Welcome to Scout! Each week, our team tracks down the best digital marketing articles, POVs, and reports—so you don’t have to. Here’s what to read from the week of 9/16/22 – 9/22/22 to stay ahead of the curve: 

Watch out, TikTok: there’s a new creator fund in town. In response to increased competition from the home of the Nyquil Chicken Challenge (please, please don’t try it), YouTube is rolling out Shorts—a new feature that looks an awful lot like TikTok’s offering.  

It makes sense that the DTC MVP would encroach upon the territory of social platforms like YouTube and Instagram…but Google, too?! According to the New York Times, many Gen Z TikTokers are now using TikTok as their primary search engine—and that may be kind of a red flag, given that one-fifth of the platform’s search results have been found to contain misinformation.  

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard’s announcement that all company shares will be donated to charitable causes sets a new standard for brand authenticity. And the brand’s decision isn’t just a win for the planet—it’s also in lock step with the 94% of consumers who report they want to live a sustainable lifestyle. 

The news from Patagonia is a great example of how the brand playbook is evolving in today’s uncertain times. With a variety of economic and geopolitical factors challenging brands and agencies, this piece offers advice on how marketers can reframe those challenges as opportunities, and explores strategies all companies can use to weather the storm. 

The Advertising Research Foundation’s fifth annual Privacy Study found that most consumers find it “somewhat acceptable” for brands to collect certain personal data in order to serve more relevant ads. So first- and second-party data for the win, but the third-party cookiepocalypse continues to loom (although, who’s taking bets on another pushback?) 

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