Platform wars

YouTube is dangling a multimillion dollar carrot in an attempt to lure content creators away from rival short-form video platforms TikTok, Snapchat Spotlight and Instagram Reels and toward its own viral video-making tool Shorts (currently in BETA testing in the U.S. and India). The company announced the $100 million YouTube Shorts Fund on Tuesday to “reward creators for their content” over the course of this year and next.

“Each month, we’ll reach out to thousands of creators whose Shorts received the most engagement and views to reward them for their contributions. We’ll also ask these creators to share their feedback with us so we can continue to improve the product experience,” the company said in a statement.

YouTube is also rolling out new Shorts features including an audio remixing tool which allows users to “put their own spin” on existing YouTube videos. Pro tip: Brand managers might want to check their YouTube video settings to ensure their company videos aren’t available to Shorts creators, unless of course you’re open to remixes.

YouTube is not alone in offering cash to creators (Snapchat is said to be paying $1 million per day to select users while TikTok has promised to grow its fund to $1 billion over three years) or new tools in the meme-making toolbox (TikTok recently released a grab bag of new effects and the ability to post up to 3-minute videos).

Teachable moment

The power of “show, don’t tell” is on full display in a new ad by Danish optical brand Synoptik. The cinematic spot shows the world through the eyes of children and their vivid imaginations but also reveals the most common and often overlooked symptoms of vision impairment in children, one-by-one. It’s an impressive example of how an ad can be both beautiful and educational.

PSA for newsletter managers

Those pesky Gmail and Yahoo prompts that ask inbox owners whether they want to “unsubscribe” are actually good for your business. Ann Gynn of the Content Marketing Institute explains.

SCL news

And finally we’re still on a high after receiving news our titles created on behalf of and published by CPA Canada and CAA (Pivot and CAA Magazine) have been nominated for a total of 18 National Magazine Awards: B2B. Check out the full list here. Meanwhile, our sister company SJC Media leads the 2021 NMA consumer publications list with a whopping 47 nominations including Maclean’s, Toronto Life and Châtelaine for the Grand Prix: Best Magazine awards in their respective categories. Congratulations to all the nominees and the staff working alongside them (image specialists, production managers, admin coordinators, pre-press professionals…we see you).