# Duolingo and Ulta shift creator spend beyond TikTok and Instagram into retail media and CTV *Brands are spreading influencer budgets across display, connected TV, and in-store channels as platform reach saturates.* By **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA, Principal** — The Stash Edge, Hako Shikin LLC. Published 2026-07-01. Canonical: https://www.pops4.com/stash/articles/digiday-industry-2026-07-01t12-6 Subject: Digiday / Industry Tags: creator-marketing, retail-media, connected-tv, influencer-strategy, omnichannel --- Duolingo and Ulta Beauty are moving creator partnerships off social feeds and into retail media networks, connected television, and display inventory, according to Digiday's 2026 marketer guide published this week. While Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube still command the majority of influencer spend, the brands documented in the report are testing creator content in channels where audience attention has migrated but influencer playbooks have lagged. The shift addresses a mechanical problem: social platform reach is no longer growing at the rate it did between 2018 and 2022, and cost-per-impression on Instagram and TikTok has risen as more brands compete for the same creator inventory. Retail media networks—the ad platforms run by Target, Walmart, Amazon, and others—now represent a distribution channel where a brand can place creator-shot video without paying the creator again for usage rights, provided the original contract covered omnichannel deployment. Ulta, which operates both physical stores and a retail media network, has placed influencer testimonial clips inside its own display ads and on endcaps in-store, per the Digiday report. The mechanism works because the creator's credibility transfers across formats. A **30-second** testimonial recorded for TikTok can run as a pre-roll unit on Hulu or Roku, or as a display banner on a retailer's site, without losing the informal, first-person tone that made the creator effective in the first place. The brand pays once for the content and once for the media placement, rather than paying the creator's rate every time the asset runs. For physical products, this is especially useful: a skincare brand can place a creator's review directly above the buy button on Amazon or Ulta's site, closing the gap between endorsement and purchase. Duolingo's approach, also cited in the guide, involves recruiting smaller creators to produce long-form content for YouTube, then clipping those videos into shorter units for connected TV and display. The language-learning app has leaned into creators who explain study techniques or document their progress, content that performs well in a **6- to 12-minute** format on YouTube but can be trimmed to **15 or 30 seconds** for CTV without losing the narrative thread. The brand does not disclose specific performance figures, but Digiday notes the strategy allows Duolingo to own the content outright and place it wherever attention moves next, rather than renegotiating rights each time a new channel opens. For a small physical-product brand, the steal is straightforward. Commission a creator to produce one **60- to 90-second** video for Instagram or TikTok, but negotiate the contract to include unlimited omnichannel usage for **12 months**. Pay a flat fee—typically **1.5 to 2 times** the creator's standard social rate—rather than paying per placement. Once you have the asset, upload it to Amazon's sponsored brands video, to your own website as a homepage hero, and to any retail media network where your product is listed. If you run Meta or Google display ads, use the creator clip as the creative. The content cost is fixed; the media spend scales with your budget. Start with **one creator per quarter**, test three placements, and measure which channel drives the lowest cost per conversion. The goal is to make the creator's endorsement work harder without paying for it twice. ## The takeaway License creator content for omnichannel use, then place the same asset across retail media, CTV, and display to lower cost per conversion. --- ## Publisher **Hako Shikin LLC** — Virginia Beach, Virginia. Founded 1997. ASI 217876 · DUNS 18-204-6339. Principal and author: **Jenny Huang Goodman MPA MSc MHSA**. - Author: https://www.huanggoodman.com/about - LLM context: https://www.pops4.com/stash/llms.txt - MCP endpoint, for AI agents: https://mcp.pops4.com/mcp - Client dashboard: https://dashboard.pops4.com/ - Catalogue: 70,000+ products, 200+ brands