1) Event Updates!

2) Who’s That Creator: An interview with an incredible creator/founder in our community! A true Call of Duty (COD) OG creator, he started his Clan at 12 years old.

3) Brand Hot Take: A breakdown of a brand’s social media or TikTok presence and how I think they can improve. Who here has a black card?

If you could please sign up before July 21st I would greatly appreciate it! Since we’ll be putting everyone into small groups of 5-7 people I’d like to send out group emails where you can introduce yourself ahead of time with who you’ll be in the brainstorming group with. This will be a great way to meet more people, help you think more strategically, and maybe even find some collaborations yourself.

Here are some images from the venue!

I’ll be sharing the panelists in our next email, but you’re in for a treat!

IT’S LANDON “APOLLO” HAMMERLEY

Maybe you’ve seen Landon, or as his subscribers call him, Apollo, at one of our events. Like me, he’s most likely wearing all black, but with better style and a signature dangly cross earring. What you might not know from a short conversation with Landon, is that he has been building a community for almost 15 years, starting with the simple desire to get better at a video game, Call of Duty (COD).

If you’ve ever played a First-Person Shooter game, you usually start in a lobby where people are chatting or waiting for the game to start. While I would mute everyone, Landon was one of those kids who chatted with everyone, making friends and learning how to improve his game play.

These few notes can’t possibly cover all that is Landon and Karnage Crew, but now you have the inside scoop for when you see him at our next event.

Karnage Clan consists of nearly 20 YouTube channels that collectively have close to 8 Million subscribers. As a sole channel, they have 800K Youtube subscribers, 28K Twitch, 150K TikTok, 37K Instagram, 100K on X. Separately Landon has 10K on YouTube, 11K on Instagram, and 80K on X.

So let’s get into what I believe are they key components of our conversation!

RECOGNIZE YOUR WEAKNESSES

I like this mentality and I think it’s something I want to encourage in what we’re doing with our events. Every person in this newsletter has a unique perspective, approach, and skill set. Learning from one another and recognizing who can guide you in your growth is incredibly worthwhile. There isn’t one person who can teach you everything, but having an amalgamation of teachers or advisors can help craft your content or skillset in the way you want.

BUILD YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM

I really identify with Landon's story, as someone whose mother is incredibly supportive. My mom definitely holds a board seat on the Jacob Wallach Foundation. For every endeavor I undertake, she’s always in my corner, and it sounds like Landon's mom is just the same. To all the moms or aspiring moms out there, know that those seemingly small moments of support can define us.

While Landon was fortunate to have this support in his teenage years, not everyone has that. Building a support system of friends, mentors, and even fictional heroes can propel you forward. And if that fails, just look in the mirror and speak to yourself—I’m not even kidding.

PARTNER UP

The second step in recognizing your weaknesses and learning from others is developing a partnership. Finding someone who can offset your weaknesses allows both of you to thrive and is a definitive path to success. This completely elevated Karnage Clan to another level, where not only did they have the highlights in their game play, but they were able to showcase in an entertaining form their content.

Remember, owning 51% of something worth millions is better than owning 100% of something worth nothing. Consider Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak—they combined their unique abilities to create the very devices you're likely reading this newsletter on (though, I personally use a PC).

BE INSPIRED BY OTHERS

As Picasso famously said, "Good artists copy; great artists steal." By adopting successful strategies from others, like the Mr. Beast model of creating engaging challenges, you can transform and elevate your own content. However, I believe Picasso’s quote is often misunderstood. It’s not that great artists merely steal; rather, great artists and creators look beyond themselves. They observe what others are doing, recognize talent, and adapt their styles of work. They incorporate popular elements while retaining their core components, creating renditions that resonate with a broader audience.

