Hi TNS,

If this looks a little different, that’s because it’s the first newsletter officially under the new name The Night Shift (previously Creative Commerce). But no worries, the format remains the same.

In this issue… ⋆˙⟡

Lately the brands winning attention aren't the ones with the biggest budgets. They're the ones listening hardest.

From Béis turning TikTok hate comments into a product relaunch to Crocs embedding TikTok Shop into a microdrama series, the playbook is shifting toward real-time responsiveness over polished campaigns.

Plus: fresh content formats, platform updates, and the latest in AI.

Let’s get into it!
xx Winter

🔥 Featured Content

How to build a brand storytelling system that scales with your creative

How Graza, Ghia, Fly By Jing, and Jolie Skin Co. built repeatable storytelling systems. Includes a practical framework: origin myth, protagonist definition, conflict arc, visual vocabulary, proof layer. Very tactical.

78 free MIT courses for when you’re craving libraries, lectures, and big ideas

Kel Rakowski (former CEO of Lex app) compiled a large list of 78 free MIT courses that span across topics like creative theory, writing, art, and more. A new course is a perfect activity for when you feel like you’re getting stuck in a creative echo chamber.

🤳 Content Inspo

This is how [doing a thing] has shaped my [craft/niche/approach]. [LINK]
Here film director Spencer Tuggle breaks down how shooting medium format has shaped his photography style. This is a great way to explain your unique approach, why you do what you do, or the reason behind launching your brand.

A hand written/drawn diagram integrated into a video story. [LINK]
Pair a yap-style video with a visual of yourself writing/drawing in a different window to illustrate your point. This makes the video way more personal and engaging.

The power of [insert your niche or why]. [LINK]
Creator Marzia Prince showcases the power of branding using an orange juice analogy. With over 1M views, this format is highly captivating and worth considering if its adaptable for your brand. How can you show the impact of your product, service, or mission?

💬 Tip of the day:

💎 Brand Spotlight

Unearth PR is a public relations firm based in the UK that releases carousel roundups of the best brand updates of the week. Highly valuable and a great way to stay on top of what’s happening across marketing and branding.

Follow on IG: @unearthpr

📡 On Our Radar

Crocs becomes first U.S. footwear brand to embed TikTok Shop into a Microdrama Series. [LINK]

The hidden structure behind Hannah Fry’s viral videos. [LINK]

Béis is a good example of how to integrate customer complaints into a product relaunch campaign. [LINK]

Search Console now lets you connect Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube accounts to see how individual posts perform in Google Search and Discover. Clicks, impressions etc. [LINK]

Liquid Death ditched ads for YouTube Comedy and won anyway. [LINK]

3 influencer marketing signals defining June. [LINK]

How the language of censorship became advertising’s latest trope. [LINK]

Consumers say rewards matter, but many aren’t actually using them. [LINK]

4 marketing decisions that seem smart, but that can weaken great brands. [LINK]

The best brand campaigns of H1 2026 sold honesty. Are consumers buying? [LINK]

🔮 Platform Updates

🎶 TikTok

TikTok launches AI literacy measures. [LINK]

TikTok One adds AI-powered creator discovery for brands and agencies. [LINK]

TikTok rolls out new feature to manage keywords on content after posting it. [LINK]

📸 Meta / Instagram

Instagram Reels adds more AI translations. [LINK]

Alerting parents if teens show signs of distress in conversations with Meta AI. [LINK]

Instagram will charge for AI access. [LINK]

Meta removes controversial AI feature on Instagram after backlash. [LINK]

🧵Threads

Threads adds flair tags for community posts. [LINK]

Threads adds new personalization and community features as it reaches 500M monthly users. [LINK]

🤳 YouTube

YouTube refreshes Studio and updates video guidance. [LINK]

YouTube highlights brand partnerships with sports creators. [LINK]

☠️ 𝕏 

X adds Grok-powered insights to Ads Manager. [LINK]

X cracks down on creators who steal content. [LINK]

X offers mention boosts to premium business subscribers. [LINK]

X's algorithm will finally prioritize replies from people you already follow. [LINK]

🟦 LinkedIn

Creator Marketplace + BrandWorks launched (June 10): find, vet, and partner with B2B creators inside Campaign Manager. [LINK]

👻 Snapchat

Snap joins the AI ad race with a chat assistant and an MCP server. [LINK]

🤖 AI Boom

Stanford released The AI Index, one of the most comprehensive, data-driven views of artificial intelligence. [LINK]

Anthropic released a 24-minute workshop on how to actually do prompts for Claude Code (a practical guide). [LINK]

You can now star in your own AI videos using Google Vids. [LINK]

Reelful’s AI turns your camera roll into short-form videos for social media. [LINK]

Meta AI adds additional safety measures. [LINK]

Waze rolls out new customization features and more Gemini updates. [LINK]

Newsletter platform Beehiiv (what TNS is hosted on!) now lets subscribers chat with each other, adds AI. [LINK]

Winter Mendelson
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer: Posture Media

🦇 Let’s connect on Instagram and LinkedIn

P.S. I will probably have typos in the event that my dad is unavailable to proofread. Sorry in advance.

​Need a hands-on social media partner? I’m the Co-Founder of Posture Media, a Brooklyn-based social media agency that helps companies make social an unfair competitive advantage. Let’s chat if you’re looking for a strategic creative partner in 2026.

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