Digital jokester Drew “Druski” Desbordes has turned his funny internet skits into a media empire. Over the last year, the comedian—who is also an actor and record producer—has been the opener for concerts by musicians J. Cole and Lil Baby, acted in TV series House Party and Praise This and launched a label, Coulda Been Records. Corporate partners include Nike, Google and AT&T. He’s also the pitchman for Happy Dad, a hard seltzer brand that he partly owns.
Creators. Influencers. Streamers. Vloggers. Whatever you call them, these powerful social media personalities are calling the shots in entertainment and advertising.
This year, the 50 honorees on our second annual Forbes Top Creator list harnessed their combined 2.6 billion followers to haul in an estimated $700 million in earnings. That’s up more than 20% from 2022’s $570 million score. To rank the world’s Top Creators, Forbes crunched data on the earnings, follower counts, engagement rates, and entrepreneurial activities of thousands of internet personalities with the help of the creator marketing firm, Influential.
The result: The fifty people tapping their massive fan bases to reshape the worlds of media, marketing, entertainment, and taste.
0:00 Introducing Drew “Druski” Desbordes
0:12 What Is The Druski Brand?
1:25 How Drew Utilized Social Media To Kickstart His Creator Career
2:39 How Drew Landed Partnerships With Jack Harlow And Drake
3:55 On Finding Inspiration And Staying Relatable
4:33 Monetizing The Druski Brand
5:40 Making The Leap From Creator To CEO
7:47 The Comedians Who Influenced The Druski Brand
9:17 “I Just Want To Be The Best”
9:50 Drew’s Dream Collaborator
10:26 How To Build A Massive Fanbase
11:01 How Drew Approaches Brand Partnerships
12:15 What Brands Need To Consider Before Partnering With A Creator
12:50 How Drew Balances The Business Side Without Sacrificing Authenticity
13:45 From College Dropout To Top Creator
Read the full story on Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2023/09/25/top-creators-2023/
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