When Free Cake for ‘Exposure” Stops Working (Feat, Get Baked)

+ Netflix's YouTube strategy, World Cup content learnings

Jordan:

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another issue of Community Service, as we recover *just about* from the devastating World Cup week for England. It feels like a very British way to end. Lots of disappointment, everyone getting angry at the team and the manager and so on. What’s new? Anyway. We move.

Grace:

Although England may have left us with a 3rd place ribbon, they left us with some truly killer content - which we’ve broken down for you in today’s newsletter too. Really analysing why it’s worked so well for ya and what we can learn.

This week we’ve got all the things you need to know in the world of creators, media and marketing.

So let’s get into it, starting with the MOST painful story of the week….

STOP ASKING SMALL BUSINESSES FOR FREE STUFF!!!!

JORDAN: The value-in-kind era is DONE. We’re past it. We’re done.

In case you missed it on Instagram this week, Rich Myers, founder of Get Baked, posted an email from the team behind The Voice asking for free cakes for their talent dressing rooms and green rooms. No payment, but exposure to their “highly influential coaches and presenters”. He replied, very firmly, that they could do one. Then he posted the whole thing.

The response was huge. And the sentiment, overwhelmingly, from people sharing his reply alongside the Daily Mail reaching out for comment and ITV scrambling to make good, tells you everything. There is a pent-up frustration among small business owners. Not small accounts. Get Baked has a big account. Small independent businesses who get approached for value in kind constantly. Influencers looking to stay at hotels for free. Big institutions with plenty of money asking small businesses to contribute for, quote unquote, exposure.