Connexity vs ShopMy

Howl Sells Creator Business to Taboola's Connexity

Howl, a commerce platform connecting content creators to retailers, has quietly sold its creator business division to Connexity, a commerce platform owned by Taboola. The sale took place in August, and financial details were not disclosed. Howl has faced accusations of late payments to publishers and creators, with some publishers still owed money. Connexity has reportedly paid off balances owed to creators and aims to fix payment issues. Howl is reassessing its strategy and plans to continue operating in the commerce space, exploring AI-native commerce opportunities.

• Howl sold its creator business to Connexity, a Taboola-owned commerce platform, in August.
• Financial terms of the sale were not disclosed.
• Howl has faced accusations of late payments to publishers and creators, with some publishers still owed money.

ShopMy Hires Jed Dederick as CRO to Scale Creator Commerce

ShopMy, a creator affiliate marketing platform, has appointed Jed Dederick, former Chief Revenue Officer at The Trade Desk, as its new CRO. Dederick started on October 13 and reports to CEO Harry Rein. His mandate is to bring programmatic-style scale and measurement to creator commerce, starting with a pay-for-performance product the company is hesitant to label as ads. ShopMy, launched in 2020, was recently valued at $1.5 billion after raising $70 million. The hire signals the company's ambition to professionalize creator-driven marketing and establish it as a major performance channel.

• ShopMy appointed Jed Dederick as Chief Revenue Officer, effective October 13.
• Dederick previously served as CRO at The Trade Desk for nearly 14 years.
• ShopMy was valued at $1.5 billion after raising $70 million.

Ruggable shifts ad spend from Meta to ShopMy creators

Ruggable, the DTC rug brand, is pivoting its marketing strategy ahead of a potential IPO. Over the past 18 months, it has shifted about 10% of its ad spend from performance channels like Meta to brand channels, particularly influencer marketing and connected TV, and plans to increase this by another 15-20% next year. The brand uses ShopMy, an affiliate platform, which has outperformed traditional ads and TikTok as a conversion channel. In the first month of the partnership, Ruggable generated roughly $3 million in revenue, doubling and tripling in subsequent months. To further build brand awareness, Ruggable is developing an internal ambassador program. The CMO emphasizes evolving beyond the traditional DTC playbook, and the company is on track for an IPO within three years.

• Ruggable shifted about 10% of ad spend from Meta to brand channels over 18 months.
• The brand plans to increase brand channel spend by another 15-20% next year.
• ShopMy partnership generated roughly $3 million in revenue in the first month, doubling in month two and tripling in month three.

Turn Your Best-Performing Creator Content into Paid Media with Spotlights

ShopMy has launched a new product feature called Spotlights, which allows brands to turn their best-performing creator content into paid media.