The world of entertainment evolves as the Golden Globes introduces a major new category | Spin Relevance Hub Update | May Week 2

Here are the latest social media trends, industry updates, cultural revelations and audience insights to keep your brand relevant 🚀🔥

Trends

• Use this to highlight a range of products/services your brand can offer, or curate an aesthetic that incorporates your brand:

  • Un, Duex, Trois - example / example / example

• Tap into nostalgia by highlighting an old brand identity or showcasing an older product:

  • Young Girl From Essex - example / example / example / example

• Showcase your brand personality by leaning into relatable scenarios or common audience pain points:

  • [Early Trend] Giberish - example / example

  • [Early Trend] When I work - example / example

  • Ruin my day - example / example

  • Aligning my chakras - example / example / example / example

  • That was rude -example /example /example

Trending Topics

• SZA has no followers on TikTok.

  • TLDR: It was recently discovered that SZA's following on TikTok was tiny despite being a global celebrity, which prompted a lot of content commenting on this. But since it’s gained attention, her following is growing rapidly.

  • Content example: here and here

• Trisha Paytas x The Pope memes continue…

  • TLDR: The new Pope Leo XIV was appointed on Trisha Paytas’s birthday (8th May). To make things worse, both Trisha and the Pope are from Illinois, and both Maluni Barbie (Trisha’s first daughter) and the Pope share a birthday (14th September).

  • Content: here, here and here

Platform Updates

• Meta updates from NewFronts 2025:

  • They’re testing Instagram Reels trending ads - short-form video ads that deliver against the most trending, creator-created Reels.

  • New ad formats are coming on Facebook and Instagram, including the ability to run Partnership Ads with one partner in the ad’s header, as well as Facebook Live Partnership ads.

  • They’re testing video ads on Threads!

• Will a thumbs-up turn things around for X?

  • X experiments with a thumbs-up engagement icon.

• Instagram officially launched unlockable Reels.

  • The Weeknd was one of the first to use the feature.

Industry

• Netflix is launching short-form, vertical videos.

  • Netflix just announced that it’s testing a short-form video feature. Even a streaming giant with over 300 million subscribers is concerned about losing viewer time to apps like TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.

• Pinterest’s monthly users have increased to 570M, and revenue increased 16% YoY.

  • This is due to strong growth amongst Gen Z and expanding markets like Japan and India.

• Trump says he’ll extend the TikTok ban deadline AGAIN.

  • A deal still hasn’t been reached, but Trump has said he can extend the deadline beyond June 19th if needed.

• Marketing budgets as a share of company revenue are expected to remain flat in 2025 at a rate of 7.7%, according to a new study from research firm Gartner.

  • This figure is down from an average of 11.3% during 2015 through 2019. In terms of how marketing dollars get spent, 31% now goes toward paid media, up from 23% in 2018.

• A new British Gas campaign has launched across the UK.

  • Following the trend of mascots being the go-to marketing devices for brands wanting to make an impact in the 2020s, it features a new family of mascots, “The Things”.

Culture

• Cannes Film Festival bans nudity on the red carpet.

  • The film festival is introducing a “decency” and “efficiency” dress code prohibiting dresses that “hinder the proper flow of traffic of guests and complicate seating in the theatre”.

• Podcasts just reached a new level in the hierarchy of entertainment!

  • The Golden Globes will be adding the Best Podcast category in 2026.

• Even Pope Leo XIV has AI on his mind.

  • He acknowledged it played a big role in the selection of his papal name.

• Basic as the new punk: The rise of normanticisation.

  • The recent embrace of ‘being basic’ isn’t simply a recession indicator; it’s part of a bigger shift away from extreme personalisation towards a more normie ideal.

• Bill Gates vowed to give away “virtually all” of his wealth.

  • He will do this through the Gates Foundation by the end of 2045, before it shuts for good.

  • The foundation has given away over $100B so far, and Gates estimates it will donate an additional $200B over the next 20 years.

• Will KATSEYE be the next mega-famous group?

  • They release their second EP "Beautiful Chaos" on 27th June.

Audience

• Gen Z are the subscription kings.

  • Gen Z are leading the charge in the subscription economy, with 90% of 18-25-year-olds having at least one subscription and spending an average of £305 per month, triple the spend of Gen X.

• Femcels - the young women struggling to find love.

  • Young women are going viral on TikTok for sharing their frustration with modern dating, sometimes going as far as to describe themselves as “femcels,” i.e. involuntarily single women who feel stuck on the sidelines of romance.

• 22% of Americans feel tariffs have had a “dramatic impact” on their day-to-day life. (GWI)

  • That’s about the same as those who felt similarly about post-Ukraine inflation (23%) and far higher than the 8% who reported a dramatic impact during Covid lockdowns.

• The main finding from EY's March 2025 Future Consumer Index was that relevance beats recognition in the era of brand doubt.

  • AI is changing how people discover, compare and choose products, making brand visibility and relevance more critical than ever.

  • Gen Z and Millennials show brand loyalty on par with other generations, but they have the highest proportion of Brand Switchers, making them the most vulnerable group of consumers.

  • Consumers need consistent value, true innovation that enhances quality, and a sense of community and belonging.

  • Companies can’t simply rely on defending the loyalty they created in the past, they must actively invest in their brands to win in the categories most vulnerable to switching.

The Social Calendar

• Eurovision Begins This Week!

• Welcome to Wrexham is Released - 15 May

• The Fyre Festival Returns - 30 May