Marketing

Meet Adweek’s 2020 Young Influentials Who Are Shaping Media, Marketing and Tech


The impact of this year’s class of Young Influentials—leaders in media, marketing and tech who have yet to hit their 40s—can be felt from the way we shop for cool clothes, the shows we binge and the gin we drink to how we think about race. Our cover subjects, teen TikTok superstars and siblings Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, meanwhile, have captured the imaginations of millions (and a host of brand partnerships) by posting videos of themselves dancing and singing. At the ages of 16 and 18, respectively, they’ve got their whole lives ahead of them but the world seemingly in the palms of their hands. Oh, to be young and influential. —Kristina Feliciano

Charli and Dixie D’Amelio
Influencers

Photo: Hollister

In just over a year, sisters Charli and Dixie D’Amelio have become two of TikTok’s most talked-about names. Trained dancer Charli, 16, shares videos of herself dancing, earning herself nearly 75 million followers (she’s the platform’s most-followed user). And budding musician Dixie’s new tune, “Be Happy,” just knocked Kanye West out of the top trending spot on YouTube. Together the siblings, who hail from Norwalk, Conn., have 100 million TikTok followers and millions more on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. Naturally, brand opportunities have followed. In February, Charli appeared in her first commercial—Sabra’s Super Bowl ad—and at the start of the pandemic, she fronted P&G’s #DistanceDance campaign, which spawned over a billion copycat videos. Last month, the siblings announced partnerships with retailer Hollister, a brand ambassadorship for makeup brand Morphe and, just a few days ago, a collaboration with nail polish line Orosa. “Brands really want to reach Gen Z’s ears,” says Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Influence Central. “They represent the epitome of that.” —Diana Pearl

(Read our interview with Charli and Dixie here.)

Amber Venz Box
Co-founder, president, rewardStyle

Photo: Mindy Bird

Venz Box founded rewardStyle in 2011 to adapt the concept of personal shoppers to leverage the power of influencers. When an influencer recommends an item to a follower who then completes a purchase, a tracked link enables them to receive a cut of the sale. “We’re bringing that boutique shopping experience to customers everywhere from their homes,” says Venz Box. Today, the company is one of the world’s most prominent influencer-monetization platforms, with offices on four continents. In 2017, as mobile-first shopping experiences became increasingly important, rewardStyle launched its LikeToKnow.it app, which allows users to directly shop the products featured in an influencer’s photo. LikeToKnow.it is “a consumer shopping app where you can shop in the context of real people’s lives,” says Venz Box. Notably, nearly 10 years on from the company’s founding, Venz Box is still an influencer herself, with nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram. —D.P.

Daniel Levy
Actor, writer, producer, director

Courtesy of Schitt’s Creek

Superfans wept this spring when Schitt’s Creek ended its six-season run on Pop TV with a heart-tugging, same-sex wedding, and showrunner/star Levy says he shed his own tears about calling it quits, telling Adweek it was “an incredibly difficult decision, but I never questioned it was the right one. I’ve always advocated for quality over quantity, and I would have hated for our show to have overstayed its welcome.” Levy, who co-created the series with his father, comedy icon Eugene Levy, took a simple premise—an ultra-wealthy family loses its money and ends up in a rural town—and turned it into a wacky and compassionate journey of self-discovery. The former VJ for MTV Canada, who says he leaves his ego out of career choices, signed a three-year deal with Disney’s ABC Studios as his follow-up. There’s also a feature, Happiest Season, and an HBO special, Coastal Elites, in his near future. And Levy could wind up with an armload of Emmys come fall, with Schitt’s Creek recently picking up 15 nominations, including outstanding comedy and personal nods for his directing, writing and supporting actor roles. —T.L. Stanley

Neil Patel
Co-founder, Neil Patel Digital

Courtesy of Neil Patel Digital





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