FINDING THE PERFECT BRAND PARTNER

This is the type of partnership that creators dream of. It’s fascinating to consider that Karnage Clan and Landon aren’t just a single creator but a team (Clan). It’s akin to the Yankees wearing a logo on their pinstripe jerseys—G Fuel is seamlessly integrated with all of Karnage Clan. Landon mentioned that he drinks G Fuel consistently, incorporates the product into his content regularly, and enjoys working with their team. While individual creators aren’t technically teams, it would be interesting to see talent agencies adopt this approach. They could find exclusive partners in specific categories for all their creators, balancing costs and driving value.

I’LL KEEP THIS ONE BRIEF

Amex like most financial companies isn’t doing the one thing that people want the brand to do, which is probably exactly what the brand should be doing on social media. I believe Amex could one of, if not the most valuable brand on social media, but they’re not tapping into their potential.

THEIR CURRENT APPROACH provides almost no value to the core consumer. Aesthetically AMEX is spot on. They probably have incredible production teams at the ready and the partnerships that they're doing are the best in the industry. I’m sure they are spending a ton of money to be the key sponsor for major events (I saw they have a 5 year $37M partnership with Wimbledon) but in my opinion, all the content they are getting from these partnerships on social media doesn’t do anything.

Just looking at the channels on TikTok or Instagram you see it broken down into three things (also if you want to see the actual content you can click the image to be taken to the videos).

1) Event Partnerships: Things like Wimbledon, The Tony Awards, F1, LPGA, and Coachella just to name a few.

If Amex is showcasing these amazing partnered events, they should create content from the perspective of an everyday person who won tickets to the event simply because they have an Amex. This approach would make these extraordinary experiences feel accessible to regular people. Presenting it from a normal person’s viewpoint would evoke a sense of wonder and excitement, much like a child's first taste of ice cream. This sentiment would be incredible for a financial services company like Amex to tap into. When people think of their brand, what do they think? Their current content doesn't capture any feeling.

2) Individual Partnerships: They do so many incredible one off partnerships too. In the past few months alone, they’ve partnered with Hulu & The Bear, Billie Eilish with a pop-up in Japan, and Dua Lipa.

The same goes for this. If we’re attending a Dua Lipa concert or a pop-up in Japan, I want someone there genuinely experiencing the event, not just a celebrity like Billie Eilish saying, "Hey, it’s me." For The Bear event, there was so much potential, but it ended up just being a typical restaurant event. When I think of The Bear, I think of one word: "Chaos." Capture that in your content if you’re partnering with The Bear—don’t settle for surface-level experiences. Show the behind-the-scenes team working out the details in a "Beautiful Mind" scenario, perfecting everything into that one iconic Platinum Amex card.

3) Corporate Interviews: I just think this isn’t a social way to approach this style of content and hit home with what Amex probably wants. “We have amazing people, our lounge is great, and we welcome you.“

So Amex doesn’t do too many of these, and I’m sure both Chef Deborah and David are great people, but this is something I’ll see on a corporate website, on the plane waiting at the gate, or on a classic TV commercial saying something like “We love our people.” I really like hearing stories about people, because so much of the time we only interact with people in the role they play in your day, like chef, barista, driver, or coworker. I want to hear their stories, encourage their stories, and give them experiences to show how much you appreciate them.

3) Ira The Archivist: This goes to the same kind of thought process I had with Hector Heinz. Someone who seems real, sweet, and is just there to provide value.

So What Should Amex Do?

At the core Amex needs to do one thing and one thing only.

PROVIDE VALUE.

There are many creators showcasing information about the point system, how to get better rewards, how to utilize multiple cards to win in this system, and ultimately how to earn money. If Amex takes this approach as the literal owner of the rule book there is no doubt in my mind that they will succeed.

Especially since there are already creators out there showcasing tips and tricks in this space. Here’s the thing, I’m not educated enough to fact check these creators and I don’t know if what they share is true or not.

But I can tell you this. If Amex came into the scene and shared information about all of this - I would not question a thing. I believe their channels would skyrocket, their brand love would be immense, and many people who appreciate that level of transparency (which are most people) would switch over the an Amex card.