Thursday, February 12th

Top Creator News, Stories & Tips

Author

Paul Boulet
February 12, 2026

Hey, marketers & entrepreneurs,

It’s Paul from Click Analytic 👋

Welcome to our 32 new subscribers, who are joining a community of 56,000+ marketers & founders building with creators every day.

Let’s talk about something most brands misunderstand:
❌ Why influencer trips aren’t about sales ❌ 

To illustrate, we’ll look at how Rhode's latest brand trip was a media machine.

Also this week:
→ Rare Beauty breaks Ulta’s all-time launch record,
→ MrBeast buys a fintech app,
→ Super Bowl creator ads dominate,
→ and creators adding +72M followers in 30 days 👇👇

🗓️ Quick Recap:

And more…

  Estimated read time: 3 minutes or less

📊 Did you know?

62% of ads featured celebrities this year, down from 68% last year.

(Adweek, 2026)

🔔 Top Creator Stories

🛍️  Rare Beauty breaks Ulta’s record

After debuting in 1,500+ Ulta stores nationwide, Selena Gomez’s brand delivered the biggest brand launch in Ulta’s history!!

🤑 MrBeast buys fintech app Step

MrBeast isn’t just YouTube’s biggest creator.
He’s now acquiring companies targeting Gen Z money habits.
Creator → Operator → Investor.

📈 Fastest creators of January: +72M in 30 days

Jutta Leerdam (Olympics + Jake Paul) and Paul Cuffaro (100M+ animal videos) exploded.

I’ve listed, using Click Analytic, the fastest-growing creators in January.

🧳 Influencer Trips Are About FOMO

This might be a “hot take”, but I believe Influencer brand trips are misunderstood by most marketers.

They’re not designed to convert. They’re designed to create desire.

Brands use trips for two things:

👉️ Awareness + UGC
👉️ FOMO among other creators

That’s it

And Rhode just executed this perfectly 👇️ 

❄️ Rhode Snow Club

Recently, Rhode launched a winter pop-up in Montana and invited several creators for the kick-off.

Instead of a classic influencer trip, Rhode built a real experience:

• Public Rhode Snow Station with early access to products
• Branded hot chocolate, s’mores, stickers
• Personalized creator gifts
• Snowmobiles, ski content, aesthetic moments
• Community access at Everett’s 8800 deck

Instagram Post

This isn’t new for them.
Last year was Rhode Summer Club in Mallorca.

Same formula. Different season.

They also sent “Summer Club” packages to creators who couldn’t attend the trip, creating more FOMO.

@thekikiglow

Safe to say @rhode skin knows how to treat their girlies!!! #rhodeskin #summerclub #haileybieber #rhodeunboxing #mallorca

And here’s the key:

The goal wasn’t to sell on the spot ❌
The goal was to get posts ✅

When a few creators attend an insane experience,
everyone else wants to be on the next list.

That’s when organic posting starts.

Events → posts → desire → long-term brand heat

Not conversion.
Experience.

Brands like Tarte, Revolve, and Rhode understand this deeply.

Trips are content engines.
And FOMO scales better than discount codes.

Planning an influencer trip in 2026?

We’re helping brands design FOMO-driven experiences that generate months of UGC and organic demand — not just content for one weekend.

👉 Book your strategy session here, and let’s plan your next creator moment.

📱 Social Snapshot

📉 Instagram chief denies social media can be “clinically addictive” 

🇺🇸 TikTok rolls out a new US-only feed

🤖 OpenAI details how ChatGPT ads will work

👓 Gucci launches the first luxury Sponsored AI Lens on Snapchat

🏈 YouTube report shows massive NFL growth

🌍 YouTube expands Auto-Dubbing to all creators

🧠 X tests AI-powered Community Notes

📺 YouTube announces new TV subscription packages

📸 Instagram tests Snapchat-style “Instants”

What did you think of today's insight?

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That’s it for this week 👊
More insights, case studies & campaign breakdowns coming next Thursday!

Until then → keep building, keep testing, and create moments worth sharing.

— Paul from Click Analytic

See you next week!