KIMP’s Picks September 5th: Weekly Highlights In Design, Marketing, AI, & More
The end of another busy week means it’s time for your social media recap. After all, you can’t let FOMO daunt you! You need to catch up on all the AI and social media buzz that is likely to shift the world of tech and your workflow in the coming weeks. How do you do that without spending all your weekend doomscrolling? Enter KIMP’s Picks.
KIMP’s Picks is our weekly roundup of social media buzz, shareworthy posts handpicked to give you a quick glimpse of the week that flew by. So, now it’s time for the KIMP’s Picks September 5th Edition. Without further ado, let’s get the ball rolling!
In the Marketing Realm
When Pepsi tapped into the creator marketing trend
We’ve been highlighting the growth of the creator economy and the rising popularity of creator marketing in several of our blog posts. Google recently shared a case study reinforcing this based on Pepsico’s use of creator marketing.
Pepsico partnered with 169 content creators, giving them creative freedom to make unique, often humorous, cooking videos. The strategy paid off big, leading to significant growth for the brand on YouTube.
The highlight here is that instead of focusing on creators with the most followers, they chose those with a genuine connection to their audiences. By treating creators like creative directors and letting them lead the content, they made authentic and engaging videos. That’s a valuable lesson for brands to take away from Pepsico’s success story.
LinkedIn says that the B2B marketing measurement playbook is changing
In a recent post, LinkedIn delved into some of the significant changes in B2B measurement. Reportedly, B2B marketers are rethinking how they measure success. Instead of chasing vanity metrics or scrambling to justify budgets, the focus is shifting toward real business outcomes. That means linking campaigns to revenue, pipeline, and customer lifetime value, not just clicks and leads.
That’s a good sign. However, we cannot ignore the unique challenges that come with B2B marketing, like long sales cycles and fragmented tools. Amidst this, misaligned teams make ROI tough to prove. Research shows 90% of executives see a gap between marketing and sales priorities. But when both sides align, companies see over 200% more revenue growth and faster expansion.
Accordingly, LinkedIn recommends a four-phase measurement strategy for B2B marketing teams. So, if you are looking to fill the gaps in your B2B marketing strategy, this is a great read!
WhatsApp taps into the power of relatable storytelling
The next post we have for you is a creative marketing campaign that demonstrates the power of relatable storytelling. This new ad from WhatsApp features Adam Brody and Adam Scott orchestrating a chaotic surprise party via group chat.
The ad puts a spotlight on WhatsApp’s improved group features, like alerts and reactions, while underscoring how messaging on the platform is more functional and reliable than SMS.
Instead of a dry traditional product demo format, the ad leans on a funny, chaotic scenario everyone knows – trying to plan a group event. Humor, split-screen storytelling, and the casting of relatable actors make the ad memorable.
Reactive marketing that targets the Gen Z audience
Reacting to the relevant trends is one of the most effective ways to connect with a specific audience segment. For instance, trends that work with Gen Z might not always resonate with millennials and vice versa. One such recent trend is the popularity of the TV show, The Summer I Turned Pretty, among the Gen Z audience. Several brands have been jumping on the trend and piggybacking on the popularity of the show.
ADWEEK shared a post discussing some of the brilliant campaigns created in partnership with The Summer I Turned Pretty.
From fashion brands releasing the show-themed merchandise to the rise of teen-centric products aligning with the popularity of the show, the post digs deep into some popular instances of trendjacking.
Perplexity’s unique brand partnership strategy
Earlier AI startup Perplexity announced a partnership with an Indian mobile service provider, Airtel, providing users with a free Perplexity Pro subscription. After their strategic partnership to target the Indian market, they are expanding their attention to the US market with their partnership with PayPal and Venmo.
Reportedly, PayPal users can claim a free year of Perplexity Pro and early access to the AI-powered Comet browser directly in the app; global users in eligible markets can activate via PayPal at checkout.
Their clever region-focused strategies and partnerships give valuable lessons in picking the right brand partners to drive better results.
