot of new faces. So let me reintroduce myself.

I've been in the creator space for nearly two decades. My first brand deal with YouTubers? 2006.

Since then I've worked with the Olympics, Pepsi, Unilever, Chevy, and even the Obama administration. For most of my career, I was behind the scenes.

Then in 2020, I posted to LinkedIn every day for a year. What I saw reminded me of the early YouTube days. This is still a nascent creator ecosystem with massive untapped potential.

So I scratched that entrepreneurial itch again.

A little over two years ago, I co-founded Creator Authority. We were the first influencer marketing agency really focused on LinkedIn That's probably how I first came onto your radar.

20 years after my first YouTube brand deal, I'm doing the same thing here on LinkedIn. Different platform. Similar opportunity.

And we're just getting started.

Thanks for the follow. 🙏

CEO/Co-Founder Of Creator Authority (Influencer Marketing Agency)

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱'𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀?

Keith Bendes and I sat down with Jessica Dove, Director of Social Media and Influencer Marketing at MGM Resorts, for the latest Creator Economy Live episode.

Jess has been with MGM for over 10 years. She runs influencer programs across Aria, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and more.

That's not one brand. That's a portfolio of properties. Each has a distinct audience, different voice, nuanced set of expectations from creators.

We got into the operational realities of running creator programs inside a massive organization:
• How to handle influencer partnerships across a diverse portfolio?
• What does creator selection look like at scale?
• How have the strategies evolved over a decade?
• What role do experiences and events play vs. everyday content?

We also caught up on some of the biggest creator news from the week:
• MrBeast + Salesforce at the Super Bowl
• The NFL hosted 160+ creators during Super Bowl week
• The mystery behind BoyThrob, the viral TikTok boy band 
  
If you're building or scaling an influencer function inside a large organization, this one's worth your time.

🎧 Link to the full episode👇

Open article: The Strategy Behind MGM’s Influencer Empire with Jessica Dove by open.spotify.com

The Strategy Behind MGM’s Influencer Empire with Jessica Dove

Jim Louderback

I’ve spent more than 30 years building what came next in media, technology, and the creator economy... from early digital video to the global communities and events shaping today’s industry.

I took Revision3 from scrappy startup to one of the first successful YouTube networks and then sold it to Discovery. I then led VidCon’s growth from a single conference to a global phenomenon with more than a million in-person and virtual participants and led its strategic sale to Paramount. Along the way I’ve focused on scaling businesses, shaping communities, and creating platforms that help others thrive.

Today I publish Inside the Creator Economy, a weekly LinkedIn newsletter read by tens of thousands of brand leaders, creators, executives, and strategists around the world. I also design and curate content for some of the creator economy’s leading events: from Dubai and London to Las Vegas, San Francisco, Singapore, China and beyond, shaping and hosting conversations people remember.

If you’re building in the creator economy, running an event, or trying to make sense of what’s next in media and tech, I’m here to help.

Editor and Publisher 

▪ Write "Inside the Creator Economy Newsletter" - read by 27,000 weekly.
▪ Develope curate and co-host events globally, including "Creator World" in Singapore, Creator Lab at NAB 
▪ Host the "Verified" stage at WebSummit focused on the creator economy
▪ Facilitate and moderate think-tanks, salons and masterclasses for social media execs and creator economy leaders globally
▪ Moderate fireside chats and panels at exclusive corporate events
▪ Strategy consulting with top clients on the future of the creator economy 
▪ Keynote speaking on creator economy, technology and AI, including at Social Media Marketing World, VidCon and more.
▪ Current Active Boards: Creator Authority, Motom, Virtualness, Atmosfy, Influencers.Club, SuperFans, AugX Labs, Creable, Open Sauce, Roll

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The Battle

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Engagements

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Brendan Gahan's LinkedIn Performance

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