Freedom Digital News
This week in digital, Instagram rewards top creators with a new incentive program, ChatGPT celebrates record-breaking growth, YouTube invests in music education, Snapchat highlights the power of Sponsored Snaps, and Meta pauses political advertising across the EU.
Here’s what’s happening, why it matters, and how marketers can turn these shifts into growth opportunities.
(1) Instagram launches ‘Rings’ to reward top creators
Instagram has unveiled ‘Rings’, a new creator reward program designed to recognise and incentivise 25 of the platform’s highest-performing creators. The initiative aims to boost engagement and loyalty among its most influential talent, positioning Instagram more competitively in the creator economy.
For brands, this move reinforces the importance of creator partnerships in driving cultural relevance and reach. As platforms compete for creator attention, expect new monetisation tools, content formats and brand-collaboration models to follow which will now make the time to reassess your influencer strategy.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/06/instagram-ring-award-creators.html
(2) ChatGPT hits 800M weekly users and unveils new creation tools
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced that ChatGPT now reaches 800 million weekly active users, with rapid adoption across consumers, developers, enterprises and governments. Alongside the milestone, OpenAI revealed new tools for building custom apps and agentic systems, signalling a shift towards more interactive, adaptive and personalised AI experiences.
For marketers, this acceleration underscores the expanding role of generative AI in customer engagement and content production. The next phase of AI marketing isn’t just about chatbots, it’s about creating branded AI agents that can deliver ongoing value and dialogue at scale.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/06/sam-altman-says-chatgpt-has-hit-800m-weekly-active-users/
(3) YouTube partners with TED-Ed for music education
YouTube has teamed up with TED-Ed to launch a new music education initiative, blending entertainment and learning for a younger, global audience. The program will offer interactive lessons from artists and educators, aiming to inspire creativity and deepen platform engagement.
For advertisers, this signals YouTube’s ongoing investment in educational and edutainment content - an area rich with storytelling potential. Brands aligned with music, creativity or youth culture may find new opportunities for collaboration within this growing content vertical.
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-music-education-initiative-ted-ed/802165/
(4) Snapchat reveals brand uplift from Sponsored Snaps
New data from Snapchat shows that Sponsored Snaps drive measurable brand uplift, reinforcing the platform’s effectiveness for awareness and conversion campaigns alike. The insights highlight Snapchat’s unique blend of AR engagement, storytelling formats and high recall rates among younger audiences.
Marketers should see this as a cue to experiment with immersive ad formats - particularly where short-form, mobile-first storytelling can create meaningful brand moments in high-attention spaces.
(5) Meta pauses political and social ads across the EU
In compliance with upcoming regional regulations, Meta will suspend all electoral, political and social issue ads across the EU from 10 October. The temporary measure aims to ensure transparency and adherence to stricter advertising laws ahead of upcoming elections.
For brands, the shift underscores the growing complexity of regulatory compliance in digital advertising. Advertisers should take this moment to review campaign governance, data practices and messaging strategies - ensuring readiness for future policy changes that could reshape targeting and reach.
https://www.socialsamosa.com/news-2/meta-halt-political-social-issue-ads-across-eu-10536560
Digital continues to evolve rapidly, from platform innovation to policy reform. Each development opens new opportunities to rethink how brands connect, communicate and convert.
If you’d like to explore how we can help shape your digital strategy or creator partnerships, get in touch at team@freedommediagroup.co.uk