In the Content Marketing Realm
LEGO leverages content marketing
LEGO’s recent Never Stop Playing campaign is a masterclass in content marketing. Instead of directly promoting its products, the brand tells a story through Tom Holland, who plays nine different characters to highlight how imagination fuels every stage of life.
This short film has received a warm welcome on social media. The creative choice of connecting through entertaining content and featuring a well-loved actor helps the brand deliver its core message effectively.
YouTube emerges as a leader in the video-first future
Talking about content marketing, video is undoubtedly one of the most popular content formats preferred both by marketers and consumers. In this video-first trend, YouTube is reportedly emerging as the leader.
A new Kantar study shows just how deeply video now shapes consumer habits in the U.S. Nearly 70% say they’d rather learn through video than text or audio, with preferences strongest in how-to content like cooking or building. Video has evolved beyond entertainment into a trusted source of learning, shopping, and decision-making.
In a post recently shared, YouTube highlights that the platform leads across all four, outperforming rivals from Netflix to TikTok. Its strength lies in creators: 83% of Gen Z prefer creator-made content over studio productions, and 82% of viewers overall see YouTube creators as the most trusted voices.
In the Design Realm
Clever use of a pop culture moment
Humane Canada and the Toronto Humane Society launched Man’s True Best Friend, an OOH campaign that reimagined Sabrina Carpenter’s chart-topping album Man’s Best Friend. Instead of music, the stars were adoptable dogs, each one positioned as worthy of a top spot on the charts.
One of the notable design details is how the brand aligned the outdoor ad design with the original album cover for cohesiveness with the theme. The elegant script font amplifies the message and instantly grabs attention. On the whole, it shows how the smallest details make the biggest impact in designing outdoor ads.
A new name and refreshed identity for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
In honor of Blood Cancer Awareness Month, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has rebranded as Blood Cancer United. This new identity aims to be more inclusive and welcoming to all individuals affected by various types of blood cancer.
The visual identity features a simple yet powerful blood droplet motif, cleverly shaped from the “U” in “United,” symbolizing the organization’s commitment to all blood cancer types.
Beyond the visuals, the new brand has a clear and compassionate tone of voice, rooted in real stories to create meaningful connections. The custom font, BC United Sans, adds to a clean and approachable aesthetic.
This rebrand is a powerful example of how an organization can use design to signal a fundamental shift in its mission.
In the AI Realm
OpenAI’s Realtime API is now generally available
OpenAI has made its Realtime API generally available, giving developers the right tools to build production-ready voice agents. Notably, the update introduces support for remote MCP servers, image inputs, and phone integration via Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). These features make it easier to extend agents with new tools, ground conversations in visuals, and connect with traditional phone systems.
GPT Realtime is OpenAI’s most advanced speech-to-speech model yet. According to OpenAI, it produces more natural, expressive speech, follows complex instructions with greater precision, and handles multi-language scenarios smoothly.
It also outperforms earlier models in reasoning, instruction-following, and function calling. OpenAI has updated the model with two new voices for better real-time deployments in various segments.
OpenAI rolls out the Project feature to free ChatGPT users
The Projects feature on ChatGPT allows users to create and segregate workspaces with custom instructions added to personalize the responses within each project. Earlier, this was only available to paid ChatGPT users, and now OpenAI is expanding access to the free tier as well.
Additionally, as part of the update, file limits are being raised. Accordingly, free users can upload up to 5 files per project, Plus subscribers 25, and Pro/Business/Enterprise subscribers 40. Users can also personalize projects with custom colors and icons, and manage memory at the project level for a more tailored context.
Tencent unveils HunyuanWorld-Voyager
HunyuanWorld-Voyager debuts as one of the first open-source AI world models with features like native 3D reconstruction. Reportedly, this model steers away from the traditional approach and allows the instant exporting of point cloud videos in 3D formats, therefore allowing instant use in VR, gaming, and simulation environments.
Additionally, the model also comes with scalable 3D memory, which helps preserve the consistency in the created virtual worlds, no matter the camera path. It also reportedly excels in some of the most popular benchmarks in the segment.
