Good morning. Today, brands turn to the internet’s erudite elite.

People who would never post an Instagram video to hawk nutritional supplements or teeth-whitening strips are increasingly striking deals with brands nonetheless.

Just don’t call them influencers, Katie Deighton reports for the WSJ Leadership Institute:

Some brands are buying.

“Our approach is not necessarily to go to the biggest room possible, but to go to the room that has the right people in it,” said Heather MacKinnon, director of brand at Mercury, a fintech for startups and small businesses that has worked with Figures client Sari Azout.

I asked Katie to put all this in context for newsletter readers.

Why is this happening now?

Katie: We're now in what some have called the “post-follower era.” Consumers are less likely to see in their feeds the influencers they once actively sought to keep up with, and more likely to continually discover new creator content via the algorithm. That means brands in turn can’t guarantee their campaigns with a carefully-selected group of influencers will land in the same way that they used to.

The response for a lot of marketers has been to really ramp up their work with micro-influencers in a bid to make campaigns inescapable on places like TikTok and Instagram—treating influencer marketing less as a thoughtful, bespoke media placement and more like a blanket commercial buy across all TV stations. But some are trying to get back to the olden (golden?) days, seeking out under-the-radar, influential people with engaged followers away from the giant ad break that is social media.

And I’m sure brands also hope they'll gain a little street cred for funding the works of smart, original thinkers as the populace revolts against AI slop.

Is this just for small brands with niche appeal?

Katie: Right now yes, but I’m sure that will change. About a year ago I wrote a story about Substackers brokering small ad slots on their newsletters to supplement subscription income. Some of those writers are now landing sponsored content deals with megabrands like Target and Walmart. I’m sure the same will happen with this erudite kind of creator as more brands figure out how to stand out in the space.

One difference though: The “alternatively influential” tend to be incredibly discerning with regards to what kind of brands they'll do business with, ethically-speaking.

One Target boycott has ended, but the beleaguered retail chain isn’t in the clear yet.

Boycotts broke out after Target’s January 2025 announcement that it would roll back its DEI goals and cancel several supplier diversity programs, citing a goal of “driving growth and staying in step with the evolving external landscape.”

Jamal Bryant, the senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church outside Atlanta and founder of a boycott called Target Fast, said on Wednesday that he was satisfied with Target’s response since then.

Target made progress on three out of four demands, according to Bryant, including the one Target Fast had expressed as “Fully restore DEI commitments.”

“They have a program called Belonging, which gives access to everybody, not just for entry-level positions, but to be able to ascend into C-suites,” Bryant told USA Today. “It is essentially DEI as I read it. It is the exact same thing.”

Still waiting: That doesn’t mean everybody involved in Target Fast will be shopping at the chain again. Co-organizer Nina Turner, a former Ohio state senator, said she wants to hear Target acknowledge the harm that she feels it has done.

“People have to make their own decision, but as for me and my house, we will not be going back to Target,” she said.

Still on: The Minneapolis activist Nekima Levy Armstrong said yesterday that Target hadn’t made any changes, so the boycott she helped call in January 2025 continues:

A spokesperson for Target Fast’s Bryant confirmed that Target had made “no new commitments, no reversals.”

McDonald’s plans to add new deals and discounts to its menu next month as it continues trying to rebuild its “value” image, Heather Haddon reports for The Wall Street Journal.

A $4 meal deal will feature breakfast options including a McMuffin, hash brown and coffee, while a $3-and-less menu will include items like a sausage biscuit or a 4-piece chicken McNuggets, replacing the buy-one-add-one-for-a-dollar menu introduced last year.

More consumers are giving McDonald’s credit for affordability, but the chain hasn’t fully regained its past status, according to market-research firm Technomic. Twenty-one percent of survey respondents called McDonald’s affordable last year, up from 18% in 2024, but still below 2019 levels.

The community where marketing leaders drop the corporate speak and share what’s actually happening. The WSJ CMO Council unites leaders from the world’s most influential brands including Adobe, Audi, Google, IBM, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Meta, Taco Bell, P&G and Verizon.

Tap into the connections and WSJ intelligence that move careers forward and separate the prepared from the scrambling.

Request Information

Tesla says the Cybercab, its new model without a steering wheel or pedals, will begin mass production next month. The next challenge is selling it. [WSJ] 

Activist investor Starboard Value nominated two directors to CarMax’s board and urged changes including a streamlined digital experience and more dynamic pricing. [WSJ] 

Customer reviews are becoming even more important as AI product discovery and research takes off. [Modern Retail] 

Former Savage x Fenty CMO Vanessa Wallace was named chief marketing officer at jewelry brand GLD. [WWD]

Did PetSmart fumble its response to a viral moment? Reaction seems to vary by platform. [Ad Age] 

Why smartphone maker Nothing designs its products “like logos.” [Creative Bloq] 

Snickers now has its own typeface: Snickers Sans. [Dieline]