Amazon announces Lens Live for AI-powered shopping experiences
Leveraging AI to boost customer experience and enhance shopping, Amazon introduced an AI assistant called Rufus about a year ago. Now it is expanding the AI capabilities on the platform with the introduction of a new feature called Lens Live.
Lens Live is an AI-powered upgrade to Amazon’s visual search tool. Now, when customers open Amazon Lens in the shopping app, the camera instantly scans products and shows real-time matches in a swipeable carousel. Shoppers can tap items to zoom in, add them to the cart, or save to wish lists, all without leaving the camera view.
The update also brings Rufus into the experience. As users browse, Rufus provides product summaries, highlights key features, and answers common questions right under the carousel. This makes comparisons faster and shopping decisions easier.
Genspark unveils the next big thing in video editing
Genspark has introduced Clip Genius, an AI tool that edits videos with a single prompt. The platform handles the entire workflow, analyzing content, planning the story, editing with precision, and assembling professional-quality results.
Users can create everything from simple clips to grid layouts and multi-video mashups without needing editing skills. The process is fully automated, cutting down the time and effort usually spent on manual editing.
Genspark calls this tool a reliable “AI employee” that can quickly create clips from edited videos in simple text prompts without complicated steps.
ElevenLabs simplifies sound effects
ElevenLabs is taking AI-generated sound effects to the next level with v2 of their SFX model. This new upgrade provides better sound quality, an extended duration of 30 seconds from the previous 22-second limit, and an increase in sample rate from 44.1kHz to 48kHz.
With this, you can add looping sound effects to your videos, like calming sounds in an audiobook, etc. ElevenLabs Studio lets you use these looping sound effects to make their content more immersive.
Social Media Feature Updates and Algorithm Changes
Instagram for iPad is finally here
While Instagram has been refining its UI for better user experience across web and mobile, and adding more AI-powered features to the platform, there has been one missing link in the ecosystem – the lack of an iPad app optimized for the big screen. The previous version of the Instagram app for iPad was awkwardly small and not the best big-screen experience, but that’s changing.
Instagram has launched a dedicated iPad app, redesigned to make the most of larger screens. The app opens directly into Reels, giving users a lean-back entertainment experience with Stories at the top and messaging just a tap away.
There is also a new Following Tab that lets you keep up with accounts you follow, and you can switch between three views – All, Friends, and Latest. The design also takes advantage of the wider layout. You can view messages and notifications side by side, expand comments without shrinking videos, and move through features with fewer taps.
View on Threads
Instagram expands DM features for creators
The direct messaging option on Instagram is a handy feature for creators to connect with their followers at a more personal level. From creating channels to keep their community engaged to getting in touch with brands, creators around the world use DMs in numerous ways. Instagram is now expanding the features within DMs.
Notably, creators will now find better filtering options to quickly navigate to replies or messages from Verified accounts and Followers or even filter unread messages to quickly respond to them.
View on Threads
YouTube expands the “Hype” feature to more countries
YouTube is rolling out its “hype” feature to more markets, giving fans a new way to support smaller creators. Viewers in eligible countries can now hype up to three videos per week, as long as the content was uploaded within the past seven days. The more hype a video gets, the higher its chances of landing on a weekly leaderboard in the Explore tab.
Leaderboards will showcase top-hyped videos across categories like Gaming, Beauty, and more. Viewers will also soon be able to share posts spotlighting the videos they’ve hyped, helping creators gain even more visibility.
Snapchat launches App Power Pack
Snapchat has introduced the App Power Pack, a new suite of products designed to help app marketers drive installs and engagement. According to Snapchat, this new offering, which seamlessly integrates with existing campaigns, is already showing a significant impact, with products driving at least a 25% increase in app installs.
This brings to marketers several useful features like Target Cost Bidding, Sponsored Snaps, and more.
A Final Word…
Time to wrap up the KIMP’s Picks September 5th Edition! Found this quick roundup useful? Stay tuned to catch up on more such recap posts. That’s an easy way to ensure that you do not miss the latest social media buzz! More updates coming your way, soon!
